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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Roger Clemens And Andy Pettitte Are In George Mitchell's Report

A former New York Yankees strength trainer says information he provided to the George Mitchell investigation regarding supplying Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte with steroids is included in the Mitchell report scheduled to be released later today, a source close to the trainer told ESPN The Magazine's Shaun Assael.

Brian McNamee, who worked for the Yankees and as a personal trainer for Clemens and Pettitte, also told investigators that on at least one occasion, Clemens was in possession of steroids from another supplier, the source said.

The source, who was read portions of the report, said McNamee told investigators he supplied Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, with steroids while Clemens was with the Yankees, and prior to Clemens joining the team.

"After we read the report, we will have something to say," said Randy Hendricks, the agent for Clemens and Pettitte.

The Bergen (N.J.) Record, citing a baseball industry official, says "several" prominent Yankees will be named in the Mitchell report. The paper said the source spoke to a third party who had seen the final report.

"It's going to be a rough day in the Bronx," the paper quoted the source as saying.

Mitchell plans to release his report at 2 p.m. ET at a news conference in New York City. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig will hold his own news conference 2½ hours later.

MLB Drug Policy (Since 2002)

Steroids have been part of baseball's banned substance list since 1991, however testing for major league players did not begin until 2003.

The agreement with the MLBPA called for one random test per player per year with no punishments that first year. If more than 5 percent of players tested positive in 2003, tougher testing would be implemented with penalties ranging from counseling for a first offense to a max one-year suspension for a fifth violation. If less than 2.5 percent tested positive in two consecutive years, testing would be dropped.

In January 2005, MLB and the MLBPA announced a new drug policy, with year-round testing and suspensions ranging from 10 days for a first offense to the commissioner's discretion for a fifth offense.

In November of that same year, MLB and the union agreed to tougher testing, with a 50-game ban for a first offense to a lifetime ban for a third positive test.

Yr. 1st test 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
2002 Counseling 15 days 25 days 50 days 1 year
Jan. '05 10 days 30 days 60 days 1 year Comm. decision
Nov. 2005 50 games 100 games Lifetime ban

On Wednesday, Pettitte said "I've not heard a word from anyone" about Mitchell's investigation.

Miguel Tejada is mentioned in the Mitchell report, SI.com reported Thursday. Tejada was traded Wednesday from Baltimore to the Houston Astros. One other Oriole, Brian Roberts, is also mentioned by SI.com.

The Major League Baseball Players Association sent an e-mail to agents Thursday morning, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson. In it, it said: "We cannot confirm any of the press stories predicting what the report will say. We have not been given an advance copy of the report and we have not been informed of its contents. We requested from Senator Mitchell and the Commissioner's Office a copy of the report in advance, so that we'd have a meaningful opportunity to review it. They denied our request. We will be given the report at 1:00 PM, an hour before its public release, but only based on our pledge not to disclose its contents before 2:00 PM. The report is expected to exceed 400 pages, including appendices.

"Some have asked for our advice about public comment. As always, you are free to do as you wish, but we suggest that, for today at least, you decline general comment on the report and respond only on behalf of a particular player named in the report."

Selig told the Chicago Tribune that he hadn't seen the report, but he was proud it is coming out.

"People can say Bud was just trying to cover his butt or take care of his legacy or whatever," Selig said, according to the Tribune. "I say [bleep] it. This needed to be done, and now we've done it. I'm just happy it will be out there and we can move on. I'm proud of it."

Scott Boras, who represents a number of high-profile players including Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, told The Los Angeles Times he hadn't read the report. He did, however, say he's wary because he believes "the concerns of due process and the standards that apply to it are relatively unknown. Certainly, any results that occur from the report have to be looked at in the light that this is not a collectively bargained effort."

"I'm going to assume that a lot of the basis for this is hearsay information," Boras said, according to The Times. "It's not based on any kind of clinical testing, so it is widely a product of hearsay testimony. Without clinical testing or hard evidence, any report like this has to be reviewed with great scrutiny."

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