The Morning According to Us

When will Roger Clemens realize people are dying to forgive?

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Why is this still going?

The tale on Roger Clemens has turned into a sifting of nothing remotely related to a box score. It's court motions, rumors, further disclosures and new allegations. If you read up on the latest on Clemens you get sentences like this: "Lawyers for Roger Clemens asked a federal judge to reconsider his decision dismissing most of a defamation suit the pitcher filed against his former personal trainer over allegations of performance-enhancing drug use."

Is it all beyond repair? Consider the company Roger could be in. And these are just the Yankees tales.

• Alex Rodriguez, often considered the greatest player of his generation, is so far past his own admittance to steroid use—use which took place over perhaps the three greatest years of his career—that he's already found new ways to embarrass himself, and new medical distractions for the public to concern themselves with. He may be a pariah, but A-Rod is sure not to serve a suspension, is in some cases lauded for honesty and in general was granted the status the public wants to reflexively grant players from the steroid era. Some see his admission as a nail in the steroids era coffin. He's granting the game a funeral it's been (pardon the pun) dying to have.

• Jason Giambi is so far removed from his days of tacit admission to juicing his way to an MVP trophy that he's back right where it all started, and it's turned into a lovefest. SI just did a glowing profile in which we immediately are drawn into the Giambi-as-Frank the Tank motif: Jason did his roids like Frank once drank, but gawd do we love that about 'em! Oakland GM Billy Beane is joking about how he feels like "I remarried my ex-wife" (with a chuckle, no less) and Giambi is somewhere between a lovable old juicer and a savvy vet with a lot of life lessons—and pranks!—for a new clubhouse of A's. The guy is extremely well-liked across baseball, even if a few fans still find his lapse into steroid era immorality unforgiveable.

• Roger's closest contemporary on the Yankees, and formerly his closest friend, Andy Pettitte is still in pinstripes, and is sure to go down as one of the all-time greats. When Pettite admitted he'd had a dalliance or two with PEDs, fans came at once to the conclusion that he was telling the truth—just ask A-Rod how much people want to believe the truth has set these guys free—and soon after he was taking the mound in Yankee Stadium to a standing ovation.

The sad thing about Clemens is that perhaps he's too far gone. Perhaps he's too married to his own conclusions or too vested in a deeply personal war between him and an ex-trainer that he can't bear to do anything but fight. Perhaps it's because Roger only used the drugs to extend the greatness which for years he'd built of his own sweat and off-season toil that he can't give up this ugly stage. The PEDs were just an accent on the brilliant language of pitching he'd been speaking for years, he might think. Why give in now?

Maybe he can't. But it's a shame, because consider the company.

Clemens seems so assured that people will refuse to make peace with him. He forgets that baseball and its fans really only want to make peace with themselves.

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