Lawyer says McNamee has evidence
Published 11:47 pm Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Brian McNamee has turned over physical evidence that Roger Clemens’ former trainer believes will show the seven-time Cy Young Award winner used performance-enhancing drugs, McNamee’s attorneys told The New York Daily News.
In the report, an anonymous source close to McNamee said the former trainer gave the Justice Department’s BALCO investigators vials with traces of steroids and growth hormone, as well as bloodstained syringes and gauze pads.
McNamee’s attorneys told the newspaper he has turned over the evidence to federal investigators but did not provide details of the evidence.
“This is evidence the government has that we believe will corroborate Brian in every significant way,” one of McNamee’s lawyers, Earl Ward, said in an article posted on the newspaper’s Web site Tuesday.
McNamee told former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens has vehemently denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs.
McNamee is scheduled to be interviewed by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform lawyers today in preparation for next week’s congressional hearing following up on the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball.
The newspaper reported Justice Department officials have sent the evidence to a lab for testing. If the materials prove to contain traces of drugs and blood, prosecutors may attempt to get a court order for a DNA sample from Clemens.
“We will provide Congress with corroborative physical evidence that takes this case out of the he-said, she-said purview,” another McNamee lawyer, Richard Emery, told the Daily News. “From our point of view, this corroborates that Brian told the truth from Day One and Clemens has not.”
McNamee kept syringes, gauze pads and vials from the 2000 and 2001 seasons because he feared Clemens would deny illicit drug use if the matter was ever investigated, according to the anonymous source cited by the newspaper.
GIANTS: Reliever Vinnie Chulk and San Francisco agreed to a $837,500 contract for this season, avoiding salary arbitration. Chulk went 5-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 57 relief appearances for the Giants last season, striking out 41 batters and walking 14 in 53 innings.
BREWERS: Dave Bush and Milwaukee agreed to a $2.55 million, one-year contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.
INDIANS: Reliever Brendan Donnelly, alleged in the Mitchell Report to have purchased steroids, agreed to a minor league contract with Cleveland and was invited to spring training.
RED SOX: Bobby Kielty, the reserve outfielder who homered for Boston in the clinching game of last year’s World Series, agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Red Sox spring training camp.
DIAMONDBACKS: Arizona promoted Brandon Lyon from setup man to closer. The 28-year-old right-hander will replace Jose Valverde, who was traded to Houston after saving a major league-high 47 games last year.
RANGERS: Texas introduced Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan as team president. The 61-year-old Ryan will be in charge of baseball operations.
METS: The house lights dimmed, music was turned up and a video montage of Johan Santana highlights started rolling on a screen so wide you could almost see the seams on every pitch.
Every minute or so, the string of strikeouts was interrupted by a famous New Yorker welcoming Santana to the Big Apple. There was Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Seinfeld.
The Mets spent big money on their new ace last week and then choreographed a lavish introduction at Shea Stadium’s Diamond Club.
“It’s a new chapter in my career,” Santana said. “I’m going to make my time here special.”
