Clemens Hearing Report Card: Andy Pettitte

The Clemens hearing is over now, and the assorted parties have retreated. The Clemens Hearing Report Card will assess the key players' performances in a way that has about as much to do with baseball as the hearing itself. Up next: Andy Pettitte!

If you've been following As The Rocket Squirms for as long as I have, you doubtlessly know that Andy Pettitte wasn't on Capitol Hill for today's hearings. It's a shame he wasn't there because no one came off smelling rosier.

Rep. Henry Waxman: "Mr. Pettitte's honesty makes him a role model, on and off the field."

Rep. Elijah Cummings called him "one of the most respected players in the major leagues and one of the most honest people in baseball." Roger Clemens agreed with that statement. Cummings, who came off better than most of his colleagues on this day, came back at the end to say that Pettitte's deposition discredited Clemens.
It really did. Pettitte, and his wife Laura, recounted times when Clemens said he and his wife used HGH. We know she did, which makes Rocket's denials of the former that much harder to believe. More than anything else in this interminable ordeal, Pettitte's deposition was the clearest, most concise statement entered into the public record.

Here's the thing, though. Pettitte should have been there to say these things himself. He's got no excuse for not being there beside a lack of courage to repeat what he said about Clemens in front of Clemens. He gets an A for impact but an F for spine.

Andy Pettitte: C

More FanHouse Coverage:
Roger Clemens Hearing Live Blog Part 1 | Part 2
The More Talk About Andy Pettitte, The Worse It Gets for Roger Clemens
The Dugout: An Account To God