Roger Clemens wants us to believe him. He desperately wants us to believe him. He wants us to believe him so much that his newest public relations firm arranged for him to do a telephone interview on an ESPN morning show with Greeny and Goley on the day of publication of a new book detailing Clemens’ alleged use of illegal performance-enhancing substances.

But Clemens shattered his credibility with his own words. The seven-time Cy Young award winner has done that a lot in his attempt to shake the circumstantial evidence from his shoulders that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

In this instance he enlisted his family as a reason why he has never used that bad stuff, that is, steroids.

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Baseball’s revolving door is in full swing. In comes Alex Rodriguez, out goes Manny Ramirez.

Rodriguez didn’t miss the Yankees’ first 28 games because he had been suspended for using steroids, but earlier this year he admitted testing positive for steroids in 2003 when Major League Baseball tested players for survey purposes, that is, to determine if there was a reason for them to be tested every year for disciplinary purposes.

His failed test and the public disclosure of it earned him entry into the mushrooming membership of the Hall of Ignominy. Ramirez became the latest member last Thursday when he was suspended for 50 games for using a women’s fertility drug that is banned by Major League Baseball.

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Will Rogers, it is said, never met a man he didn’t like. Selena Roberts never met an anonymous source she didn’t quote.

Roberts has written a book about Alex Rodriguez, and it is a journalistic abomination. That phrase probably won’t appear in any advertisement for the book, but it should to alert prospective readers what they would be getting.

I use the word journalistic rather than literary for two reasons: 1, the book grew out of a Sports Illustrated project; 2, Roberts has been a newspaper and magazine reporter and columnist and as such has practiced the craft of journalism. Based on the book, however, she needs a lot more practice.

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