Clemens in tough spot of trying to prove himself innocent

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's a little backward from what our Founding Fathers wanted.

But, whatever, here we are in a world where Roger Clemens and others are presumed guilty until proven innocent in the court of public opinion based on evidence in George Mitchell's report that, while detailed, could not convict in a court of law.

That said, what can Clemens do now? Well, according to a variety of legal experts, his first and perhaps best chance at self-defense already has passed.

"If we were representing Roger Clemens," says Tom Buchanan, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., who served as co-counsel for baseball in the Pete Rose investigation, and "we know this is going to be published, we would've gone in and said, 'Totally false for the following reasons: This guy's lying, I wasn't there, I was with this other guy during that time, I have a blood test from a doctor's visit I made during that time,' something.

"I just can't see any way I wouldn't have gone in there and looked the commissioner in the eye and said, 'I'm telling you this is false.' Look him right in the eye, take a polygraph, whatever. I just can't see not doing that, getting it on the record. I just don't see the benefit of standing back and doing this now."

Doing this has so far meant Clemens issuing denials to the allegations made by former trainer Brian McNamee in Mitchell's report — first through his lawyer and then in the first person. The last denial covered everything, Clemens saying he'd never used any performance-enhancing drug, ever, in his life.

That's great and all, but some now wonder whether Clemens' statements have painted him into a corner.

Among the most outspoken critics has been Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, previously a big fan of Clemens who even gave much of the credit for his own success to conversations with the seven-time Cy Young winner.

In a long post on his personal blog, Schilling essentially called for Clemens either to clear his name or surrender the four Cy Young awards he won after the alleged drug use started.

There are a couple different ways Clemens might clear his name. He could take a lie-detector test, produce medical records from the alleged time of use, or ask to testify in front of Congress along with others from baseball.