Harold, that is simply your speculation on the motive, unsupported by any facts. That doesn’t even make sense, as the syringes supposedly came from around 2002 and there was no prosecution against Clemens at that time. So there would be no leverage there regarding the syringes.

Further, McNamee is NOT the only witness against Clemens. There is probably a long list that hasn’t been disclosed yet. And we know that Pettitte and Segui are going to testify for the government. I think even Pettitte’s wife will testify.

Let me guess, you are a Yankees fan. Mostly it seems to be Yankees fans who call McNamee a “rat.”

And I think the motive for his cooperation will ultimately work in McNamee’s favor because hasn’t it been Clemens’ position all along that McNamee kept the syringes in order to just extort money later down the road from him? McNamee didn’t come forward to make money, get famous, or out of revenge or a grudge against Clemens. And he knew that if the government caught him a lie they would turn around and charge him.

McNamee’s motives already came under fire during the congressional hearings where some of the Republicans tried to viciously attack him. And despite the fact that there was no judge there to moderate those attacks, I think he came off quite well and very sincere and convincing. And I think this is an indication of how he’ll come off as a witness during Clemens trial as well. He’s probably much more savvy today than he was a few years ago too. Ultimately, it is the demeanor and behavior of the witness that the jurors take very seriously. I think McNamee will make a better witness than Steve Hoskins did.

The most you’ll see on this point from the feds is, on direct examination of McNamee, they’ll walk him through the deal with the government so as to raise this issue first. In order to bolster his credibility they’ll have him testify about the nature of the deal, that he had not been charged with anything, etc. It will help. And the defense’s attacks won’t necessarily be fatal.

Finally: we have to remember something: Clemens spent a long time trying to have McNamee’s statements characterized as defamation. It was a dumb attempt, but recall that the way those claims got dropped was that McNamee argued that the statements were compelled by the government. In other words: they forced him to talk. In light of that, he can’t very well claim that the government didn’t compel him to testify here.

Why wouldn’t the prosecution then counter with someone like Novitzky, who would tell the jury the maximum charges McNamee would have faced. And since Radomski didn’t even get any jail time, and he was by leaps and bounds a bigger dealer than McNamee (who only sold to his own clients who hired him as a trainer), the charges would probably be relatively minor and entail only probation. Novitzky, according to reports, was a very good witness.

As Craig pointed out his credibility will be an issue. Add to that, the part of this sorted tale about him saving the syringe that he allegedly used on Clemens. That is going to bring his integrity into question. The only reason he’d have to save the syringe is in the event that he need it to bargain his way out of something with law enforcement. It’s not like he was ever going to auction it on ebay or sell it at a memorabilia show.

Regardless of whether one thinks Clemens used PEDs or not, whether you like him or not the sole witness against him, McNamee is not without his short comings. He comes across as a self serving rat that premeditatedly positioned himself so that he wasn’t going to get hurt. That doesn’t mean he’s not telling the truth but it does presents valid concerns about his character.

If the prosecution expects to win this I hope they have more evidence than McNamee to corroborate his story.

That’s how it will be portrayed anyway. The more uncertain McNamee’s fate, the more leeway the defense has to portray it as potentially serious. And no prosecution witness will get on the stand to say that they wouldn’t have gone hard on him, because they simply don’t do that.

This is about the jury’s perception. Not about what real jeopardy McNamee faced.

Also, we’re not talking cocaine or heroin here. These are PEDs, more of concern to sports fans like me than to law & order citizens worrying about crime on the streets.

I’m not saying that is the end of the story. There are also a lot of reasons to believe him as well. I’m merely saying that you cannot discount the fact that McNamee’s credibility is going to be a big deal here. Indeed, it’s probably the only shot Clemens has, so they’re going to go after him hard.

Radomski didn’t even get any jail time for his guilty plea, and compared to Radomski, McNamee was small potatoes.