The resemblance is startling.Photo Illustration: Getty Images, Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
As reported in today’s Post, Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte isn’t taking the latest developments in the Roger Clemens steroid scandal well. If you haven’t been keeping up on your steroid news, Pettitte’s testimony against his best friend Clemens went a long way in corroborating the accusations of Brian McNamee, the trainer who claims to have injected Clemens with steroids and HGH. “I hate it, there is nothing else to say. You all know how I feel about it,” Pettitte told reporters as the Yankees trained in Tampa, Florida. “Whenever you testify against two guys [Clemens as well as McNamee] who are your friends it’s extremely difficult.” Now that the FBI is officially investigating Clemens and many expect him to be charged with perjury, it’s likely that Pettitte will be forced to testify once again. But in light of his shaky emotions, one wonders whether he will be able to summon the fortitude, when it comes down to it, to put Clemens in jail.
This whole situation reminds us of the fated Mafia capo Frank Pentangeli from The Godfather: Part II. His testimony was expected to be the key evidence in a perjury case against his former friend and boss, godfather Michael Corleone. At the trial, however, a shrewd Corleone flew in Pentangeli’s brother from Italy, whose mere presence and disapproving glare shamed Frank into changing his mind. He recanted his original story and ruined the government’s case against Corleone. Then he killed himself in a bathtub. Now, we’re definitely not advocating that Pettitte commit ritualistic suicide (God knows we need his arm this year). But with Clemens’s options looking extremely thin, we wouldn’t be surprised if his lawyers were searching for Pettitte’s brother from the Old Country as we speak. —Dan Amira
Pettitte’s Pain [NYP]
