image credit: New York Times

Here are a few highlights from today’s Congressional Hearings:

An overall observation: The hearing is coming across as a highly partisan event with the Democrats more inclined to believe McNamee and the Republicans more inclined to believe Clemens. There’s no reason a hearing like this should be partisan and is telling of the present political climate. It’s a real shame. The politicians wanted this hearing to help educate kids against using steroids. How, and in what fashion, will anything learned today protect youth from these harmful substances? The hearing is on the verge of becoming a political joke.

Andy Pettitte left nothing on the table today and he wasn’t even present at the hearings. He gave a sworn deposition and an affidavit that said he had a conversation with Clemens in 1999 or 2000 about HGH. Here is how Chairman Henry Waxman introduced this damaging testimony -

“During his deposition, Mr. Pettitte told the committee that in 1999 or 2000 that, ‘Mr. Clemens told me had had taken H.G.H.’” Waxman said that Mr. Pettitte was asked if he had any doubt about that, and that Mr. Pettitte replied, “I mean, no. He told me that.”

Pettitte also admitted in a statement released today that he took HGH not only once in 2002, but again in 2004. In the 2004 incident, Pettitte swiped the HGH from his father’s stash (used for “serious cardiac conditions”) and, I guess, injected himself. Here is a statement released by Pettitte’s lawyers this morning on the issue-

“”In that affidavit, Andy informed the committee that in addition to the two shots a day of HGH he took for two days in 2002, he also took HGH for a one-day period in 2004, shortly preceding season-ending elbow surgery. Andy had not previously mentioned this usage because he acquired the substance from his father, who had obtained it without Andy’s knowledge in an effort to overcome his very serious health problems, which have included serious cardiac conditions,” the statement said. “Andy did not want his father, whom he deeply respects and loves, to be brought into this matter and sought to shield him from publicity. In both cases, Andy used HGH in a misguided effort to recover from injury.”

A few in the media are live-blogging the event. Check out David Pinto of Baseball Musings, Jason Stark of ESPN and Alan Schwarz of the Times for thorough coverage of the entire hearing.

Back with more later.