YOU BEEN BLINDED

Davey Johnson Thinks Roger Clemens Juiced

Former MLB manager Davey Johnson is known as a man that will give you an honest answer.. Even when he shouldn’t. Johnson granted the Daily News an interview and talked openly about Dwight Gooden, the death of his daughter, and performance enhancing drugs in baseball. Davey’s thoughts on steroids and users came after a seemingly harmless question about Roger Clemens pitching for the Olympic team.

DN: There has been much speculation that Roger Clemens might pitch for Team USA in the Olympics. Do you see that happening?

DJ: No. No possibility. He’s probably good enough to go out and throw BP and get people out, but for me, you’ve got to be competing. I want guys who are playing their best right now, in a league. I don’t want some guy who has been off for three months.

DN: Did you watch the Clemens-McNamee congressional hearing? Who did you believe?

DJ: You know who I believed. Roger Clemens was a great pitcher. He pitched by intimidating. Try to get an edge, look at you. He’d hit his grandmother if he thought it would help him win a game. You’ve got to admire what he’s done. But he’s in that group where you’ve got to believe that anything he would do to make himself better, he’s going to do. I just think the deal in those hearings - that’s just his personality. He’s going to try to intimidate: “I’m coming through here and you’re not going to get in my way.”

Davey doesn’t sound like he’s to big on The Rocket, but he says one thing that’s true of people, not just Roger Clemens or ballplayers. People are gonna do whatever they can to get to the top. If that means taking roids, cheating on tests, stealing, whatever, human nature is to do that shit.. But if you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, own up to it. It worked out for Jason Giambi.

DJ drops gems all over this interview, and another classic came when he was asked if he was aware of performance enhancing drug use when he was a MLB manager. He says Brady Anderson was a workout fiend, and Rafael Palmiero had a soft body, so he never suspected either of using roids. He apparently didn’t think Jim Leyritz was on anything either even after this incident:

When I was managing the Dodgers, we picked up Jim Leyritz and he was making this concoction in the clubhouse kitchen. I said, “What are you doing?” He said, “I’m making a little something to pep the club up.” He had all these powders and cans and stuff. He gave me a shot of it. My heart started jumping out of my damn chest, and I didn’t have but a thimbleful. I was taking medicine for arrhythmia. I asked him what it was, he said mostly Red Bull with some other kickers in there.

Red Bull and kickers? I think Red Bull and amphetamines is the appropriate term. Leyritz must not have put enough ‘kickers’ in the mix because the team’s uninspired play led to Davey Johnson being fired after two seasons.. Weird bit of foreshadowing with Leyritz nearly killing Davey Johnson with a drink.

Davey Johnson tells of Mets days, steroids, and Olympic dreams. Courtesy of the Daily News

Davey Johnson, MLB, Roger Clemens, steroids

1. ROGER CLEMENS TALKS TO BRIAN MCNAMEE...
2. New Clemens Report Questions McNamee’s Credibility...
3. ROGER CLEMENS FINALLY SPEAKS ON THE MITCHELL REPORT...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.