The Roger Clemens Trial Defense attempts to blunt impact of former bat boy

Kirk Radomski, a former batboy for the New York Mets, became a steroid supplier to a wide array of professional athletes and is considered a crucial witness for federal prosecutors. His testimony will back up Clemens’ strength and condition coach Brian McNamee’s allegations that he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH. McNamee has claimed that he secured his drugs from Radomski and, for his part, Radomski has confirmed such statements.

On cross-examination defense attorneys focused on a mailing slip that Radomski allegedly discovered under a TV set in July of 2008, nearly three years after federal agents raided and searched his home. The mailing label was addressed to “B. McNamee” and the address was Clemens’ home in Texas.

Radomski has testified that the label was torn from a shipping confirmation for a package he sent to McNamee at Clemens’s home in 2003. The package supposedly contained HGH and needles. Much to the chagrin of the prosecution the label was not dated and did not have a tracking number on it to verify any of the claims.

The problem is this conflicts with other evidence put on by the prosecution showing that Clemens last took steroids in 2001 and that his wife last took HGH in 2003, to prepare for a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated.

Radomski claims to have torn off the confirmation label to put in his address book. He then said that he wasn’t sure why it had been placed in an envelope with signed photos of Clemens and Andy Pettitte, photos he intended to give to his nephew.

Radomski claimed at trial that the envelope accidentally fell under the TV. In his memoir he says otherwise, admitting to purposely hiding the envelope from federal agents. “Your testimony is that it got there accidentally. You said something totally different in your book,” defense lawyers said. “Is it a lie?” Radomski responded by saying, “I didn’t hide nothing. Why would I hide it?”

McNamee, who has yet to testify and may take the stand soon, is considered the star witness given that he is the only person who has come forward with a firsthand account of Clemens’ steroid/HGH use.

Despite the intrigue surrounding drug use and famous athletes, the trial has apparently been rather dull in person. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton admonished both sides that they need to pick up the pace given that jurors were bored. Just this past week a juror was dismissed after the judge caught him sleeping during trial.

Read: “Roger Clemens trial: Defense attacks testimony of steroid supplier Kirk Radomski,” by Del Quentin Wilber and Ann E. Marimow, published at WashingtonPost.com.

Earlier:

Roger Clemens Jury Selection—One thing is clear, both sides want women, but why?

Roger Clemens trial redux

Click HERE to read more from Lee Davis