Roger Clemens Denies New Book's Claims, Calls Contents "Garbage"

Right in time with the release of a book (coincidence, for sure) on Roger Clemens entitled "American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime", the Rocket himself has re-surfaced to deny any and all mud being slung his way.

The book, which was written by four New York Daily News reporters, reportedly ends up concluding that "Clemens had lied last year in a deposition and at [a Congressional] hearing." The New York Times provided some more specifics on the claims being made:

"we believe the evidence strongly suggests that Brian McNamee told the truth when he said he injected his longtime friend and employer with steroids and human growth hormone."

"That evidence," they continue, "also leads us to believe that Clemens lied when he testified under oath that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs."

Clemens, not known to be one to take accusations sitting idly, went on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" show Tuesday and proceeded to fire back. Here's some choice tidbits:

On potentially damning evidence from his former trainer, Brian McNamee: "Impossible, because he's never given me any," Clemens said. "He's never given me HGH or any performance-enhancing drugs."

On a conversation he supposedly had with teammate Andy Pettitte about steroid: Pettitte "misremembers".

As for A-Rod: "I just wish him the best."

On the Mannygate topic, the Rocket ducked that line-drive, indicating "he didn't know the 'exact details' of Ramirez's suspension".

And last but not least, the book itself, Clemens referred to its contents as "garbage" and emphasized just how difficult it is for him to "defend a negative". The full story can be found here.