(Bonds and Clemens, about to visit with Bud Selig)

And so it begins, Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel lays into the The Franchise himself, Rocket Roger, and he opens with the race card:

Year after year he peddled the same garbage, Roger Clemens was so dominant for so long because he simply outworked everyone. It played to the nation’s Puritan roots, made Clemens out to be this everyman maximizing his skills through singular focus, dedication and a commitment to drinking carrot juice, or something.

It’s all gone now, the legend of Rocket Roger dead on arrival of the Mitchell Report; one of the greatest pitchers of all time, his seven Cy Youngs and 354 career victories lost to history under a pile of lies and syringes.

Clemens was injected with performance-enhancing drugs and human growth hormones by his former trainer starting in 2000 and continuing many times through the years, trainer Brian McNamee told George Mitchell in great detail.

Baseball has its white Barry Bonds.

I could see baseball’s writers blocking Bonds from ever getting into the Hall, but Clemens? Does anyone think they have the stomach to ban the white guy the way they would Bonds? One thing’s for sure, only Clemens’ inclusion on the list could have altered the picture so much that Bonds is no longer the “tragic figure” Bob Costas has called him, but one of many in an era. When the Federal obstruction case against Bonds comes to court, you can bet you’re going to hear Clemens’ name every time you hear Bonds’. In the end, Bob Feller notwithstanding, I think the veterans committee or whoever votes people in as a last ditch effort will induct Bonds and Clemens. These two are the Leopold and Loeb of baseball, and you’ll never hear their names separately again.