Stepping Up To The Plate

In a statement released through his agent Randy Hendricks, Andy Pettitte has admitted to using HGH on 2 occasions in 2002. The use occurred while Andy was on the DL rehabbing an elbow injury and was looking to get back on the field to help his ballclub. This admission pretty much confirms the details of his use as outlined in the Mitchell Report. It also I'm afraid lends a lot more credence to the statements made by Brian McNamee about Roger Clemens. Things are looking worse and worse for the Rocket. Pettitte's admission does nothing to help his case. If anything, it sets him back. Way way back. It's out of here.
I applaud Pettitte for stepping up to the plate and being a man about this. I can understand why he did what he did. I honestly don't think he did it to gain a competitive edge. Andy has a reputation for being a stand-up guy. As he says in his statement, "I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context. People that know me will know that what I say is true." Andy, I believe you.
Now I don't know the circumstances that led up to Pettitte deciding to use HGH. This is 2002 we're talking about here. It sounds like Andy got some bad advice about how to rehab that injury faster. He says in his statement, "I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow." To me it doesn't sound like he even really knew what HGH was. To me it almost sounds as if it may have been suggested to him as a means to get back on the field faster. I don't think he's going to come out and say that he did and implicate someone advising him to use HGH. Oh I dunno, like say his buddy Roger.
Andy also says in his statement, "Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped. This is it -- two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list. Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful. I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn't looking for an edge; I was looking to heal. If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication."
If what Pettitte says in his statement is true, and I believe that he is, he is absolutely right about these 2 days of bad judgment not ruining his "lifetime of hard work and dedication." I can't see how anybody, even the most staunchest of Pettitte haters, can hold this against him. How can you not respect him for coming out and admitting his wrongdoing, which again at the time, wasn't even wrong? Pettitte's name doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, and Clemens.
As he said in his statement, "I wasn't looking for an edge; I was looking to heal."
J