How do we know he wasn't cheating from 86-92, then stopped after he got a guaranteed contract, then started again in mid1996 for his contract run?
Someone said it looks like he started juicing in the 96-97 offseason? I remember reading here years ago that he missed 20 days in the middle of the 96 season, then came back and pitched like Cy Roger for the rest of the year. The claim was the 20 days of was enough time to do a cycle.
Bingo. 1996 is the key. I think people forget how terrible he was for most of that season.
On Aug.1, 1996, Clemens went 5 innings against KC, allowing 11 hits and 7 runs and getting the loss, which dropped his record to
4-11, 4.36 ERA. His arm angle had noticeably dropped as well. There is no overstating how absolutely awful he was in the 1996 season. He looked cooked.He was 33 years old, out of shape, with a million miles on his arm.
He then missed 10 days. He made his next start on Aug. 11. From Aug. 11 through the end of the season, he went 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA, 89/29 K/BB ratio, which was twice as good as it had been up to that point in the season.
I firmly believe, and always have believed, that it was during this 10 day period that he either started or went back to some sort of juicing in a desperate attempt to improve his numbers going into his FA year.
Then he was either stupid enough or had enough gall to take what was clearly a complimentary statement by Duquette and turn it into some personal insult, mentioning it to the media at every opportunity as if he was the one who had been insulted after essentially taking the 1996 season off.
So he can piss up a rope.