I don’t want to get into a deep debate about the Mitchell Report or anything directly related to it, but I did want to chime in and not only express my opinions on what I saw on 60 Minutes Sunday night, but get others’ thoughts as well.

I watched it twice, and some of it three and four times, and if I someone asked me what I’d say to Clemens if I had the chance, here’s what would spew out of my mouth, nothing more, nothing less:

“I don’t believe you.”

I base that on several things, starting with my doubts that Brian McNamee would be inclined to do anything but tell the truth about what took place, considering the ramifications involved for him on a federal level. There appears to have been nothing at all for him to gain by implicating Clemens, and a lot to lose if he lied.

Clemens was asked if he thought taking a polygraph test would help him prove his innocence, and instead of replying that he’d be more than willing to take one at any point since there is no possible way that it could hurt his attempt to clear his name, he doubted that it would help at all, responding “I don’t know, Mike, would it?”

C’mon, Roger. Passing a polygraph would go a long ways. They are very helpful in many venues, especially in instances such as this. The problem with them is that they aren’t 100 percent reliable and therefore inadmissible in a legal court.

This isn’t about what the legal system will accept. I, and a think a lot of fans of baseball around the world, would accept it as a large piece of evidence that Clemens is telling the truth and that inexplicably, McNamee’s detailed claims are nothing but fabrications.

I know as a fan of the game that if Clemens passed a polygraph that was given and analyzed by a party chosen by a neutral source, I would be much more likely to believe his denials than I am right now.

Every piece of evidence there is, including his CBS interview with Mike Wallace, points toward Clemens, the greatest pitcher of the last forty years - if not of all time - being a lying, cheating punk.

He continually aimed the conversation toward aspects of the subject that allowed him to steer clear of the most damning of questions and the potential answers those inquiries may bring.

“If he’s doing that to me, I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead. I should be pulling tractors with my teeth,” he said.

Whatever.

And then this doozy:

“If I have these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, where did I get ‘em?” he said. “Where is the person out there (who) gave ‘em to me? Please, please come forward.”

Umm, Roger, he did. Where have you been, man? And you do have needles and drugs, you said so yourself that you had taken Lidocaine and B-12 injections via needles, administered by McNamee.

And if Clemens is suggesting that there is no paper trail to him buying any of the banned substances in question, that proves nothing. They easily could have been stolen rather than purchased, or bought by a third or fourth party to ensure anonymity.

And then my favorite:

“Why didn’t I keep doing it if it was so good for me? Why didn’t I break down? Why didn’t my tendons turn to dust?”

Why didn’t you keep doing it? Because the league began to crack down on it around the time you allegedly appeared to halt your usage, and in 2004 the league began suspending players for their positive tests after a silent “Survey Testing” program in 2003, where the results would not be made public.

Why didn’t you break down? Dude, again, what planet are you on? You haven’t pitched a full season since 2005, oddly the first season in which HGH was deemed illegal by baseball law (even though there is no test for it at this time), and have pitched just 215 innings combined over the past two years. So, in short, Roger, you DID break down.

As for why your tendons didn’t turn to dust, well, maybe that didn’t happen because your name is not Wile E. Coyote and this isn’t Looney Tunes.

But Clemens has lost velocity each year over the last three seasons, and the reason his friends are anonymously citing in newspaper interviews this winter as to why he is indeed going to retire is that his body is succumbing to - and not responding to - the injuries the way it used to.

That sure sounds like the text book definition of breaking down to me.

What a sad state of affairs the game has turned into. The greatest hitter and pitcher of the last several generations may very well have cheated to get there. And while they certainly aren’t alone (for all we know, the second, third, fourth and fifth best of the last few decades may have been on HGH and/or steroids, too), it’s much more of a punch in the face when it’s the two very best.

The M’s aren’t acquiring Jason Bay and Ian Snell.

At least not anytime in the near future.

Contrary to what some are reporting, it appears that the conversations between the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates never went past the introductory stages and unless the Mariners get even dumber, or the Pirates front office decides to be even halfway realistic, there is no chance of anything getting done.

The Mariners could use right-hander Ian Snell, but have less of a need for Jason Bay, a right-handed hitting outfielder coming off a bit of a down season.

“We’ve talked to them about one of those guys, too,” said an AL East team’s representative, “and they aren’t ready to make a deal. They are asking for the sun and the moon, and neither player is that kind of talent. I don’t know what they said to Seattle, but when they are ready to deal either player, they’ll come way down or nobody is going to take them seriously.”

In other words, there is no way they are going to rip the ultra blue-chip package that rumors are suggesting that they are starting at - and have yet to come down from.

Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, Brandon Morrow and Carlos Triunfel? All of them?

Whatever.

Snell is a No. 3 starter at best in the AL, and Bay, while a good, solid player who isn’t costing a ton of money just yet, isn’t the special player that would warrant giving up that kind of prospect package.

How long might it take for Jones to surpass Bay in terms of overall value to the Mariners? A couple years, maybe?

And Snell, while not arbitration eligible until after 2008, isn’t the frontline arm that pushes the Mariners over the top. Not even close.

Quality organizations with smart baseball people don’t trade three ready talents and a blue chipper in the making for a borderline all-star but-not-superstar corner outfielder and a No. 3-4 starting pitcher, unless they are the final pieces to the puzzle. And even then you have to cut that package back by the two lesser prospects, at least.

There seems to be a consensus when it comes to the debate concerning right-hander Brandon Morrow, but only if the Seattle Mariners brass is left off the voting bureau.

While GM Bill Bavasi all but guaranteed Morrow’s presence on the club’s 2008 25-man roster, he’s making a mistake – again. So says a number of team representatives in baseball.

Morrow was mishandled a year ago, and it’s apparent that the Mariners will follow in their own footsteps and do it again this season.

“If they think he can start, yeah, it’s absurd to be honest,” said a scout from an AL West rival club. “I really respect Bill and that ballclub and he (Morrow) will help them from the bullpen, but it’s at the cost of Morrow’s future as a part of their rotation.

“If they were flush with starters going forward for the next several years, then it makes a little sense, but all you do by using him in relief is make him a reliever. He can’t learn to start if he’s not starting.”

Ok, well, what if he’s given the fifth spot in the rotation?

“Better for him, and the club in the long run, than it would be for him to spend the year in the pen again. But for his future as a starting pitcher, the pitcher needs to be able to work on things – command, repeating a fluid delivery, secondary stuff – while not having to worry about hurting the big club’s chase in the division.

Morrow’s seven starts in Venezuela didn’t change another scout’s mind about where he should start the 2008 season, citing the obvious need to improve his breaking ball as the most critical of things for the 23-year-old to accomplish.

“His fastball command was actually pretty solid and consistent down there,” said the International Scouting Director for an NL Central club, “though he hasn’t any consistency with the command of his other offerings. His slider was pretty good at times and flat others. It seemed he had to remind himself why he was there and that it was okay to throw the changeup more than once in an at-bat.

“I really like his stuff and his mechanics are decent. The velocity comes pretty easy for him and that bodes well for his future as a starter, but he needs 150 innings to get that slider up to par. The change can be a work-in-progress, but to get through six innings up there, you have to be able to change speeds and give the hitters different looks at different levels of the zone.”

Morrow finished the Winter League season with 36 1/3 innings pitched over seven starts. He allowed 34 hits for a .243 batting average against, four home runs, and walked just eight batters. Morrow fanned 31 and allowed just 11 earned runs, including only two in his last three outings that spanned 16 1/3 innings.

The numbers are strong, but they mean zip. Afterall, the level of bats in the Venezuela is somewhere in the vicinity of those in the Triple-A leagues in the states.

What did Morrow really look like in Venezuela?

“He looked like a kid that knew he could get by on the fastball, but was struggling with a consistent second pitch,” said the AL West scout. It’s only a month’s worth of starts or so, and the action on his pitches were occasionally sharp, showing he can get there. He’ll just need time to shine them up.

“He registered 95 (mph) on numerous occasions and his slider was usually in the 86-88 range. His change was below average but he seemed willing to throw it for the most part, and that’s enough to lead me to believe he has a chance to develop a useful one.”

Overall, Morrow’s time in Venezuela was a success, since he certainly needs as much time to develop his repertoire as possible. But it may have been detrimental in the end if the M’s are going to presume that his 36 frames versus minor leaguers in the winter league is enough to convince them that he’s ready.

“No, he’s not ready for that at all. I mean, it’s not like he’d get shelled every time out, but he could blow up in enough of them (starts) to really hurt them in the long run. I don’t think he needs two years in Triple-A to get ready; I think a year developing the slider is enough. That could probably get him to the point where he’s a great option in the 4-5 slot as he turns his change into a better pitch.

“If he can command an average slider that he can throw when behind in the count, he’s got enough fastball to be successful. If he adds the change or a drop-off split that creates enough differential (off the fastball) to an average or better breaking ball and that plus fastball, he’s a frontline guy. But he’s really nowhere near that right now, and I’d doubt he ever gets quite that far.”

I opine that Morrow’s ceiling is as a No. 3 starter in the AL who may occasionally flash the dominance of a No. 1 but lack the consistency of a No. 2. Most scouts tend to agree with that, and very few have said they think he’s more than that.

Click Here to get the Brandon Morrow Scouting Report