Grand Jury Gathers to Debate Indictment Of Roger Clemens; Irony Rules the Day

Roger Clemens has -- much like Mark McGwire -- kind of dissipated into the ether that is the world of sports.

But on the day that McGwire fell further behind in the chase for Cooperstown immortality, a grand jury convened to discuss a potential indictment of Clemens for lying under oath in front of Congress.

Ah, irony. You're my only friend.

Witnesses have been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury as early as this week. The jurors are expected to review evidence presented by assistant U.S. attorney Daniel P. Butler and determine whether there is probable cause to return an indictment for perjury.

Those expected to either testify in front of the grand jury or to be interviewed by Butler and FBI agents include Clemens' former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, and admitted drug supplier Kirk Radomski. Charlie Scheeler or other investigators who helped assemble the Mitchell report, Major League Baseball's inquiry into performance-enhancing drug use that first publicly identified Clemens for allegedly taking steroids, could also be called before the grand jury.

Well, I wouldn't say that's a "friendly" list of witnesses, although usually grand juries aren't looking to talk to a bunch of people who like the indictee in question.

It seems a bit premature to read too much into the timing of this whole thing, but it seems a little too coincidental that the people in charge of this grand jury business decided to talk about indicting the guy on the exact same day that every baseball writer and fan was so focused on the legacy of baseball players.