Iwakuma 00740314

01/28/2008 5:30 PM ET
Knoblauch agrees to talk to Congress
Former second baseman will speak with a House committee
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com








WASHINGTON -- Chuck Knoblauch has agreed to give testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee both privately and later at a public hearing on Feb. 13, the two Congressional leaders of that committee said in a joint statement released on Monday.
Knoblauch, whose deposition or taped interview had been scheduled for Tuesday, has had it postponed for the second time and is now rescheduled for Saturday.

The former Yankees and Twins second baseman, who was named in the Mitchell Report, was invited to appear along with ex-teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, plus Brian McNamee, once Clemens' personal trainer, and Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse employee. When Knoblauch didn't immediately respond to the invitation, a subpoena was issued requiring his presence.

"We are pleased that Mr. Knoblauch has agreed to voluntarily participate in a transcribed interview or deposition with the Committee," said Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ranking Minority Member Tom Davis, a Republican from Virginia. "As a result, the Committee is withdrawing the subpoena."

Regarding the private testimony, Pettitte is the first one scheduled to appear this coming Wednesday. Clemens is slated for Feb. 5 and McNamee is on the docket two days later. Radomski has pleaded guilty to selling drugs illicitly and money laundering in the wide federal net that exposed the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8. Thus, the date of his deposition or taped interview still has not been announced.

Knoblauch was named on page 177 of the report assembled by former Sen. George Mitchell analyzing the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball as one of the players to whom McNamee provided human growth hormone in 2001.

McNamee said in the report that he injected Knoblauch "seven to nine times" from Spring Training through the early part of the season.

Knoblauch has yet to comment publicly about the allegations. Since the report was issued on Dec. 13, Pettitte has acknowledged that McNamee injected him with HGH twice.

Otherwise, the greater issue at stake is the varying statements by Clemens and McNamee about whether the seven-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher actually used steroids or HGH during a period from 1998-2001. Under an agreement with the federal prosecutor's office -- which stipulated he could face criminal charges for making false statements -- McNamee told Mitchell that he had injected Clemens multiple times with performance-enhancing substances.

Clemens, either through his attorney or his own public statements, has categorically denied taking those drugs, saying instead he had been injected with Vitamin B-12 and lidocaine.

Clemens' agents released an 18,000-word statistical report on Monday attempting to make the case that his longevity as a pitcher was the result of adjustments he made in his game rather than the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens, 45, concluded his 24th season in the Major Leagues in 2007.


Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.