Sweeney: "No. 29 was Clean"

Reading Jeffrey Flanagan's article in the Star this morning, you get the feeling that Mike Sweeney wasn't holding his breathe as the Mitchell Report was released. Here's a little of what he told Flanagan:

"Maybe now people will really believe me," Sweeney said by phone from California. "People now know that No. 29 was clean. And if I've played my last game with the Royals, you don't have to put an asterisk by any of my stats."

Here's another quote from the article:

"I shouldn't have to worry about what other people say or do," he said. "But it did bother me when I would hear it. I mean, I put my hand on the Bible and my hand on my son's head and swore I didn't take steroids."

To read the rest of the article, here's a link: Maybe now people will believe Sweeney didn't use steroids.

Back in June of 2006, when the Jason Grimsley story first broke, I happened to be in the Royals clubhouse to interview a couple of Royals' players for a magazine I was working for. When reporters began to ask Sweeney about Grimsley, I joined them. Compare what Sweeney said in the second quote above to what he said on the day the Grimsley story broke:

Q: Can you give us a perspective about what really goes on in a clubhouse (regarding steroids)?

A: "Sure. All I can do is speak for myself. I'm proud—I'd place my hand on the Bible or on my children and say I've never used a greenie, I've never used steroids, never used growth hormone, never done anything that would give me an edge. And I'm proud to say that. As far as my teammates go, if I ever had any knowledge of them, I love them, I would never sell them out publicly. To my knowledge, I know I've never done anything and I love Jason Grimsley and I want to support him through this."

Here's a link to the Q & A with Sweeney that day.