New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte testified Wednesday in Roger Clemens' federal perjury trial that there was a 50-50 chance he had misheard his friend and former teammate say he used human growth hormone. In a second day of cross-examination by the defense, Pettitte said he might have misunderstood Clemens when the ace pitcher told him in 1999 or 2000 that he had used human growth hormone to recover from injury. Years later, Clemens told Pettitte he had been referring to his wife Debbie's use of the drug during the conversation. “As you sit here today, if you think about it in your own mind, it's 50-50. You might have heard it, or you might have misunderstood him. Is that fair?” defense attorney Mike Attanasio asked. “I'd say that's fair,” Pettitte said. The admission prompted lawyers for Clemens to ask that Pettitte's testimony about the critical conversation be struck, since the pitcher cannot be sure of what he heard. Pettitte's testimony is considered crucial to the government's case and having part of it struck - particularly his testimony about the HGH conversation with Clemens - would be considered a major blow to the prosecution. Also Tuesday, Pettitte said he had not told Clemens about being injected with human growth hormone in 2002 and injecting himself with the drug in 2004, both times to deal with injuries. Clemens was not present at the injections, Pettitte said shortly before his testimony wrapped up midmorning. Clemens, 49, is being tried for a second time on federal charges of lying to the House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about whether he used anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. The panel was investigating drug use in Major League Baseball. Clemens, a seven-time winner of the Cy Young award, baseball's highest annual honor for a pitcher, is among the biggest baseball names linked to alleged drug use. In a setback for the defense, US District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that Clemens' lawyers could not touch on why his former trainer, Brian McNamee, had been let go by the Yankees in 2001.
