After listening to Andy Pettitte yesterday, it's easy to understand why the Congressional committee that conducted last week's steroid hearing found him to be believable.

Pettitte was contrite and, as far as I could tell, candid as he faced reporters for nearly an hour, answering most questions. One that he dodged probed the apparent disconnect between how he and Roger Clemens recollect conversations about human growth hormone.

One of the most refreshing things Pettitte said was that he did not feel he was a "victim." He accepts without resentment that the uncomfortable position in which he finds himself is his own doing -- brief flings with hGH in 2002 and 2004 to help recover from injuries put him there.

"I hope nobody else has to go through this," Pettitte said.

Obviously, Pettitte's humility and contrition stand starkly against the defiance and, some might argue, hubris Clemens has shown since December.

But here's the thing: While Pettitte probably will win public support because of his unassuming honesty, Clemens -- with an opposite demeanor -- might yet be telling the truth as well.

If he isn't, that cloak of pride and outrage he has been wearing will make the plunge from grace all the steeper.