Justin Verlander answers Jack Clark's PED use accusation, calls it 'moronic'

Jack Clark, former MLB first baseman and current St. Louis sports talk radio host, accused Justin Verlander of using PED's (Albert Pujols as well). Clark's evidence convicting the Tigers' ace? An imagined lack of velocity on Verlander's fastball after signing a contract extension which made the 30 year old right-hander the highest paid pitcher in the game .

"He got that big contract, now he can barely reach 92, 93. What happened to it? He has no arm problems, nothing’s wrong. It’s just the signs are there.

"The greed ... they juice up, they grab the money and it’s just a free pass to steal is the way I look at it."

An angry Verlander spoke to the media about Clark's accusations this afternoon, all but calling the WGNU-AM show host  a liar and his claim of PED use completely unfounded.

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News has the money quotes.

"Obviously, right now I’m pretty upset," Verlander said, standing in front of his locker within the Tigers’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, where the Tigers were to meet New York in a Friday night game. "Clearly, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about."

The Tigers' ace then used stronger wording for Clark's surprising claim.

"Clearly, he didn’t see me pitch," said Verlander, who used the word "moronic" to describe Clark’s rant. "He doesn’t even know me."

Verlander also hinted at legal action.

Verlander hesitated when asked if Clark’s accusations might prompt action by Verlander’s attorney. He later allowed, "Could be, yeah."

All along Verlander has stressed his inconsistency this season was caused by a mechanical issue, which he says have now been solved.  Clark's claims of reduced velocity were already answered in Verlander's last start, his fastball touching triple digits in a dominant eight inning, four hit, one run victory over the Indians on Tuesday.