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Pettitte: 'I am sorry' Feb. 18: Andy Pettitte says, "I am sorry for the mistakes I made," at a news conference to talk about the steroid scandal.

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Clemens claims Pettitte “misremembers.”

“I’m just not going to go there,” Pettitte said. “I’ve had to testify under oath. So has Roger. And, you know, I don’t think that’s anything I need to sit here and try to elaborate on with anyone else.”

He “prayed awfully hard” to be dropped from testifying at last Wednesday’s hearing. Pettitte was excused from testifying in public alongside Clemens and McNamee, and said he didn’t watch the hearing.

Pettitte realizes he may have to testify again, either in Clemens’ defamation suit against McNamee or if the Justice Department launches a criminal case against Clemens or McNamee.

“He can’t put this behind him because of Roger’s selfishness and inability to admit the facts,” Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said in a telephone interview. “Clemens is putting Andy in the middle of a meatgrinder again. He’s going to have to testify again in a deposition, probably this summer, and it’s going to be far more extensive than anything Congress did. He is the key witness.”

Joe Householder, Clemens’ spokesman, declined comment.

Given permission to report four days after other Yankees pitchers, Pettitte threw 35 pitches during a bullpen session at the minor league complex before the news conference. He acknowledged he had considered not playing because of the ongoing situation.

Pettitte plans to apologize to his teammates. He met with George Steinbrenner and the owner’s sons, Hank and Hal, before facing reporters.

“I just wanted to tell them face to face that I’m sorry and apologize to him, you know, for the embarrassment that this has brought,” Pettitte said. “He was a little stubborn in accepting my apology and said that he’s behind me 100 percent, tried to tell me that I haven’t brought any embarrassment to the organization. But I disagree with him a little on that.”

The 35-year-old lefty with 201 regular-season wins and four World Series championship rings said he did not feel as if his accomplishments were tainted. He said he used HGH only because he felt pressure to pitch while injured because of his multimillion salary and doesn’t consider himself a cheater because HGH wasn’t banned until 2005.

“I didn’t do it to try to get an edge on anyone. I didn’t do it to try to get stronger or faster or throw harder,” he said. “I did it because I was told that it might be able to help me.”

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