Leave it to Jose Canseco.
The muscle-bound, steroid-using meathead now has another title to add to his lengthy resume -- whistleblower.
We have been hearing rumblings of a tell-all book from Canseco for quite a while now, and until recently, the idea was laughed at. In the eyes of many observers, Canseco has less credibility than a three-card monte dealer in the Bronx.
However, now that "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big" is out, it has spawned speculation with regard to some of the biggest names in the game, including possible Hall of Famers Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Raphael Palmeiro and, most notably, former Oakland teammate and "Bash Brother" Mark McGwire.
While critics have scoffed at Canseco as an unreliable source, the backlash to the publication of the book is possibly even more telling.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz has dug up quotes from the late '80s attributed to former A's coaches, including current St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa and First Base Coach Dave McKay, which show that both men were trying to cover for Canseco, claiming that his weight gain was attributable to a "great work ethic" and that no one on the A's "was on drugs".
Now both men have backtracked, with LaRussa stridently defending McGwire's own "work ethic" (haven't heard that one before) and McKay saying that Canseco was the "lone exception" in the A's clubhouse, making him out to be some kind of steroid-using cowboy.
Unfortunately, these assurances are tough to swallow. If these men covered for Canseco back then, why wouldn't they continue to protect McGwire now? And McKay's new defense is laughable. Canseco was the "lone exception?" How can McKay know if he wasn't privy to Canseco's steroid abuse in the first place? That's like saying that you're "only" going to play one game of pong on an off night. Whether you realize it or not, there is a strong possibility that there will be more.
Also, the popular idea circulating throughout the mass media that weight training and steroid abuse are mutually exclusive is appalling. Canseco even mentions that any person can go down to a corner gym and purchase steroids if he or she is so inclined.
If steroids sold at the gym, wouldn't it stand to reason that the big time users are those people already working out a lot? To say that Canseco's lack of training spurred his steroid use is one thing, but to promote the notion that McGwire definitely wasn't using just because he had a strenuous workout regimen is ludicrous.
While Canseco is certainly a person of low moral fiber, as well as someone in dire need of counseling and a facial tic specialist, the counter arguments presented by his detractors are not nearly as compelling as they initially seem.
Sure, Canseco could be fabricating the entire ordeal. Or, the anecdotes within the book could be true. While reality probably lies somewhere in the middle, baseball needs to take a good, long look in the mirror, for the day when Jose Canseco can sell me on his story almost as well as his critics can on their defense is a sad day -- a sad day for advocacy, a sad day for argument and a sad day for the sport in general.
