Lay Off Canseco

Hey kids,
Here's my take on Jose Canseco's book on steroids, in response to Todd's Takes from last week's Coyote Chronicle. Todd Coshow had absolutely nothing nice to say about Canseco's accusations, and here is my take...

"Lay Off Jose"
Mike Tursi
Sports Editor

Jose Canseco may be a lot of things, but he is no idiot. I have full respect for my friend and colleague Todd Coshow, but his insight into Canseco's book on steroids in baseball is as shallow as a drink of water.
An idiot? What better way to come back than by writing a tell-all book about the hottest scandal in sports today? Canseco is currently on a book signing tour while doing interviews fresh off a segment on CBS's "60 Minutes." He stands to make boffo bucks with little effort. He's no dummy.
At the same time, he has become the biggest public relations nightmare Major League Baseball has had to deal with since the Black Sox scandal almost a century ago. I happen to think that MLB is long overdue for a swift kick in the pants because as a traditionalist, I cringe at how easily long standing records are being broken. Had it not been for steroids, corked bats and tightly strung baseballs, Roger Maris would still hold the single season record for home runs (the asterisk not withstanding) and nobody would be talking about passing Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron.
In the middle of all this, we are supposed to think that Jose Canseco is now, all of a sudden, a villian because he's spilling the beans on baseball's dirty little secret? Preposterous. He feels that baseball betrayed him and now he's out for some sweet revenge.
Canseco contends that baseball needed steroids to create superstars in order to regain fan interest. In an interview with WFAN radio (http://www.wfan.com -look under Joe B. & Sid), he said he was encouraged to share his knowledge of and supply of performance enhancers with his peers with the blessing of his coaches and baseball's hierarchy. The self proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids" felt he was doing his duty to help his industry, and it worked.
The unrealistic home run frenzy that rescued baseball from the brink of extinction was fueled by players that have been under suspicion of steroid use throughout their careers. It was then that baseball's brain trust felt the heat, and needed to distance themselves from the possibility of scandal. That meant getting rid of Canseco.
He has been saying that the powers of baseball associated ridding baseball of steroids with ridding baseball of Jose. They were wrong.
Did baseball force Canseco to retire prematurely? Probably not. Was baseball so desperate for fan fare that they turned a blind eye on steroids? Probably.
I agree with Coshow when he says Canseco was a horrible outfielder. The irony is, Canseco feels he never would have played pro ball without anabolic assistance, and neither would many others that were under the tutelage of "Doctor Jose."
My bottom line is this, if Jose Canseco lied in his book, he would have been sued by many athletes already, but nobody is coming forward. They are content to call him a liar and hope this whole mess goes away. If Canseco does get sued, it opens up a new can of worms that many people would rather see remain closed.
Canseco did not lie in my opinion; the liars are the ones so quick to assume Canseco is out to make a buck, and nothing else. He has admitted his intentions are selfish, but revenge is a motive that might be stronger than money. If Canseco is to fall, he wants to bring down many with him.

God-damn I'm good.
What are your thoughts? Do you have thoughts? E-mail them to me, mike@turzman.com
or call the Turzman PhanFone and leave a message: 909-881-3654.

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http://www.turzman.com/turzman/links.htm

Again, e-mail all thoughts & commentaries to mike@turzman.com
or leave a message on the Turzman PhanFone- 909-881-3654.

Live long and prosper.
m.