Why do I believe Jose Canseco? Because unlike the four other jokes who flip-flopped in front of our nation’s Congress on thursday, Canseco looked and acted like he wanted to be there.
Because he really wanted to help baseball, not himself. So lemme get this straight…Congress grilled five of Major League Baseball’s biggest names, past and present, Thursday, and the only one that saved his face was the “liar”?
I don’t get it. I’m eighteen years old, old enough to see the home run leaders go from a moderate 44 in 1991 (Cecil Fielder and Mr. Canseco) to 73 in 2001. I never saw George Brett, Pete Rose, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn, at least not in their hay-day, and not more than a few innings on ESPN Classic. My idea of baseball: the moon-shot, dinger, tator, the oh-sweet-jesus-is-there-a-cannon-around-here? form of slugging. For about 14 years of my life it’s been a slugfest.
And until yesterday I could kind of stand it. Its good quality entertainment, it brings me to the ballparks or the television, and I would look at cleanup hitters more as like a freak show than an athletic demonstration. Worth the price of admission? For two or three times a summer, maybe.
Now they’re caught with their tail between their legs and hiding behind a façade of “savior” for a game they helped destroy. One minute they’re all for the drug-testing policy, the next, while the cameras are rolling, they can’t stand it. Curt Schilling actually went the opposite direction, and here’s a guy who nobody could believe was called to speak. Now what do I think about the World Series hero and good-guy with the good-guy charity? Maybe a stricter drug policy wouldn’t have gotten him to 21-6 (8-9 in 2003)…
Schilling isn’t the only one to hurt his image. Big Mac practically ruined it. In a court of law, pleading the fifth or responding “I’m not here to talk about the past” will not pronounce you guilty. In the court of public opinion, you’re good as gone.
One congressman even asked him, “Mr. McGwire, are you speaking against steroids based on what you’ve heard from accounts or from personal experiences”. His response: “I’m here to help baseball, and this is good for baseball”.
Ugh. Gag me.
I’m off the Big Mac fan wagon. In my opinion, he’s been caught Cardinal-red handed. And a guy who’s 6’5″ 250 lbs with biceps the size of Honda Accord doesn’t even have the cajones to man up to his faults, and admit it. Hey, you what they say about side-effects…
Slammin’ Sammy hid behind his “language barrier” to avoid answering questions. He can say “Pepsi tastes great” for $45 million but can’t say “I did it” for good of his game. Maybe he didn’t do it, has never done it. Maybe Sammy is just a product of hard work, god-given talent, and a few well-placed pieces of cork.
Rafael Palmeiro I kind of felt slightly bad for; hes the only one who tried to press charges against Canseco. Okay, fair enough, Raffy only wanted this nightmare to end and now in this mess with Congress. Its not enough to break out a box of Kleenex, but you can kind of feel for him while he’s sitting down there trying to figure out how many blinks it takes to become invisible.
And then there’s Mr. Canseco, a one-time teammate of McGwire’s, Palmeiro’s, and Frank Thomas’s, who had to be held in a room separate from the rest of the players while waiting for Congress to call them. But Canseco impressed me with his articulations, his suggestions, and, well, his honesty. Maybe he’s been rehearsing for weeks, and had his answers to every question written down in front of him. But it fooled me. He talked as if this whole Congress thing was really important to him, like fixing baseball one slugger at a time really mattered to him. Jose, as a young baseball fan, I’m on your side of the plate. Maybe I’m just gullible, just too wet-behind-the-ears to see through him and his false accusations.
But, hey, if one person is doing something that can help the game I love, I’m not gonna sit back and point fingers like the other four jokes at that table.
These men have tarnished their image, in my opinion. Every one of them (save Canseco) have a chance to either come clean with themselves or provide sort of standing to put the wheels in motion for a stricter drug policy. Ten days is not enough–ten days is a penalty for cheating on the owner’s wife not cheating on baseball. Cheating in baseball got Pete Rose a lifetime ban–how is this any different? How is it so much better??
I guess there might be only one way to really find out if these sluggers did steroids or not. Its sad to say, but if they live past the age of fifty, they were probably clean. If they don’t, well, on each grave stone should be written, in big red letters: CHEATER.
And don’t expect any of the Maris family to attend the funeral.