Liar, Liar

Jose Canseco is a liar. A somewhat successful whistle-blowing liar, but a liar nonetheless. And that does not make it better.

Canseco has made quite a few dollars on the demise of baseball’s steroid era, mostly because he was a huge part in fueling the era. According to Jose, he was one of the people that introduced such famous stars as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Jason Giambi.

When his first book, “Juiced” came out, many people were skeptical. But he was on the mark with many of the names, particularly with former teammates, and players of Latino descent. The caveat is that most of these players were obviously users to most people in and around the game.

Consider Juan Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a tremendous power hitter, with bulging biceps and mulitple 40 home run seasons. He also was frequently injured because many of his muscles had become too large for his tendons and body – a common problem for steroid users. It became so bad that in 2005 when Gonzalez was of course with the Indians he injured a hamstring after one at-bat and did not play the rest of the season.

 To be honest, I did not need to be in major league clubhouses to figure out some of these players. But once again, Canseco was proven correct. Which led him to come out with his newest book, “Vindicated.” In this book, he talks about how right he was – which is fair, as much as I hate it.

But this book is light on the goods. In fact, there’s only a few big revelations. But one involves the biggest superstar in the game, Alex Rodriguez. Canseco said he introduced A-Rod to a known steroid supplier. Of course, it’s hard to believe Jose because he openly admits to hating Rodriguez for hitting on his wife.

And Canseco still has so little credibiliity that A-Rod’s best public relations course of action is to deny the accusations and scoff at them. Rodriguez gave no comment and who can blame him?

It doesn’t help Jose’s case that the New York Times reported that he tried to blackmail Magglio Ordonez into paying him off. The Times said he ”offered to keep a Detroit Tigers outfielder “clear” in his next book if the player invested money in a film project Canseco was promoting, according to a person in baseball with knowledge of the situation. ” When Ordonez didn’t pay up, Canseco included him in “Vindicated.”

Alex Rodriguez has never been mentioned in baseball circles as a steroid user, and Canseco really didn’t say anything too incriminating. That is why A-Rod made the right choice in saying, “No comment,” and just letting it go.

Canseco has been fighting for shreds of credibility since “Juiced” came out; even as it turned out he was right, he still manages to sabotage himself from a public relations standpoint. Personally, I feel like credibility is one of the most important things a p.r. professional has – and Canseco has lost what little he gained by trying to blackmail Magglio Ordonez.

I will never respect Jose Canseco - he is a self-serving liar who picks and chooses when to tell the truth. If there’s anything I’ve learned at Kent State, it is the importance of ethics. My old ethics professor Rob Jewell would tear Canseco apart for his lack of truth and honesty.

And Jose, if you continue to ruin my Cleveland Indians Opening Day by publishing new books, I will continue to knock you in my blog. Enough is enough!