Foul Territory
A sports blog with no specific focus, though I like wrestling and baseball
2.14.2005
The Obligatory Steroids Post
Jose Canseco's big appearance on 60 Minutes was last night. I didn't watch it, but I've heard more than enough about him and his new book that that is for sale beginning today. The information he has given out in the book and in many interviews over the past week or two has put the sports media into quite the tizzy. This, combined with the BALCO investigation, leaked grand jury testimony, and John McCain trying to gain some points in the eye of the public has resulted in thousands of stories about steroids, HGH, THG, "the Clear," "the Cream," and whatever else is tangetially related to the issue.
Canseco's credibility has been attacked over and over again, it seems with good reason. He has historically done and said things that seem designed solely to garner attention, money, or usually both. To most, this book is no exception. The timing and some of the more ridiculous claims are designed to puff up sales numbers and get him on 60 Minutes. Well, he succeeded on the second count, now that the book is out, we'll see about the first. The general consensus by most intelligent writers that I've read is, "Yes, he's an opportunistic, money-grubbing, often lying weasel, but it is unlikely that every word in his book is a lie." This is probably true. No doubt there are bits of truth within the book, as no thinking person believes that baseball is clean from steroids except for those who have admitted use in public (Canseco, Ken Caminiti). Surely others are using something, as the use of stimulants has been documented in baseball for many years (greenies), and recent grand jury testimony by Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi has confirmed the use of at least the products distributed by Victor Conte and BALCO.
However, I'm having trouble with some of the things Canseco has been saying. He seems to be trying to to give himself a lot of (in my mind) undue "credit" for what has been going on in baseball in terms of performance enhancing drugs. He has made himself out to be the harbinger of steroid use in baseball, as if no one was using before he started injecting himself and his Oakland teammates (like McGwire and Giambi). After bringing steroids to Oakland, he supposedly carried them to Texas, where he helped teammates like Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, and Juan Gonzalez get into steroid use. Not only that, he says that George W. Bush, then a part-owner of the Rangers, knew about this, which strains credibility, unless the future President was hanging out in the locker room and weight room, which I can't imagine happens with too many owners of professional sports teams. His last incredible statement was when, on television last night, he claimed that he would not have been a professional baseball player without steroids. This seems to overstate things more than a big. He hit 462 home runs in a long career, and he became the first 40-40 man in baseball history in 1988. He also won Rookie of the Year and MVP at different points in his career. There is a monstrous gap between a guy unable to make a Major Leage team and the American League MVP. The gap is so large, that it is all but inconceivable that any chemical, let alone those available in the late 1980's could bridge it.
He also goes beyond his first hand knowledge and starts naming players that he "suspects" use or used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. He names Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, based solely on changes in their appearance and longevity. Anyone can look at the records of these players and say they're doing something unsavory, but the fact remains that they are two serious physical specimens, and it's not inconceivable that their genetics are far superior to the average person so that they can continue to perform at a very high level. It's been stated that, with testing in place, it's almost sure that they weren't using, yet he still set the OPS record and Clemens won the Cy Young award. These are the kind of unfounded allegations that get in the way of truth, and they serve no purpose but to inflame, which seems to be his goal anyhow. I know that Bonds admitted to using some chemicals in his leaked testimony, but no one has any idea how long he used them, and he himself said he stopped because he was getting no benefit.
So that's where we stand. His credibility is thin, there's no way to unequivocally prove or disprove anything he says, and a lot of names are more tainted now than before since the book's release. There's no way to know what will happen next, except that sports writers will fill many column inches and kilobytes of web space with stories, opinions, and calls for reform.
I wanted to mention the possibity that's been put forth that the Yankees can't void Giambi's contract because steroid abuse language was eliminated from his contract at Giambi's request, but Jay Jaffe did a great job on it already.
Canseco's credibility has been attacked over and over again, it seems with good reason. He has historically done and said things that seem designed solely to garner attention, money, or usually both. To most, this book is no exception. The timing and some of the more ridiculous claims are designed to puff up sales numbers and get him on 60 Minutes. Well, he succeeded on the second count, now that the book is out, we'll see about the first. The general consensus by most intelligent writers that I've read is, "Yes, he's an opportunistic, money-grubbing, often lying weasel, but it is unlikely that every word in his book is a lie." This is probably true. No doubt there are bits of truth within the book, as no thinking person believes that baseball is clean from steroids except for those who have admitted use in public (Canseco, Ken Caminiti). Surely others are using something, as the use of stimulants has been documented in baseball for many years (greenies), and recent grand jury testimony by Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi has confirmed the use of at least the products distributed by Victor Conte and BALCO.
However, I'm having trouble with some of the things Canseco has been saying. He seems to be trying to to give himself a lot of (in my mind) undue "credit" for what has been going on in baseball in terms of performance enhancing drugs. He has made himself out to be the harbinger of steroid use in baseball, as if no one was using before he started injecting himself and his Oakland teammates (like McGwire and Giambi). After bringing steroids to Oakland, he supposedly carried them to Texas, where he helped teammates like Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, and Juan Gonzalez get into steroid use. Not only that, he says that George W. Bush, then a part-owner of the Rangers, knew about this, which strains credibility, unless the future President was hanging out in the locker room and weight room, which I can't imagine happens with too many owners of professional sports teams. His last incredible statement was when, on television last night, he claimed that he would not have been a professional baseball player without steroids. This seems to overstate things more than a big. He hit 462 home runs in a long career, and he became the first 40-40 man in baseball history in 1988. He also won Rookie of the Year and MVP at different points in his career. There is a monstrous gap between a guy unable to make a Major Leage team and the American League MVP. The gap is so large, that it is all but inconceivable that any chemical, let alone those available in the late 1980's could bridge it.
He also goes beyond his first hand knowledge and starts naming players that he "suspects" use or used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. He names Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, based solely on changes in their appearance and longevity. Anyone can look at the records of these players and say they're doing something unsavory, but the fact remains that they are two serious physical specimens, and it's not inconceivable that their genetics are far superior to the average person so that they can continue to perform at a very high level. It's been stated that, with testing in place, it's almost sure that they weren't using, yet he still set the OPS record and Clemens won the Cy Young award. These are the kind of unfounded allegations that get in the way of truth, and they serve no purpose but to inflame, which seems to be his goal anyhow. I know that Bonds admitted to using some chemicals in his leaked testimony, but no one has any idea how long he used them, and he himself said he stopped because he was getting no benefit.
So that's where we stand. His credibility is thin, there's no way to unequivocally prove or disprove anything he says, and a lot of names are more tainted now than before since the book's release. There's no way to know what will happen next, except that sports writers will fill many column inches and kilobytes of web space with stories, opinions, and calls for reform.
I wanted to mention the possibity that's been put forth that the Yankees can't void Giambi's contract because steroid abuse language was eliminated from his contract at Giambi's request, but Jay Jaffe did a great job on it already.
Andy, 9:03 AM
