Hello folks! Welcome to the journal. I would like to throw out a
couple of quick comments before we get started this week. First to the
academy for the Oscars, learn how to take a fucking joke. Apparently
Chris Rock made a comment that only gay people watch the award fiasco,
and people got offended. You know what, this is the most attention the
Oscars got in a long time, so why don’t you find a carrot to sit on and
shut the fuck up. Second, it is nice to know that the Iraqis have the
results to their elections. Can our soldiers go home now? Finally,
congrats to Kanye West for kicking ass at the Grammys. Now,
let’s talk about baseball - yes, baseball - that game when you pitch
the ball, you hit the ball, and you throw the ball as it was so
elegantly explained in the movie Bull Durham. I know every guy out
there can remember the first baseball game they ever went to with their
father. I had my first beer at a baseball game. I was able to bond with
my father for nine innings (whenever he would stay for them), which was
a stretch because there was never any other time. My first game was at
Comiskey Park in 1984, when the White Sox took a dive to the Toronto
Blue Jays, 8 to 4.
As the years went on, these superhuman
players came out from nowhere. I can remember heroes like Harold
Baines, Carlton Fisk, Greg “The Bull” Luzinski, Ron Kittle, and, of
course, Tony LaRussa as their manager. On the other side of the city,
those useless Cubs: Ryne Sandberg, Gary Matthews, Leon Durham, blah,
blah. All these guys were awesome players, but then in the late 80’s we
saw a new breed of superstar come through - players like Mark Mcgwire,
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemmens, Sammy Sosa, and, of course, Jose Canseco.
Now
Canseco was considered one of baseballs next big things. He helped the
Oakland A’s get to the World Series in 1988 while he brought home an
American League MVP award. As years went on, Canseco was always in the
spotlight, from getting speeding tickets to his hitting sprees of
terror. However, Canseco was also known as a troublemaker. He was in
the tabloids due to his fling with Madonna. He was given a five-year,
23-million-dollar deal, which led to the monster salaries players make
nowadays. His 1-900 number pissed off teammates, and once in New York,
Canseco almost fought with a fan who was mocking his relationship with
Madonna. He was becoming more and more cocky by each season. He made a
comment that he was traded to Ethiopia for a box of Fruit Loops and a
camel to be named later when he was traded to Texas during a playoff
run in 1992. He snapped his head against the wall and pitched! It is
obvious to me that this guy was addicted to fame. He unfortunately had
a stint with the White Sox in 2001, but he contributed nothing.
As
many people know, Jose Canseco just published a book entitled Juiced.
In it and during his 60 minutes interview this past weekend, Canseco
talks about how he used steroids. He says he would never have been the
player he was without the 'roids. Back in the day, people were saying
that he was using, but it was nowhere near the heat players take now.
Concerns elevated when he was caught with a handgun and of course the
speeding we talked about earlier. He attacked fans, tourists, and even
his own wife. All of these can be considered examples of “'roid rage.”
He also talked about how he injected growth hormones and steroids into
Mark Mcgwire and Jason Giambi when he rejoined the A’s later in his
career. Sounds like a hell of a life.
As many know, steroids
have plagued the league for the last 10 years or so. People were doing
superhuman things, like hitting 70 home runs. With all this comes a
price. Think about how many times Canseco was injured in his career.
Think about the infamous sneeze when Sammy Sosa was out for a while.
Barry Bonds does seem angry a lot, doesn’t he? It is a shame that many
of the records by people back in the day are being broken by players
who cheat. To some it may not be a big deal. It is just baseball,
right? However, like I said earlier: Think about the fact that baseball
is such a pasttime for so many people growing up. Is a message being
sent to them that it is OK to cheat?
Let’s take a look at the
real story here. Canseco: Is he lying? Although I can admire him for
having the stones to call out most of the league, I have to ask if this
another publicity stunt going wrong. Tony LaRussa, his former manager,
told 60 Minutes, "I don't think there's any doubt that it's a
fabrication - the product of our good play and the size and strength of
our players. Mark was a great example. What we saw was a lot of hard
work, and hard work will produce strength gains and size gains.(1)" In
other words, I guess what baseball is saying is: “Consider the source.”
Canseco was addicted to the fame. He lived in the spotlight. He was one
of baseballs villains back in the late-' 80s and early- '90s. He was a
tabloid darling. This could all be a publicity stunt to make his star
shine brighter, and considering that he is such an asshole, this
comment may be true.
I never was a big fan of Canseco, or the
A’s for that matter, but I cheered for Mcgwire in ’98 when he beat Sosa
for the home run title that Roger Marris had. Was one of the most
exciting times in baseball, the shot in the arm they needed after a
vicious strike, which alienated many baseball fans?
Yet, this
could have all of been a lie - a very evil lie if what Canseco says is
true. We have already seen people like Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds
lose weight and become tragedies of the game. It is going to take more
than some piece of fodder that some shithead, who thought he was all
that back in the day, wrote to convince people that the game was
tainted now and will change forever in the future.
MJ
Sources
1. “Steroid-User Canseco Names Names” CBS News February 13, 2005.
2. Baseball Library.com; Jose Canseco
back Tags:
baseball sports 
