Friday, March 28, 2008

Jose Canseco

I think this guy is the biggest scumbag on the face of the earth. Whatever he's done to expose the steroid era in baseball, fine. Congratulations. I'll give him credit for helping clean up the game. But that's where any sort of congratulations end. Don't think for a second Canseco would have done any of this if he wasn't getting paid. He's not a hero. He's Henry Hill, some worthless junkie who realized life had nothing more for him, a doofus who found people willing to pay for his story in which he condemns all the terrible things other people have done.

Even before Canseco began his "crusade," the guy was in a personal and professional tailspin. He was a punchline, Hawking his belongings, including his awards for chump change. He beat his wife, and beat up tourists. And ever since he became a "celebrity" with JUICED, you can barely turn on your TV without seeing the guy dispatching his "expert opinion" on the state of the game.

Today I was in my local Barnes & Noble and came across a copy of his new book, VINDICATED. The one where he says he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroid dealer, and personally injected Magglio Ordonez with roids. Now I would never buy Canseco's book, neither this one or the first. As much as I do hope the game is cleaned up, I refuse to contribute a dime to Canseco. 

Flipping through VINDICATED, it was painfully obvious the book has more empty stuffing than Pamela Anderson. A ten page chronology of Canseco's career. Twenty pages of lifetime statistics of all the players named in the book. Tons of photos. Forget paying $24.95, just go to ESPN.com. That's 97% of the book right there.

Then I turned to the back flap and read Canseco's 'about the author.' The last line of his bio reads as follow: Jose now lives a quiet life in California with his daughter Josie.

Quiet life?!?!?!?!?

When exactly does this quiet life occur? In between seasons of "The Surreal Life"? During his Nightline interview? After he was literally turned away from the recent (televised) congressional hearings? In between takes on the as-yet-to-be-filmed movie of his life that Canseco has been trying to get off the ground for years?

Do you know why Jose refused to name the mysterious 'Max' during his Nightline interview, claiming "The timing's not right"? Because he wants to maximize his publicity. And do you know why the book is being released on Monday, March 31st, opening day of the 2008 baseball season? To maximize publicity.

Jose Canseco is not a crusader. He is not a man who prefers anonymity. He is a man who realized he could make a few bucks throwing everyone he ever knew under the bus, and is now squeezing out every last drop he can. If I were Josie, I'd be pretty careful doing anything Dad wouldn't approve of since there's a good chance he'll throw her under the tires to puff up his third book.

So please, don't buy VINDICATED. You'll get all the relevant stories as the sports media picks apart the book's (fairly meatless) bones. If A-Rod and Ordonez are guilty, so be it. We'll learn in due time. And if baseball is going to be cleaned up, it can be done so up without donating money to this vermin. Lord knows you don't need money to lead a quiet life.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 11:12 AM 3 Comments




Saturday, February 23, 2008

Fellas, this is not romantic

My favorite part? The guy leaves holding a beer. Suppose he needed it though...

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posted by Jason Pinter at 6:11 PM 3 Comments




Sunday, January 20, 2008

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posted by Jason Pinter at 10:37 PM 2 Comments




Friday, December 14, 2007

"This is a man with an agenda"

So said John Kruk yesterday on ESPN in regards to Brian McNamee, the former Yankees coach whose testimony, along with that of former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, is the platform for much of George Mitchell's damning report on steroid abuse in baseball. In a sea of hyperbolic newspaper headlines, photoshopped illustrations of veiny baseballs and holier-than-thou outrage from sports reporters who consider themselves our nation's beacons of hope, Kruk's words were, sadly, some of the few that put yesterday's bombshell in proper perspective.

McNamee and Radomski allegedly supplied and/or injected numerous players with steroids since the late 1990's, including Roger Clemens, arguably one of the top five pitchers in baseball history. Like Barry Bonds, Clemens is one of the best players not just of his generation but of all time, and finds his Hall-of-Fame resume in jeopardy. Clemens has already gone on record vehemently denying the allegations, calling McNamee, "a troubled man." 

See, that's what everyone, the sports reporters most notably, is forgetting. Most of the Mitchell Report is based on the testimony of two admitted scumbags. Scumbags who testified to escape jail time. Are these really the kind of guys we want to be our primary witnesses to history? Who are judging dozens of men whose careers and reputations are forever, whether vindicated in the future or not, in the toilet?

Yes there is much damning evidence, and more likely than not most players whose names appeared in the investigation did take performance enhancing drugs. (BTW, 'performance enhancing drugs' has become a more reviled phrase than 'weapons of mass destruction' at this point). But much of the "evidence" is largely circumstantial, a case of he said/he said where at least one party (McNamee or Radomski) has the integrity of a sewer rat. I think sports reporters, to a large extent, are happy with the turn of events. They prefer to believe the sewer rat because the rat's story is more interesting. The rat gives them a lot to talk about. And nothing sells more newspapers and has more people watching SportsCenter than big, juicy scandal. Scandal is what turned Jose Canseco from clownish afterthought in the annals of baseball history into a bestselling author, and marked JUICED as the ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN of the steroid era. This from a "Surreal Life" cast member who now supports himself in part by auctioning off his various awards and career mementos. Total received for his 1987 Rookie of the Year ring and his 1988 MVP plaque? $35,100. 

Are we really prepared to throw away the reputations and careers of many people based on the testimony of these "men"? I sure hope not. If Clemens, David Justice, and the others who deny the allegations are innocent, I hope they challenge the report and regain whatever credibility they have left. If they're guilty, I sincerely hope more proof comes to light to bolster the claims.

McNamee and Radomski did not come forward due to a sudden attack of nobility, but because a sharpened axe was poised above their heads. Taking their words as gospel is like the Feds using Salvatore Bompansiero as a CI. You're going to get a lot of dirt on some really important people, but you're also going to get a hell of a lot of fish tales.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 10:28 AM 4 Comments




Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Sports Blog

Time for a regular cleansing of sports-related issues that have been on my mind. This has been an interesting (read: not necessarily good) year for New York sports. So here's my take on it. Note, hockey is absent, because I honestly don't care about it. Sorry Rangers/Islanders fans.

The Mets
A flat out a heartbreaking year for my team, the Amazins. Not just because of the unheard of late-season collapse, but because things aren't looking up for next year. 2007 was their year. Going into 2008, they've yet to replace Tom Glavine's 13 wins and 35 starts. Orlando Hernandez was very good when healthy, but nobody really knows how old the guy is and his injury-plagued '07 might have been proof that he's closer to 50 than 30. It remains to be seen whether John Maine and Oliver Perez can repeat or improve on their impressive seasons. Perez is the ultimate hot or cold guy. 12 K's and a two-hitter when he's on. Gone by the third when he's off. Between Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright, the Mets haven't had a young core this good since the heyday of Darryl, Nails and Doc. And if Beltran can stay healthy (a major if) that's an unmatched top of the order. Carlos Delgado seems to be on the downside of a terrific career, but his contract means the Mets will be stuck with a .250 average, 25 homers, 80 RBIs and $17 million a year to a guy the DH was made for. But hey, at least he's not Jason Giambi. I'm also worried about Pedro, as there aren't a whole lot of pitchers in their mid-thirties who regained their form after major shoulder surgery. Pedro at 75% is still a top-20 pitcher, but his durability, always a concern, is in big neon lights in '08. Can the Mets squeeze 25-30 starts from his 165 pound frame? They also horribly overpaid Luis Castillo, who used to be a fine player, but is now the proud recipient of the Carlos Baerga "over-the-hill second baseman getting paid a boatload based on name recognition alone" memorial trophy. I'm not too upset at losing Paul "Tony Manero, Jr." LoDuca, but Brian Schneider and Johnny Estrada don't bring a whole lot more to the table. And considering how long the Mets refused to include Lastings Milledge in any trade talks, they'd better be right that Milledge's character issues will undermine his talent, or that Ryan Church is ready to break out. Otherwise it's Scott Kazmir all over again. And all those Billy Wagner 9th innings where he gives up a single and a walk (or a leadoff homer) before closing the door? Wags's surgically-repaired elbow will be 37 next summer. Deep breaths...

The Giants
The most confusing team in all of sports. They're 9-4, assured of the 5th seed in the NFC, have a defense that strikes fear into the hearts of opposing QBs--yet every game has Giants fans pulling their hair out. Eli Manning has looked as accurate as Nuke LaLoosh, and if you take away the first game of the season Eli has thrown 14 TDs and 16 INTs this year. Not exactly what you hope for in a franchise quarterback in his 4th year in the league. Yet despite Eli's troubles and an injury-prone running back-by-committee, they're still 9-4. They never win convincingly, but they do win. One of the NFL maxims is "good teams win close games on the road." Well, the Giants have won 6 straight on the road. Plus they beat the teams they're supposed to beat. Their four losses have come against Dallas, Green Bay and Minnesota, who are a combined 30-9. Whether or not the Giants can advance in the playoffs is one thing, but the they're definitely the most underrated overrated 9-4 team in the league.

The Knicks
Back in high school, any time one of my friends got tickets to a Knicks game, everyone else was insanely jealous. It was like saying you'd scored 50 yard line seats to the Superbowl, just got a dial-up modem, or had a date with Claire Danes (who went to my high school for one semester). In college I watched just about every televised Knicks game I could. Now, I haven't watched a game in, I'd say, three years. I just don't care any longer. The Knicks are too depressing to even think about.  I honestly don't hate them for being bad. Every franchise has its ups and downs, and true fans stick with their teams through the tough times. But I hate this Knicks team for being unlikeably bad. They're like a new version of those early-mid 90's Mets teams with Bobby Bonilla, Eddie Murray and Vince Coleman, the teams that won 70 games in a good year, then threatened reporters and set off firecrackers in the parking lot. There's nothing to root for on this Knicks team. They have five guys (Marbury, Randolph, Lee, Crawford and Curry) who are arguably among the top 8 players in their position in the league. Yet it's a team full of "that guy" from the playground. You know, the guy you play pickup ball with who's the most talented player on the court, yet you're miserable when you play with him. He refuses to pass the ball because he thinks he can take it to the rack every possession, always dribbles through triple teams, doesn't play defense because it's 'beneath him', and launches 35 footers instead of passing to the wide open guy under the basket. And when you lose, he's the one complaining about having to carry everyone. That's the Knicks, times twelve. Not to mention the fact that nobody, not even James Dolan, can explain why Isiah Thomas still has his job, other than the fact that Isiah must have naked pictures of Dolan stashed in Marbury's jeep. Not only has Thomas been a terrible coach and a terrible GM, he's single-handedly set the Knicks franchise back fifteen years. Due to the horrendous contracts still on the books, the Knicks won't be legitimate contenders until the later side of the next decade. Please, for their own well being, trade Renaldo Balkman and David Lee before their inherent unselfishness is vanquished by this team of malcontents. I'm going to sound like an old man, but bring back the days of Ewing, Starks and Oakley. Back when being a Knick meant something. When you were proud to be a fan. Now being a Knicks fan means putting up ticket price hikes to cover the $11.5 million sexual harassment suit against your GM/Coach.

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posted by Jason Pinter at 5:35 PM 1 Comments