Squeezed Out

Jose Canseco's new book Juiced has, predictably, created a firestorm in the baseball world about how we should view the game's achievements of last 15 years. I'm not a fan of putting asterisks all over the record books or rescinding MVP awards. We don't know exactly who was on steriods so there would be no way to selectively pick and choose which sluggers need their repuations tarnished. Also, don't forget that many pitchers on the juice have been getting a free pass so you'd have to open up that can of worms as well. Furthermore, steroids weren't against the rules until last year, so it would be unfair to retroactively condemn players who were actually playing by the baseball rules. Let's just leave the past numbers alone and not try to re-write history.

The thing that bothers me most about Canseco is the way that he's been calling out Mark McGwire. It's a completely unfair position for McGwire, because he's now in a Salem Witch Trials situation. First of all, he shouldn't have to prove his innocence- the burden of proof must be on the accuser not the alleged culprit. Second of all, there is no way that he could prove his innocence. McGwire deserves better than to be thrown to the wolves by a jealous publicity hound like Canseco.