Vindicated Brings Canseco No Vindication

The final, and biggest name, in the book, is New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.  In the book, Canseco claims to have worked out with Rodriguez at his Miami-area home.  He alleges that he introduced Rodriguez to a trainer known as Max, who could help Rodriguez with steroids.  He also claims that Rodriguez was infatuated with Canseco's wife, Jessica. 

Canseco states the reason that Rodriguez is in this book is because he hates Rodriguez. If Canseco hates Rodriguez so much, then why wasn't his name included in the first book?  Canseco has no real evidence on Rodriguez either, he just speculates that Rodriguez could be using steroids.

After reading the book, Canseco comes off as a phony.  The names that are in this book should have been in the first book as well.  However, Canseco saw this as an opportunity to make more money, which he said it was never really about, and decided to throw some more names out there. 

Canseco appears to be a jealous teenager when he talks about Rodriguez.  He seems envious of his talent and the fact that Rodriguez was supposedly interested in Canseco's wife.  I also find it hard to believe that Canseco had no idea why Clemens was not mentioned in the first book.  He states possible libel causes, but if that was the case, Clemens' name shouldn't be in the second book either. 

When talking about Ordonez, he states that Ordonez wasn't in the first book because he liked him.  When he talked about Rodriguez, he said that he wasn't in the first book because he hated him.  Those two reasons are exact opposites for why names were not included in the first book.  The only logical reason for the names not being in the first book is to make more money off of a second book.

I am not calling Canseco a complete phony, however.  I believe that he does in fact have some insight into steroid use in Major League Baseball.  The manner in which he goes about that however, is difficult to fathom.  I believe that he is upset that he was "black-balled" by Major League Baseball and is using his books as a way to get back at them. 

I also believe that Canseco, contrary to his statements, IS trying to make a quick buck off of the steroid issue.  The effect of this book will only be known in the future, when it is proved that the players that Canseco mentioned did or did not use steroids. 

Canseco should retire from writing books, and focus on playing his California League games, with players half his age and half his talent.  After reading both Juiced and Vindicated, do I believe that Canseco is as credible as he says he is? No Way Jose.

And don't even get me started on his conspiracy theories. 

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