Who would have thought Jose Canseco was going to provide the most credible account of all that transpired in the "Juiced" era of Major League Baseball?
He had me fooled. I pegged him as a simple-minded liar.
With the release of the Mitchell Report one month ago, we have more description of the cultural lag infesting the divide between sports and technology.
Sure, the senator's report was flimsy.
Sure, it largely hinged on the testimony of desperate men.
And sure, releasing the names of the alleged users only leaves room for guilt — before a jury had time to assemble and a judge time to pound his gavel.
But Sen. George Mitchell had no subpoena power to coerce participation.
He had no discussion with the player's association and its constituents.
Roger Clemens. Miguel Tejada. Andy Pettitte. Eric Gagné, and many others.
I admit it: I skimmed the 409 pages in search of the names, first and foremost.
But that isn't equivalent to the teenage girl searching magazines to learn o Britney's next blowup.
In the social institution of sports, a great deal can be learned of its history; even if we can only know of its parts and not the whole.
That's all Mitchell was able to uncover.
Wait, perhaps, for Canseco's next book; it's aptly called, "Vindicated."
