Hey everyone,

Now that Jose's second book has hit the shelves, he has been in the news a
LOT lately.

He was on Letterman Monday night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eig-WuychNI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzIk4x3O89w

He was on Howard Stern Tuesday (talking about A-Rod and Jessica):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBU9hWBfn9U

And the Jose Canseco vs. Curt Shilling name calling saga continues (from
SportsCenter):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BltESqSRyk

While we are on the YouTube kick, here is a blast from the past. Jose
Canseco's Baseball Camp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQw99968lXk

Times certainly have changed, haven't they? With dozens and dozens of
articles about Jose in papers across the country this week (some pro- but
most anti-Jose), I'll include a select sample below. In a nutshell though,
in case you don't feel like doing all that reading:

-Jose's book has hit the shelves and is getting mixed reviews. It seems to
me that a lot of people just don't want to believe what Jose is saying.
-Jose definitely hates Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod's response to Jose's
allegations: "No comment."
-Jose has continued to defend Roger Clemens, saying that he suspected him
of steroid use in the past, but doesn't *know* that he took them.
-MLB investigators approached Jose the other day, but it is unclear what
role they want him to play in their investigation. Jose is willing to help.

If you haven't bought Vindicated yet, you can buy it here for $17.13:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.\
com%2FVindicated-Names-Liars-Battle-Baseball%2Fdp%2F1416591877%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3\
Dbooks%26qid%3D1203906827%26sr%3D1-3&tag=talkingpoker-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&\
creative=9325

And lastly, here are the remaining dates and locations of Jose's
"Vindicated" book tour:

Monday, April 07 - 7:00 PM
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA

Tuesday, April 08 - 6:00 PM
Costco
12350 Carmel Mountain Road
San Diego, CA

Wednesday, April 09 - 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
98 Broadway
Oakland, CA

Thursday, April 10 - 7:30 PM
Books, Inc
2251 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA

If you make it to any of these signings and get to talk to Jose, shoot me
an email. I'd love to hear about it.

-Mark


==========
From the Tampa Tribune:
'Vindicated' Is More Than A Grand Slam
By BOB D'ANGELO
April 3, 2008

Jose Canseco begins his sequel to "Juiced" with a rant. At times he blends
vindication with a dash of vindictiveness, but by the time he is finished,
the former major-league slugger and self-proclaimed "Godfather of Steroids"
catches himself and regains his focus.

The tone in "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save
Baseball" (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $25.95) skips from triumph and
relief to anger and bitterness. After "Juiced" was released in 2005,
Canseco was called a liar, vilified for openly discussing steroid use and
naming names. As it turns out, plenty of what Canseco asserted in his first
book was on the mark; he spends a good portion of "Vindicated" recounting
his bumpy ride.

Writing "Juiced" felt "like I was doing something important, like I was
telling a story that was way bigger than anything I had first imagined,"
Canseco asserts.

"Vindicated" is just as blunt, opening with Canseco wondering why almost
all the Roger Clemens references in his first book were excised by his
publishers. His conclusions form the biggest conspiracy theory to come out
of Texas since an infamous November afternoon in Dealey Plaza.

Canseco takes his shots. Commissioner Bud Selig "is a clown and a
hypocrite." He "hates" Alex Rodriguez for apparently lusting after his wife
- and also says he introduced A-Rod "to a known supplier of steroids."

Canseco criticizes the Mitchell report (he gives it a "disappointing D or
maybe even a D-minus"), lamenting that his failure to be thoroughly
interviewed by the committee left him "Mitch slapped." He claims Magglio
Ordonez, whom Canseco befriended and injected, turned his back on him after
"Juiced" was published.

But this book is not just a grand slam of his critics or a smug "I told you
so." Canseco gives some solid advice to parents of young athletes who might
be tempted by performance-enhancing drugs.

"Parents should learn about the dangers and the side effects and have a
heart-to-heart with their kids," he writes. "Be vigilant, because it's just
too easy for underage athletes to jump right in."

Despite the controversy he generated, Canseco still professes his love for
baseball, and as one reads "Vindicated" it's hard to dispute his passion
("I never wanted to leave the game; the game left me."). He also writes of
his adventures in helping to raise a daughter he adores, his love for
poker, playing in a Sunday league, and his sometimes bizarre foray into
reality television.

He even confesses that "If I had to do it over again, I might not do
steroids," an about-face in philosophy. Canseco also believes baseball is
resilient.

"The game of baseball will survive the Steroid Era," he writes. "Because
baseball is forever."

Canseco is a survivor, too.


==========
From CBSSports.com:
Insider: 'Call me Jose' ... the name-dropping author
By Scott Miller
April 2, 2008

Darn right Jose Canseco is vindicated.

Before he found his post-baseball calling, following in the grand American
literary tradition of lions such as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and
William Faulkner, few would have figured the guy could put together a
subject and verb, much less pen a complete sentence.

Yet here he is this month, a story to tell and a second book on the
shelves. And what are we to make of Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and
the Battle to Save Baseball?

Maybe you've overlooked this, but Canseco always has been right there on
the front lines in the battle, fighting hard.

Before taking up his quill pen and ink bottle in an effort to bring
steroids users to their knees, he was trying to save baseball by not
wearing a cap during batting practice (might muss the hair) and hosting
pool parties at which his and Roger Clemens' wives could compare breast
implants.

Saving baseball can be a dirty (and titillating) job, but somebody's gotta
do it.

Actually, you won't find that last part in Canseco's new tome. That only
came out when Brian McNamee, former personal trainer to Roger Clemens and
Andy Pettitte, testified to Congress in February.

Authors being the private and sensitive sorts they often are, Canseco not
only denied it, but he took the highly principled stand of hanging up on
New York's WFAN radio Tuesday when Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton asked
about it.

"Now you're talking stuff that never happened," Canseco said on the air.
"Guys, if you're going to be attacking me on this book that's the absolute
truth, I'll hang up on you right now, so you better start respecting me. As
a matter of fact, goodbye."

Click.

Must have been time for his next appointment on the book tour.

The thing with Jose is, nobody took him seriously when, as a rookie author,
he produced Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball
Got Big. But it turned out much of Canseco's information was on target.

So while it's a mistake to overtly dismiss Canseco's next work, it's also
impossible to ignore the fact that the author, once linked to Madonna,
always has been a material boy who loves his toys and money. And sources
with knowledge of his current situation say he's badly overspent and
underearned, leading him into a deep financial hole.

He writes in Vindicated that he injected Detroit slugger Magglio Ordonez
several times with steroids in 2001, when the two were Chicago White Sox
teammates.

But he also allegedly left messages on Ordonez's telephone answering
machine before publication offering to leave the slugger out of the book if
Ordonez invested several million dollars in a film Canseco was producing.
The New York Times first reported that story (Canseco denies it), and
sources with knowledge of the situation verified the accuracy of the
messages to CBSSports.com.

Maybe Ordonez did shop at Canseco's Steroids Buffet. Maybe not. Maybe this
second book simply is a clumsy and desperate attempt by a one-time somebody
who now is down-and-out financially to get back in the high life.

The Ordonez allegations are far more serious than the Alex Rodriguez stuff
which, predictably, has gotten the most juice (sorry, bad word choice?) so
far.

In this new book, Canseco writes he introduced A-Rod to a steroids dealer
after A-Rod wondered where a person would go to find steroids if one wanted
them.

He also writes, directly to A-Rod, "I hate your f------ guts." Among other
things, A-Rod -- single at the time -- apparently ogled Canseco's former
wife, Jessica (who, three years ago, authored, Juicy: Confessions of a
Former Baseball Wife. Who knew they both loved the literary life?).

Regarding the first part, as Canseco soon will discover (if he hasn't
already), this is what's known in the publishing world as an anti-climactic
follow-up. If he were to allege injecting A-Rod himself (say, in a bathroom
stall, with Mark McGwire), or produce witnesses corroborating his
accusations, then A-Rod might have some 'splainin' to do.

Might Canseco's accusations be true? Absolutely. A-Rod is a workout demon,
but he doesn't necessarily pass the eyeball test: He's exceptionally thick.
You wonder, is all I'm saying.

But Canseco definitely doesn't pass the smell test. What's notable about
his second work is this: What little juice exists is all based on private
conversations. Whatever he dishes, there are no anecdotes from the public
domain where a witness -- or two or three -- who was in the room at the
time can step forward and say, "Yes, I vouch for Jose."

As for him hating A-Rod, join the club. Lots of folks are A-Rod haters.
Whatever your own personal feelings are toward A-Rod, though, being
introduced to somebody doesn't equate to guilt -- or even a smoking gun. I
met Denny McLain years ago. Shook his hand. Didn't mean I was with him
embezzling money from a company's pension plan. While McLain was in prison,
I was innocent. Honest.

Meantime, after writing in the book that he told Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes
in 2005 that he suspected Clemens was a steroids user, he told ABC's
Nightline last week that he now doesn't think Clemens used. Weak.

The sports columnist Red Smith once said famously, "There's nothing to
writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein."

It's a sentiment Canseco no doubt can appreciate. The latest American
author came to the typewriter -- or computer keyboard -- by first sticking
a syringe into his own vein. Or tissues. Whatever.

So go ahead. Call him Jose. The great American author Herman Melville wrote
about a man attempting to haul in the big one in Moby-Dick ("Call me
Ishmael. ..."), and this is Canseco's ongoing quest to reel in a few big
ones of his own. But if his latest offerings are the "absolute truth", why
weren't they in his first book?

It's a disheartening thing when part of the battle to save baseball will
end up on the discount rack with a "$3.99" sticker affixed at your local
Barnes & Noble by season's end.


==========
From Newsday:
Canseco again defends Clemens, snipes at A-Rod
By Arthur Staple
April 1, 2008

Appearing on "The Late Show With David Letterman" last night, Jose Canseco
reiterated his belief that Roger Clemens didn't use steroids, telling
Letterman that he and Clemens were close friends and joked about steroid
use when they were Blue Jays teammates in 1998.

"We trusted each other, we played a lot of golf together," Canseco said.
"His family knew my family. His wife and my wife at the time talked a lot
and we shared private information, and, yeah, we kind of jested and joked
about using steroids, but I never injected him, never supplied him, never
saw anyone give him steroids and he never tried to acquire steroids from
me. And I would try to actually give him information about myself, but he
never seemed like he used it at all."

Canseco arrived in New York yesterday to begin a three-day tour to promote
his second book, "Vindicated," which tells further tales of steroid use in
baseball. Canseco sat down with ESPN yesterday before taping Letterman's
show and is due to talk with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann today. He'll also be
at book signings in Ridgewood, N.J., today and in midtown Manhattan tomorrow.

He again said Clemens never attended a party Canseco gave for teammates at
his house. The party was the center of much discussion when Clemens and his
former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified Feb. 5 before the House Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform.

"I remember like it was yesterday because I was so disappointed because
Roger and I were very close friends and he never showed up," Canseco said.
"I remember the next day actually mentioning to the media that everyone
showed up but Roger Clemens, and I was pretty disappointed about it."

Letterman also asked about Alex Rodriguez. Canseco's book alleges that he
introduced Rodriguez to a Toronto steroid dealer he called Max, and that
Canseco was convinced A-Rod was trying to woo Canseco's then-wife, Jessica.

"I started realizing that he somehow acquired her beeper number and her
phone number and started calling her," Canseco said. "I definitely believe
and I know that something happened after that ..."

"But you said you 'believe' and you 'know,' so which is it?" Letterman
asked. "You know for a fact or you believe something happened?"

"I know for a fact, but I think my ex-wife Jessica could answer that
better," he said. "You should probably have her on the show."


==========
From Newsday:
Canseco's merely a sideshow now
By Arthur Staple
10:42 AM EDT, April 1, 2008

Jose Canseco has a book signing Tuesday afternoon in Ridgewood, N.J. A few
hours after that major baseball event, the Yankees' season opens in The Bronx.

Which will you be paying closer attention to?

That's a question you really don't have to answer, especially if you're a
Yankees fan. The Mets play Tuesday night too, so that takes care of the
rest of you.

Canseco slapped together another book and is whirling his way through the
area this week. Letterman and ESPN Monday, Howard Stern and Keith Olbermann
Tuesday, some print interviews and a couple book signings. His targets in
"Juiced" were on-target; his latest, "Vindicated," takes aim at Alex
Rodriguez, to whom Canseco claims he introduced a steroid supplier and who
coveted Canseco's ex.

An intriguing tale, true or not. Canseco is a funny storyteller. He's also
a little nuts, which doesn't help his case much, but makes some of these
stories even more entertaining.

Too bad big baseball fans aren't listening right now. If there is a time of
year that contains more hope, more belief and more willingness to ignore
reality for a sports fan, show me.

The Royals gutted one out over the Tigers Monday in extras? Rejoice, Royals
fans! You're still in it!

The Nationals are 2-0? Xavier Nady has two dingers for the Pirates?

Sorry, Jose. You've got no shot now. Everyone's team is still on the
upswing, everyone's fantasy team still has a shot and there are unsigned
guys all over the league waiting for that first fantasy waiver wire.

OK, maybe they're not waiting, but fantasy owners are.

All of this combines to make Canseco a sideshow. He does that pretty well
all by himself, focusing more on how A-Rod wanted Canseco's ex more than
A-Rod's possible steroids link during the Letterman appearance.

Canseco will sign his books Tuesday and continue bashing A-Rod. If A-Rod
bashes a couple balls over the wall at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night, the
questions about Canseco's allegations will wait until after a few curtain
calls. Fans will skip right over Rodriguez's no-comments about Canseco and
go right to the stuff about his homers.

Even the Roger Clemens-Brian McNamee congressional showdown from Feb. 5
feels like a faded memory. Clemens is usually scarce this time of year,
preferring to make a dramatic return.

If the Yankees are struggling in May, you think Clemens won't take their
calls because he's worried about a perjury charge? Please.

The lasting image for me of that bizarre day with the House Committee on
Government Oversight and Reform was the last thing I saw before the cameras
cut away: North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx coming over to hug Debbie
Clemens. People love their sports stars (and their wives), even when
charged with trying to root out the truth.

Many greater writers than me have waxed poetic, beautifully so, about the
beginning of a baseball season.

Canseco's poetry is of a different sort, and it's designed to bring down
some of the game's big stars.

Not going to happen now. It's time to believe, not be miserable.


==========
Canseco's "Vindicated" preaches the wrong message
By Richard White
Issue date: 4/2/08

I didn't think it was possible, but former major league player and admitted
steroid user Jose Canseco has become an even worse caricature of himself.

Keep in mind, this was the same clown who is notorious for having a
baseball bounce off his head and over the outfield wall for a home run. The
famous clip is immortalized in blooper reels around the country.

More recently, though, Canseco has come to be known as the sports world's
dirtiest whistle blower with the release of his second "tell-all" book,
"Vindicated."

In early 2005, Canseco's first book, "Juiced," was published. In it he
named several prominent current and former major league stars as users of
performance-enhancing drugs.

Over the last three years, it turns out Canseco was right about several of
his former teammates, including Jason Giambi and Rafael Palmeiro, as well
as a strong likelihood that Mark McGwire cheated as well.

In a recent interview with Martin Bashear on Nightline, Canseco lashed out
at his detractors when asked about the effect the allegations in his second
book will have.

"Let's see if they all call me a liar again. How's that for ya?" Canseco
said. "Let's see if all of a sudden they're going to call me a liar."

Canseco may have been right about a few names, but that doesn't mean he's
telling the truth about everyone he labels as a cheater.

His evidence against some players is thin at best. In "Vindicated," he said
he introduced three-time Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez to a steroid
supplier whom Canseco refers to as "Max."

"He is not who he portrays himself to be," Canseco told Sports Illustrated
of Rodriguez. "He's a phony.... He's a talented individual - and I'll say
he's the best player in baseball - but did he use steroids? Yes, I believe
he did."

When asked to reveal "Max's" real identity, Canseco declined, saying
repeatedly "the timing is not right." How convenient of him.

As for A-Rod, he may be a lot of things, such as an image-conscious prima
donna who speaks in carefully measured PR sound bites, but I do not believe
he is a user of PEDs.

There is no evidence against him as he's passed every drug test he's ever
been given, but that doesn't stop Canseco from labeling him a cheater.

Canseco also contends in his new book that Rodriguez flirted with Canseco's
wife and tried to sleep with her. Canseco may actually be telling the truth
on this one.

Last season, A-Rod, who's a father and husband, was famously ridiculed for
being seen in strip clubs and other questionable situations with a
mysterious buxom blonde.

These two instances are perfect examples of why Canseco is such a troubling
case to consider. On one hand, much of what he says is outlandish and
unlikely, as is the case with A-Rod taking steroids.

However, on the other hand, Canseco gives the public a situation that could
easily be true. This forces some to reconsider his earlier, wild claim as
fact, since he very well could be right about other things.

Still, this is flawed reasoning: just because 'A' could be true, doesn't
mean 'B' is true as well.

Among his many lies, and Canseco has been proven to be a liar in many
instances, are morsels of truth.

All in all, while he does deserve some credit for helping to blow the lid
off baseball's Steroid Era, he still can't be completely trusted.

He's a complicated source because of his questionable character and shady
past. After all, how can you trust a man who is as two-faced as Canseco?

In the full title of "Vindicated" he states he is valiantly fighting a
"battle to save baseball," yet in his recent interview with Bashear he
unashamedly admits, "my motive is to attack Major League Baseball."

Canseco has also said on many occasions that he believes he was blackballed
from baseball.

You can't trust what Canseco says since he openly and readily admits that
his main focus is to do whatever it takes to humiliate baseball. A more
appropriate title for his new book should be "Vindictive" not "Vindicated."

The most shocking revelation of his book is not which players he claims he
injected with what or who he thinks took what. It's not even the way he
paradoxically trumpets himself as the "Godfather of Steroids" in one breath
and then claims he's here to clean up the game as baseball's savior in the
next.

No, the real tragedy with Canseco is the message he's sending to America's
youth. It's a fact that the use of steroids among teenagers has skyrocketed
in the last 10 years, leading to several teen deaths and broken families.

Canseco has no shame as he proudly proclaims in both his first and newest
book that he never would have been the Rookie of the Year and former MVP
that he was if he hadn't taken steroids.

In the very first chapter of "Vindicated," Canseco touts the supposed
wonders of steroids while explaining how he became known inside clubhouses
as the go-to guy for steroids, happily helping his teammates cheat the game
and themselves.

I found his words to be chilling as I wonder how many young, impressionable
and aspiring teenage athletes will read this book and start to get the
wrong idea from a selfish, petty man who should not be trusted.

"I was like a goodwill ambassador; the Godfather of Steroids, and I was
genuinely glad to be of help," Canseco wrote. "As far as I was concerned,
steroids were a miracle drug and I thought everyone should be on them….
You'd have to be crazy not to try them."


==========
From the Journal Register News Service:
Canseco is last one who should talk about morality
By Jim Hawkins

DETROIT -- Jose Canseco, that arrogant, self-annointed paragon of truth, is
a snake. He's a skunk. He's a rat. That, my friends, is as indisputable as
the vindictive smirk on Canseco's face and those 462 steroid-tainted home
runs on his resume.

He is smarmy. He is slimy. He is self-serving. He is as oily as he is petty.

Canseco reminds me of a kid named Butch who lived in my neighborhood when I
was growing up. When Butch's mother called him home at dusk one evening, in
the middle of our street corner baseball game, he grabbed the ball and
threw it down the storm sewer. If Butchie couldn't play anymore, he was
going to make darn sure nobody else could play, either.

Now Canseco, who believes he was blackballed at the end of his artificially
enhanced, 17-year playing career and has long been persona non grata in
baseball circles, is trying to spoil the game for as many other people as
he can.

He is a loathsome creature, an embittered, washed-up ballplayer hell-bent
on dragging as many of his former friends and teammates as possible down
into the sewer with him by naming others he has allegedly known or abetted
using steroids.

If steroids were a cancer that, ignored and left untreated for far too
long, undermined the very fabric of our national pastime, Canseco is an
ugly, festering, open sore.

His latest literary effort, reportedly written in just 10 days and entitled
"Vindicated," is another case of vindictive Jose trying to get even.

"My motive, and I will make it clear and look you in the eyes, is to attack
Major League Baseball," Canseco recently admitted to a national TV interviewer.

No proof and no evidence necessary.

This isn't about steroids. It isn't about exposing the truth. It's about
Canseco's ego. Reportedly, he is writing a movie about his life in which he
(who else?) will star -- as himself. I can hardly wait.

Canseco has no credibility. Zero. None.

The latest unfortunate targets for Canseco's mudpies are the Tigers'
Magglio Ordonez and New York Yankees megamillion superstar Alex Rodriguez.

Ordonez, of course, is the reigning American League batting champ. A-Rod
and Magglio finished 1-2 in the MVP balloting last fall. No coincidence
there, right?

Names make news. Names sell books.

When Canseco's publisher and ghost writer bailed on his latest book,
believing he lacked the evidence to support his claims, Jose simply found a
substitute -- the same guy who penned O. J. Simpson's theoretical
kill-and-tell. Sleaze sells.

Canseco now claims he injected Ordonez with steroids and human growth
hormones in 2001 when the two were teammates in Chicago. Canseco, through
an intermediary, later reportedly tried to extort $5 million from Ordonez
in exchange for keeping Magglio's name out of this book. Supposedly, the
money was to finance a film that, incidentally, never got made.

Ordonez reported the matter to Tigers officials and to Major League
Baseball who, in turn, referred it to the FBI. Serious stuff.

But that didn't stop Canseco.

Mention Canseco's name to Ordonez and Magglio makes a face.

He is angry. He is hurt.

And he is helpless to defend himself.

Ordonez knows better than to get into a spraying contest with a skunk,
especially one who is broke and desperate. Magglio knows, no matter how
loudly he might proclaim his innocence, some of that stink is going to stick.

"Canseco should be in jail," snarls one of Ordonez's Tiger teammates.

But he doesn't want his name mentioned, either. Canseco may turn on him in
his next book.

Canseco never mentioned Ordonez in his 2005 book, "Juiced." He now claims
that was because he "played favorites," and "felt a small connection to Maggs."

With friends like Jose, who needs enemies?

Canseco also admits in his new book that he "hates (Alex Rodriguez's
bleeping) guts," because A-Rod, a bachelor at the time, supposedly hit on
Canseco's ex-wife, Jessica, a former Hooters waitress and Miss Fitness America.

However, former Canseco confidants told SI.com that Jose's hatred for
Rodriguez is about money, not love, stemming from the fact that A-Rod
refused to hire Canseco and his twin brother, Ozzie, to be his agents -- a
move that cost Canseco $12.6 million in commissions in 2001 when Rodriguez
signed his $252 million blockbuster deal with the Yankees.

Canseco claims that he introduced A-Rod to a shadowy steroid supplier from
Canada whom he identifies only as "Max."

Asked on ABC's "Nightline" to further identify "Max," Canseco replied, "The
time is not right now."

Maybe "Max" will be unmasked in Book Three.

I don't profess to know whether Canseco is telling the truth about Ordonez
or not.

Frankly, at this point, I don't care.

I do know I wouldn't trust Jose Canseco to give me the correct time.

Canseco long ago confessed to using drugs to enhance his performance and
prolong his career.

He wasn't the only one, of course. Not by a long shot.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say half of the players in the big
leagues tried some sort of performance enhancing substances at some point.

But baseball has cleaned up its act, albeit belatedly. The game and its
fans are moving on.

Maybe that's what bothers Canseco the most. The game has passed him by and
he is being left behind. His five minutes are up.

Contact Jim Hawkins at jim.hawkins@... and read his blog at Blog
Central at theoaklandpress.com.


==========
From the Star-Ledger:
A-Rod on Canseco's plate
April 02, 2008
By Jenny Vrentas

Just after 3:30 yesterday afternoon, Jose Canseco showed up at Bookends
bookstore in Ridgewood ready to promote his second book "Vindicated," and
willing to continue his allegations against Alex Rodriguez.

After signing about 100 copies of "Vindicated," in which he says that he
introduced Rodriguez to a Canadian steroids dealer he refers to as "Max,"
Canseco noted Rodriguez's previous weight gain of 20 to 30 pounds and
subsequent move to third baseman when he was acquired by the Yankees as
evidence of steroids use.

He also furthered his speculations of Rodriguez's affair with his ex-wife
Jessica saying that when he confronted Rodriguez about it, Rodriguez denied
it, but in a way that "wasn't reassuring." Canseco also said that when he
spoke to Jessica about it last year, she didn't acknowledge the affair but
also didn't deny it.

The first excerpts of "Vindicated" were leaked on a blog last week, and the
book was officially released on Friday. Since then, Rodriguez has issued a
standard "no comment" line in regards to Canseco's allegations.

Yesterday, before the Yankees' season opener, Rodriguez again declined to
respond to Canseco's comments at the book signing.

Canseco has said that he will reveal the identity of "Max" if the material
in "Vindicated" is challenged, but yesterday he said that he doesn't expect
that will happen.

"Both books are the absolute truth," Canseco said, referring to
"Vindicated" as well as "Juiced," his previous book. "I don't think people
can question the truth of these books anymore."

Canseco said he doesn't have guilt about galvanizing steroid use in Major
League Baseball but he is clearly still upset about being "blackballed" and
becoming a "pariah," as he terms it, by MLB. He likened steroids to a
"demon" within professional baseball that couldn't be stopped, so he felt
like he had to write both "Juiced" and "Vindicated" to stop it.

The Mitchell Report probed the use of steroids and other performance
enhancing substances last December, but Canseco said he considers the
report "incorrect, incomplete and inconclusive," in part because he wasn't
contacted for information on any of the players named.

Canseco is quick to defend Roger Clemens, the highest-profile player named
in the Mitchell Report.

"Was I always suspicious of Roger using steroids? Yes," Canseco said. "Have
I ever seen Roger using steroids or did I ever inject him or supply him or
did he make a comment that he was using steroids? No."

Canseco said he doesn't expect he will publish another book with details on
steroid use in baseball. Understanding the content of this one, though, he
warned the younger customers at the book signing yesterday to hold off for
a while.

"You're too young for this book," Canseco told 8-year-old Rudy Estevez, of
Wyckoff. "Give it 10 more years. You have to be 18, at least."


==========
From the NY Daily News:
A-Rod stays mum on Jose Canseco
By Mark Feinsand With Mark Lelinwalla
April 2nd 2008

Alex Rodriguez maintained his silence regarding all things involving Jose
Canseco Tuesday. A-Rod said he would have nothing to say about Canseco's
allegations "for the rest of the year," vowing not to comment regardless of
what Canseco has to say during his book tour.

Canseco believes A-Rod is trying to make the issue disappear, telling the
Daily News on Sunday that he will bring out "Max," the unidentified
steroids supplier he claims he introduced to Rodriguez if A-Rod tries to
attack his credibility "I've got the ace in the hole," Canseco said. "And
he knows it. So there's no way that he's going to fight me. He's trying to
make it go away."

Canseco also discussed A-Rod with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap in an interview set
to air on April 15, saying, "Ask (Rodriguez) point blank did he ever use
steroids, see what he says. Then ask him at the same time right after he
gives an answer to that question, did he ever introduce you to a known
steroid dealer? See what he says to both."

Rodriguez didn't allow the opportunity to ask about the dealer yesterday,
but on Feb. 21, Rodriguez was asked directly by a reporter if he had ever
used any type of performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez's answer: "No."


==========
From Newsday:
Canseco: A-Rod trying to ignore history
By Katie Strang | caitlin.strang@...
April 2, 2008

While Alex Rodriguez has been reticent in responding to allegations of
steroid use, Jose Canseco hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts on the
Yankees' star third baseman.

Canseco said Rodriguez's relative silence on the issue is an attempt at
trying to "sweep it under the rug."

"He should just say it was the truth and move on," Canseco said at a book
signing in Ridgewood, N.J. for his newest book, "Vindicated."

In "Vindicated," the sequel to his original steroid tell-all (or tell-most)
"Juiced," Canseco said he introduced Rodriguez to a steroid supplier, to
whom he refers in the book as "Max."

"Now obviously I don't know if he used steroids, but I did put him in
contact with an individual who was a known steroid dealer," Canseco said.
"We don't know what happened after that, but if you look at his physicals
and charts in spring training after that, it looks like he gained 20-30
pounds, which is interesting. When he was acquired by the Yankees, he was
moved over to third base instead of left at shortstop."

Canseco questioned Rodriguez's recent responses by saying if he was ever
wrongly accused, he'd immediately, and publicly, fight back.

"Really, you have to win this in the public's opinion, and how do you do
that? Take a polygraph, pass it and get the results out," Canseco said.

Although his two books emphasize exposing the gritty details of steroids in
baseball, Canseco said he would only reveal the identity of "Max" if the
veracity of his claims are questioned, a scenario he doesn't anticipate.
While Canseco has no problem admitting his disdain for Rodriguez, who he
believes chased after his now ex-wife during their marriage, he doesn't
believe his hard feelings will hurt his credibility with readers.

"They may question the motivation, but they won't question the
truthfulness," Canseco said.

Canseco didn't reveal much new information, but reaffirmed many of the
elements already excerpted and reported from his new book, which drew more
than 100 people to Bookends bookstore seeking a signed copy from the former
slugger. Canseco said he always believed Roger Clemens used steroids --
although he never had concrete evidence, that Rodriguez was formerly
involved with his wife, and that the Mitchell Report was "incorrect,
incomplete and inconclusive."

Canseco said the "funniest and scariest" part about the report was that no
one from Major League Baseball even bothered to contact him, even after
much of what he detailed in "Juiced," turned out to be true.

"Why didn't they call me?" Canseco asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

Although Canseco said the response he's received thus far has been much
more "positive and believing" than his previous book tour, he knows how he
is viewed in the Major League Baseball Community.

"To them, I'm a pariah," Canseco said.

While he doesn't think he'll shed that stigma anytime soon, or possibly
ever, Canseco said he wants his legacy to be that of someone who told the
truth and brought baseball back to its "natural state."

"I stood against thousands and won," Canseco said. "I spoke up against an
incredible, mammoth, powerful juggernaut, which is Major League Baseball,
and usually nobody survives that."


==========
From News-Press.com:
Canseco's Fla. attorney: Client met with baseball investigators
By David Jones
April 2, 2008

NEW YORK — Miramar attorney Robert Saunooke, who represents Jose Canseco,
told the news-press.com sports bureau at a book signing this afternoon at
Barnes and Noble in New York City that his client met with investigators
with Major League Baseball just prior to his appearance.

Canseco was at the store signing his new book, "Vindicated."

Fans lined the streets outside the Fifth Avenue store as early as 10 a.m.,
two and half hours before Canseco’s appearance.

"I think this could be a perfect situation for him," Saunooke said of
Canseco being a part of the new investigative unit of Major League Baseball.

The two Major League representatives who met with Canseco were Victor
Burgos and Eduardo Dominguez. Saunooke said it was uncertain exactly what
capacity Canseco would be working with the league.

In the Mitchell Report, it was requested that MLB establish an
investigative unit and Burgos and Dominguez are part of that new unit.

"This is something new for them," Saunooke said. "I think (Canseco) would
be perfect to help get it done."


==========
From Sports Illustrated:
Call to action
Baseball needs to pick up where Canseco left off
April 1, 2008

Jose Canseco might be telling the truth, but his reputation is still taking
a beating.

It has become increasingly difficult to discern who looks guilty amid
baseball's parade of steroid suspects and whistle blowers, when everyone is
wearing a clown's nose. Next up on your lineup card: Jose Canseco and Alex
Rodriguez.

Do you believe the lug-head prose of Canseco in his latest potboiler?
Canseco is the 43-year-old lounge act who is scarily comfortable in his
skin as a smarmy opportunist while outing his old syringe buddies' dark
secrets, this time in Vindicated. A-Rod is his current target.

"He's not who he portrays himself to be," Canseco said in a recent phone
interview with SI. "He's a phony.... He's a talented individual -- and I'll
say he's the best player in baseball -- but did he use steroids? Yes, I
believe he did."

Do you buy the artful A-Rod's boilerplate no-comment reply to Canseco last
week?

"His lawyers want him off the subject. The less he says the better for
him," Canseco said. "Basically, what are you going to say against the truth?"

Rodriguez is the 32-year-old reigning MVP, home run champ and an image
paradox. He poses as a family guy and yet found himself labeled as
"Stray-Rod" by the tabloids last year. He usually chooses his words from a
PR crib sheet but, when left to his own verbal devices in February, A-Rod
exaggerated the number of times he was drug tested in 2007 to make
baseball's anti-doping program sound more vigilant than it is.

Is there anyone who can tell honesty from hyperbole? Is there an angel of
mercy who can save baseball from the kind of joyless epic of innuendo that
accompanied Barry Bonds on his way to Hank Aaron's record and threatens to
do the same along A-Rod's path to trump Bonds?

Do angels have bald heads as sleek as Airstream trailers? Jeff Novitzky,
the IRS special agent who gave us BALCO, is expected to interview Canseco
when the Vindicated book tour swings through the Bay Area on April 9 and 10.

This is where Canseco's real tell-all account could unfold. He will be
talking to Novitzky freely -- happy to do it, Canseco said -- while surely
understanding the perils of lying to a federal investigator.

Topic A will be Canseco's insights on Roger Clemens. But what if Novitzky
asks, "Who is Max?" In Vindicated, Max is the alias Canseco uses to
describe the steroid source he introduced to Rodriguez in the late '90s.
There were internal debates at the book's publishing house about whether
Max would be named. Did Max want money for his story? Jennifer Bergstrom,
the book's publisher at Simon Spotlight Entertainment, did not allude to
any financial or legal entanglements when she explained in an e-mail, "It
was a very difficult decision, but we decided it was up to Max to come
forward himself."

Novitzky isn't bound by editorial guidelines. He is free to ask Canseco for
Max's identity, particularly if this person has tentacles to BALCO or other
steroid distribution rings.

"If he asks, I'll look for guidance from my attorney," Canseco says, "and
we'll see how we can help."

If Novitzky chooses to investigate A-Rod, his slow-drip meticulous methods
mean uncovering the truth could last as long as it takes to get to the
center of a Tootsie Pop.

Baseball could expedite closure -- for once. MLB recently created what you
might call a Nip It Police. As recommended in the Mitchell Report,
commissioner Bud Selig has formed an investigative unit -- filled with
veteran detective types that evoke either visions of Costner in The
Untouchables or Shaggy in Scooby-Doo (you pick) -- which is free to probe
steroid allegations even when a player has not failed a drug test.

"It can be an observation, a third party allegation or an anecdote," said
Bob Dupuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, adding, "The
threshold for an investigation is any information that deals with the
security of the game and integrity of the game."

MLB isn't saying whether Vindicated's A-Rod allegations have rung the
alarms of its investigators, but Canseco wasn't aware of any sleuthing by
baseball's investigative branch.

"No one has spoken to me," Canseco said. "It's the strangest thing. If
baseball had come to me from Day One and said, 'Jose, we know you're doing
steroids and others are, too; help us get it out of the game,' I would have
helped."

Canseco is freighted by motives, but so far most of his allegations (see
Rafael Palmeiro and Co.) have been proven true. Baseball might have
preserved some dignity and at least offered the illusion of caring about
doping by reaching out to Canseco long ago in an attempt to stop the loon
in his path.

Attention is as good as currency to Canseco. He craves the power of
relevance. True, there is no doubt that his Bentley lifestyle has been
downgraded to BMW after two divorces, brushes with the law and a civil suit
over a fight that cost him, according to court records, $376,064.

But his two gotcha novels -- with Vindicated as 240 pages of
self-glorification wrapped around 20 pages of note about the holes in the
Mitchell Report, the steroid injection he says he gave Magglio Ordonez and
the tawdry A-Rod accounts -- are less about Canseco's greed than his
grievances.

"I'm dangerous, and baseball knows it," Canseco said.

Danger can be mitigated. Clemens played to Canseco's ego perfectly. After
Clemens appeared on 60 Minutes in January, Canseco wrote in his book that
he was contacted by Roger's lawyers to talk with him about Brian McNamee's
allegations. Team Rocket wanted Canseco, who had always doubted Clemens'
purity through implication, to sign an affidavit saying Clemens had not
attended a 1998 party at Canseco's house and discussed steroids, as McNamee
claimed.

Canseco flew to Houston and as he writes in Vindicated, "When I got there,
Roger picked me up at the airport." He had Canseco at "Hello." As Canseco
wrote, the more he spent time with Roger "the more I came to believe that
I'd been wrong about him. So I signed the affidavit."

In other words, he flipped. Just like that. A little lovin' on Canseco's
psyche -- no matter how contrived -- went a long way. Baseball officials
should try that, because if they don't value Canseco's insider information
-- even if some of it is dubious, even if they've had a longtime rift with
him -- he'll just spew more of it in his next book. And you can already see
him licking a pencil tip for No. 3, on what the game's general managers,
trainers and owners knew.

And he knows a lot of owners -- including a former Rangers owner named
George W. Bush.

"I'd assume he knew, yes," Canseco says. "They all knew what was going on:
Their players were using steroids."

It's up to baseball's new detective squad to unearth the truth about A-Rod,
about Ordonez, about their owners, before Canseco makes it a trilogy.


==========
From Florida Today:
Canseco may help baseball
Ex-player has unusual bathroom meeting with investigators
By David Jones
April 3, 2008

In a meeting that was as mysterious and bizarre as the topic has become,
admitted steroid user and author Jose Canseco met with two members of the
newly-formed Major League Baseball Department of Investigations just prior
to a book-signing at a midtown Manhattan Barnes & Noble on Wednesday.

Canseco rode an escalator to the second floor of the bookstore and was
ushered into a bathroom a little after noon. Security stood in front of the
entrance and did not allow anyone to enter. Inside Canseco, wearing dark
shades and muscles still bulging from his tight shirt, talked with senior
investigators Victor A. Burgos and Eduardo Dominguez. They discussed the
steroids issue with Canseco.

Miramar attorney Robert Saunooke confirmed to FLORIDA TODAY the meeting,
and that his client has agreed to meet with Major League Baseball and
offered help cleaning up the steroids issue in baseball, if desired.

"I've got goose bumps, I'm in shock," Saunooke said.

Baseball officials never approached Canseco after his first book, Juiced,
was published. It included detailed information about the use of steroids
in baseball while he was playing. The current tour is for his second book,
Vindicated, which hit the stands Monday.

About 150 people were in the original line waiting for Canseco to sign his
latest book.

Canseco, who last played in 2001 for the Chicago White Sox, said the
meeting with MLB on Wednesday left him, "Extremely shocked because the
timing seems to be incredible."

He seemed puzzled why it took so long for baseball to seek information from
him.

"They could have reached out to me before I wrote my first book," he said.
"They could have solved this issue easily. They could have reached out to
me after my first book when, ironically, they reached after me after my
second book. I don't really know what to make of it. I don't know what
their motives are. I'm definitely willing to help them out as much as
possible and we'll find out how it turns out."

Canseco's whirlwind tour across the nation continues today with a signing
in Boston. According to Jennifer Robinson of Simon & Schuster, the ex-home
run star will be in Chicago on Friday, Los Angeles on Monday, San Diego on
Tuesday, Oakland on Wednesday and San Francisco next Thursday.

At the conclusion of his promotional tour in a few weeks, Canseco will then
sit down with Major League Baseball officials to discuss what he knows.
Canseco and his lawyer seemed puzzled at why MLB is talking to him now but
both felt it was a good thing.

"I don't know (what he can do)," Canseco said. "But from what they told me,
this is a recently established branch so maybe they are trying everything
possible to clean up the sport and maybe I can help them in any way
possible, I don't know. This is kind of strange. It was a shocker to me."

Canseco cooperated with Sen. George Mitchell's report on performance
enhancing used in baseball which was announced in December and caused the
issue to gain even more national attention. The Mitchell report suggested
the creation of MLB's investigative arm that is currently being formed.

Saunooke joked, "Maybe they could make him the commissioner of steroids."

Asked if his hand had grown tired from signing so many books, Canseco joked
no, but his voice was worn down. He has caused even more attention since
the second book came out, which claimed he introduced Yankees star Alex
Rodriguez to a steroids dealer. Rodriguez has declined comment.

Canseco also attacked Boston pitcher Curt Schilling, who called the author
a "fake." Canseco, in turn, called Schilling a "pathetic human being." On
Tuesday, at another book-signing, Canseco told the New York Post the reason
he has told about Rodriguez's possible steroid use is because he thinks the
current Yankee star had an affair with his ex-wife, Jessica.

As the days go on, the Canseco comments have grown more and more
controversial. But it now appears baseball wants him on its side, instead
of the other way around.

Saunooke said Canseco has offered to help MLB in the past.

"His exact words were, 'Why now?' '' said Saunooke, who attended the
bathroom meeting. "Why not three years ago, why now? They agreed 100
percent. The point is well-taken and we told them once the book tour is
over we will be more than happy to talk with them and see what, if anything
we can do, and whatever we can do to help. It's exactly what we've been
asking to let us do for a long, long time."

Added Saunooke, "It's something he's been saying all along is, 'If they
would just come and ask me and come and talk to me, I would have been able
to help them. I wouldn't have had to write these books.' ''

Saunooke said it wasn't a case of MLB bringing Canseco back in the fold.

"But at least they are acknowledging there is a problem," Saunooke said.
"And they are going to the person who helped expose it and it gives more
validity to what Jose has been saying all along."

Fans who waited for hours to get Canseco's signature on the newest book
brought varying attitudes. Roy Mark Ramdas, from Rutherford, N.J., was
standing in line outside of the bookstore by 10 a.m. Wednesday. He carried
a clipbook about five inches thick with photos, articles, etc., he'd
collected on Canseco for the last 19 years -- since he was about 12.

"He's the only one out there who's telling the truth," Ramdas said.
"Everything he has said has come to pass."

James Littreal of Staten Island, a Yankees fan, said New Yorkers aren't
fazed by Canseco's claims. They live in a tabloid society and it's looked
at more as entertainment, waiting to see what Canseco will say next.

"Who knows," chuckled Littreal, "what the truth really is nowadays."

Contact Jones at 242-3682 or djones@...


==========
From examiner.com:
Walcoff: Canseco still on attack
Apr 2, 2008
By Rich Walcoff

SAN FRANCISCO - The self-professed Godfather of Steroids is off the juice
and embracing a new view. Jose Canseco told me on KGO Radio this week he no
longer uses anabolic steroids or human growth hormone and regrets relying
on chemicals to advance his major-league career.

But the former American League MVP has no qualms about fingering alleged
steroid users in his new book, “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the
Battle to Save Baseball.” Convinced he was blackballed from the game for
his candor about the rampant use of steroids, which he claims was upwards
of 80 percent of major-league players, Jose attacks fellow steroid users
with a vengeance.

Canseco says Barry Bonds knew he was using and thinks Roger Clemens and
Alex Rodriguez, among dozens of All-Stars, were also on
performance-enhancing drugs. If you don’t believe it, just check out
results of his lie-detector tests outlined in the book. Bottom line,
whatever his motivation, while the commissioner and team owners turned a
blind eye to the growing problem, Jose exposed the lie.

Unfortunately, Canseco can’t escape his past either. He frequently dreams
of hitting mammoth home runs in front of roaring crowds only to awaken from
his rock-star-like flashbacks to realize he is a lonely, twice-divorced
42-year-old living with tarnished memories. Jose returns to the Bay Area
for book signings April 9 at Barnes and Noble in Oakland and April 10 at
Books Inc. in The City.


==========
From the New York Times:
Author Up: Canseco Has His Opening Day
By Dave Caldwell
April 2, 2008

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Tuesday turned out to be opening day for José Canseco,
too. Arriving 18 minutes late and wearing wraparound sunglasses and a day
or two’s worth of stubble, Canseco signed copies for the first time of his
second book, “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save
Baseball.”

When Canseco was introduced to about 35 people in the basement of Bookends,
a shop on the main street of this quiet Bergen County town, he was warmly
applauded. The response to the second book, he said, has been different
from the first.

“I think the title could have been, ‘I Told You So,’ but that’s already
been taken,” he said after he had signed about 100 copies.

In his first book, “Juiced,” which was released in 2005, Canseco said that
up to 85 percent of the players in Major League Baseball had used anabolic
steroids, including him and Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, among others.

“He was pretty much the guy who opened up the can of worms,” said Matt
Whitfield of Chatham.

“Juiced” became a best seller and made Canseco a hero to some fans for
revealing steroid use among players. Some of those fans waited up to six
hours Tuesday to have him sign the new book.

“He saved baseball; that’s how I look at it,” said Walter Gurbisz of
Edison. “I think he’s helping baseball for doing this.”

In “Vindicated,” Canseco wrote that he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a
steroids supplier, whom he called “Max” and did not identify further.
Canseco did not say that Rodriguez had used steroids, but he said he
thought it was interesting that Rodriguez had not issued a strong denial.

“From what I understand, he hasn’t said much,” Canseco said of Rodriguez.
“He’s trying to sweep it under the rug.”

Canseco said later, “I don’t think people question the truthfulness of
these books anymore.”

Although he said he considered himself a pariah who no longer had contact
with Major League Baseball, Canseco said he thought the game had cleaned
itself up since the publication of his first book. He said he had run out
of things to write about.

“I don’t think you’re going to see me doing another one of these types of
books — on this subject matter,” he said. “I hope not.”

About 70 people joined the velvet-roped line for an autographed copy of the
book. Canseco shook hands and posed for photographs, including one with an
8-month-old boy with a pacifier in his mouth, and another with a soldier in
battle fatigues.

The turnout for Canseco’s book signing for “Juiced” at Bookends was
somewhat larger, but that one began at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday night, Julie Andrews, a star from another universe, began
signing books at 7 p.m., a few minutes before the first pitch at Yankee
Stadium.


==========
From MLB.com:
Canseco: Ordonez claim was payback
Former slugger says call to Magglio was for 'investment'
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Jose Canseco told a Detroit radio station that he included
Magglio Ordonez in his latest book, "Vindicated," only after The New York
Times ran a story suggesting he had tried to extort money from Ordonez. He
also said he had tried to reach Ordonez about what he called an investment
opportunity.

Canseco appeared with host Frank Beckmann on WJR on Wednesday and repeated
his accusation that he injected Ordonez with steroids while they were
teammates on the 2001 White Sox. However, he suggested that he didn't
originally plan to include it in the book.

"He was a very, very, very late addition to my book because of what he did
with that article," Canseco told Beckmann. "He would've never been in my
book if he would've just not done anything at all, or not written
[anything] or had this article somehow placed in the newspaper about me.
That was ridiculous."

A January report in the Times cited Major League Baseball sources saying
that Canseco approached Ordonez offering to keep his name out of the book
if Ordonez helped finance a film project Canseco was pursuing. The report
went on to say that Ordonez contacted the Tigers, who contacted Major
League Baseball, but that Ordonez chose not to press charges.

When Beckmann asked Canseco why he was going to leave Ordonez out, Canseco
said, "Because I didn't need any more players to justify my position. But
he basically slit his own throat."

When Beckmann suggested Canseco vindictively put him in the book, Canseco
said, "Just as he vindictively said to the media, or indirectly said to the
media, or somehow fixed this to say I was trying to extort money from him.
Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous."

The book appeared in stores last week. In a chapter near the end of the
book, Canseco claims that Ordonez asked him about steroids, and then
describes a conversation and the ensuing injection.

Ordonez has declined comment on Canseco's book.

Though Canseco has previously denied contacting Ordonez about the book, he
told Beckmann that he had tried to reach Ordonez.

"I tried to contact Magglio and his agent and a few other people for an
opportunity for an investment," Canseco said. "I called them constantly. No
one ever returned my phone call. Now, the next thing I hear in the paper is
that I'm trying to extort money from Magglio Ordonez."

The interview ended abruptly when Beckmann brought up Ordonez's statistics
in the years leading up to Canseco's season with him and asked why there
wasn't a significant increase in performance.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Canseco asked. "Are you calling me a liar? Later."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


==========
From the NY Daily News:
Baseball turns to Jose Canseco for help in steroids investigation
By Christian Red
Wednesday, April 2nd 2008

Former major leaguer Jose Canseco has written two books - 'Juiced' and his
new one, 'Vindicated' - that blow the whistle on rampant steroid use in
baseball.

All it took was three years and two tell-all books - "Juiced" and the
just-released "Vindicated" - to get Major League Baseball to take some
interest in what former Bash Brother Jose Canseco has to say about steroids
in America's pastime.

At Canseco's book signing in midtown today, the power hitter-turned-author
had some unexpected guests, who weren't present to collect the slugger's
autograph. Victor Burgos and Eduardo Dominguez, two members of MLB's newly
formed Department of Investigations, visited the Barnes & Noble at 46th and
Fifth Ave. to introduce themselves to Canseco and to try to set up a meeting.

"We had no clue. They just showed up, out of the blue," Robert Saunooke,
Canseco's attorney, told the Daily News. "They said, 'We would like Jose to
come help us.' We're like, 'Sure.'" Saunooke said no meeting date was
decided and that he would hold off making any arrangements until after the
"Vindicated" book tour concludes April 10th in San Francisco. He then added
that he and Canseco were puzzled as to what took baseball so long to seek
help from the self-admitted Godfather of steroids.

"We asked them, 'Why now? Why not two years ago? Why so long?'" said
Saunooke. "They said, 'Those are valid questions.'"

Canseco told the Daily News in an exclusive interview Monday that he has
long felt that baseball "blackballed" him and "slowly, but surely choked
(him) out of the game."

Even though "Juiced" blew the lid off baseball's steroid problems after its
release three years ago, Canseco was largely vilified for his candid
nature. Apparently the claims in "Vindicated" - that Canseco introduced
three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez to a steroids dealer in the late '90s and
that Canseco injected Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordoñez with steroids in
2001 - were enough to have MLB extend an olive branch.

"Jose's statements (today) were, 'This is great, excellent. Finally,
baseball is taking it seriously.' He wished they had contacted him sooner.
Whatever he can do, he'll be happy to do," said Saunooke.

Following the release of the Mitchell Report last December, one of former
Sen. George Mitchell's recommendations to commissioner Bud Selig was to
establish an investigative unit. That department, now in place, reports to
MLB president and COO Bob DuPuy. Although MLB would not comment on the
investigators' meeting with Canseco today, there may be interest from MLB
finding out more about "Max," the unidentified steroids dealer Canseco
writes about in his current book.

When the investigative unit was formed in January, MLB said it "will have
broad authority to conduct investigations."

"Now, Jose will no longer be saying, 'Why, why, why hasn't (MLB) called
me?' He'll be saying, 'Guess what happened today?'" said Saunooke. "It does
raise a lot of questions. Why now? Is it the A-Rod allegations? Do they
want to know who "Max" is? Who knows? What if they want to know who Max is,
so they can get to Max and go after A-Rod, because they believe Jose over
A-Rod? I don't know. Who knows what will happen. I don't know what this
will translate into. No clue."

Saunooke said he was just pleased - not vindicated - that something other
than disdain was being directed toward his client.

"I would love to see it translate into something where Jose was working
with baseball again, where they brought him back in and there was some kind
of fence mending. But that's not for me to decide," he said.


==========
From the Sporting News:
MLB officials interview Canseco in bathroom
Ex-slugger is 'extremely shocked. I don’t know what their motives are'
April. 3, 2008

Joe Canseco met with two members of the recently formed Major League
Baseball Department of Investigations before a book signing Wednesday in
Manhattan, USA Today reports.

The author of Juiced and now Vindicated said he met with investigators
Victor Burgos and Eduardo Dominguez inside a bathroom of the bookstore,
according to the report.

An unidentified Major League Baseball official told USA Today the officals
sought out Canseco for questioning as they will anyone who claims to have
information about illegal drug use in baseball.

Canseco said the meeting left him “extremely shocked.” “I don’t know what
their motives are,” he added. “I’m definitely willing to help them out as
much as possible.

In his new book, Vindicated, Canseco charges that he arranged a meeting
between a steroids supplier and Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez in the
late ‘90s.