Canseco's new book doesn't pass smell test

There's something entirely fitting about Major League Baseball investigators questioning Jose Canseco in a bathroom this week.

Because from what I've seen -- excerpts reported by various news outlets -- that's where his new book belongs.

At the very least, there's a foul odor emanating from the allegations Canseco makes in "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball," which hit bookstores Monday.

Yes, much of what Canseco wrote in his first book proved to be true. It was the buzz generated by the accusations he made in "Juiced," in fact, that prompted Congress to investigate baseball's steroids problem, which led to tougher testing and, ultimately, The Mitchell Report.

So something good came of it.

But the sequel, in which Canseco claims he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids dealer and injected Magglio Ordonez with steroids, appears to be nothing more than a money grab -- a sleazy attempt to sell whatever credibility he might've earned with the first book by concocting a flimsy follow-up.

He tries to take down two of the game's big names without producing any real evidence, just offering his own accounts and opinions.

That's why Canseco's original ghostwriter, former Sports Illustrated associate editor Don Yaeger, passed on the project in December.

"I don't think there's a book there," Yaeger told the New York Daily News in January, later adding, "I don't think he's got what he claims to have, certainly doesn't have what he claims to have on A-Rod. There's no meat on the bones."

As someone who worked with Yaeger in Jacksonville in the 1980s, before he became a best-selling author, I trust his judgment over Canseco's motivation. And he was convinced Canseco didn't have the goods on baseball's best player.

What Canseco does have, however, is a grudge.

He says so himself.

In the new book.

Canseco wrote that, after educating A-Rod about steroids, the New York Yankees star repaid him by sexually pursuing Canseco's then-wife, Jessica. He also ends one chapter with a personal message to A-Rod: "I hate your -- guts."

So you can't help but question Canseco's motives.

Besides, without A-Rod, he has nothing to sell.

But even Canseco's steroids story about Ordonez, the Detroit Tigers all-star outfielder, doesn't pass the smell test.

The New York Times reported in January that Canseco offered to keep Ordonez "clear" in the new book in exchange for a $5 million investment in a movie based on "Juiced" -- a story Canseco has denied.

The matter was referred to the FBI, but Ordonez decided not to pursue charges against his former Chicago White Sox teammate, saying, "He is probably desperate for money."

That does appear to be what this new book is all about.

Nobody should believe that Canseco really cares about saving baseball. The guy is not a hero, not one of the good guys. He's an admitted cheater, an opportunistic fraud who came clean -- about himself and others -- only after somebody offered him a pile of cash.

It doesn't matter that some of what he alleged in his first book turned out to be true. It doesn't guarantee the legitimacy of the sequel. It certainly doesn't mean he has been "Vindicated," as the title trumpets.

Let's face it: If Canseco really had the goods on A-Rod, we'd have read all about it in "Juiced," probably in Chapter One.

But we didn't.

Ask yourself why. Or pick up a copy of his new book and judge for yourself.

When you're done, though, make sure you wash your hands.

This one smells bad.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@Scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)