The fallout from the book, "Juiced," by Jose Canseco, so far is that it seems that lots of people knew all along that he juiced. Tony La Russa, manager when Canseco and McGwire played together in Oakland, has admitted that Canseco used to brag that he did not have to work out as hard as others because of his "Little helper." He had earlier claimed no knowledge of any player using steroids. His new statements seem to point the finger at Canseco as a lone gun steroid user, and that Canseco believed everyone else is a sucker for not juicing. Canseco, on the other hand, claims to have been the "Godfather of steroids." Forever more, this story is a he said she said affair. Canseco will fight for credibility, the rest of the baseball universe will deny everything and point the finger at Canseco. So what do we make of this mess? How serious is the situation? How much better of a player does steroids make a juicer? The bottom line that needs to be established is how much better a player does cheating make a player?

First of all, ther is an old saying that states, "Never trust anyone who says ‘I don’t lie’." Someone who lies would have no problem lying in the first place. Tony La Russa all but said he lied about steroids, so it proves that he wouldn’t hesitate to use deception to protect players again. Any statement from him on the issue should be viewed as a half truth at best.

Canseco claims that he wouldn’t even have been good enough to make the majors without steroids. He said that steroids make "Good athletes into studs, and studs into superstars." So one of two former players who has straight admitted steroid use claims that steroids made his career. The other player who admitted steroid use that I know of is Ken Caminiti, former NL MVP. Jason Giambi will forever be nothing but a gutless weasel to me until he states on the record, "I did it." Canseco and Caminiti, both former MVPs, both admitted juicers. When the minors were tested, even with masking agents and other ways to cheat on the test, 9% tested positive. Four hundred players in all. So evidence states that there must be more than just Canseco and Caminiti, even though everyone else denies use. How much does cheating help? How much has the game changed?

Norm Cash was a normal everyday '60s and 70's first baseman. He would hit .250-.280, hit 25-30 home runs, and have 80-90 rbi year in and year out. In 1961, he hit .361, 41, and 132. After his career was over, he said that he corked his bat in the 1961 year. He corked his bat ONLY in the 1961 year. His second best full season average was .286, and rbi total was 93. If corking his bat can add 75 points to his average, and 39 rbi, what will 35 pounds of solid muscle do? It brings into question every player who has a "Career year." Rich Aurelia hit .324 with 37 home runs in 2001. He had a .941 ops. His next best ops was .783. Did he cheat? Murphy's law says yes, but no other evidence points in that direction. We'll give Aurelia the benefit of the doubt in hopes that a dream season can happen to anyone.

Now we look at Sammy Sosa. For the Cubs in 1993, he had what has been described as the worst 30-30 season ever. He later went on to hit 60+ home runs in three of four years, and with 574 career home runs is a sure fire hall of famer. 60 is one of baseball's most magical numbers, and 600 is another. He is 26 home runs over the short fences of the cozy confines of Camden field from surpassing that number as well. He has had one at bat where his bat broke in half to reveal that the bat he was using for that at bat was corked. He has a million questions and accusations being hurled about steroid use. He claims that he sometimes uses a corked bat in batting practice to give the fans a show, and accidentally used it once in a game. He denies steroid use. Can a player that had the worst 30-30 season ever turn into one of the games all time sluggers through hard work and practice in the hitting cage? I would love to believe that it can be done. It would give hope to the age old saying that one can be anything they want if they work hard enough. Murphy's Law, though begs to differ. Almost every other player tapes the end of their batting practice bats to prevent confusion and to protect against flying shards if the bat should shatter. I don't believe Sosa one bit. Especially seeing that since the shattered bat incidence, he has hit for a much lower average and less power. It seems to me that he has been pacified by suspicion. He quit using a corked bat to prove retroactively that he made a one-time mistake, in my opinion. See Albert Belle. He was a monster for years, then his bat splits open to reveal cork. Since then his career shriveled up and died. Belle played for the White Sox for a few years. So did Sosa. Someone should check Frank Thomas's and Maglio Ordonez's bats because there may be someone with a side hobby of carpentry in the White Sox clubhouse. Just hope Carlos Lee is honest. To me all evidence suggests that Sammy Sosa is a liar. He cheats. No, he double cheats.

Will we forget the Mantles and the Ruths of yore because their records are disappearing? No, but we may forget hard working honest players like Eddie Murray and Robin Yount. That would be a shame.

Now, how bad has cheating affected the game? The honest, hard working player is losing millions of dollars. During Canseco's MVP year, Mike Greenwell took second in the MVP voting. Canseco admitted that without steroids he did not believe he was good enough to play in the majors. If Canseco was not there, Greenwell wins the MVP. When renegotiating a contract, MVP may add as much as a zero or two. It has almost gotten to the point where hard work means little. To compete players must do something.

What are the alternatives? Creatine monohydrate is a major fad in muscle building. Most players know about it and use it. What are the benefits of creatine instead of steroids? The effect of creatine on the body is that it makes muscles recover faster from strenuous exertion. That means that when lifting weights, the muscles recover quicker so that a person can increase reps, and work out muscle groups more frequently. Steroids build muscle with no outside assistance. They just build muscle with no effort. At least with creatine, you must still pump iron to make it effective. Also, it does not appear that creatine has any major dangerous side effects. An added bonus of creatine over steroids is that because with creatine, you still need to work out to get stronger, tendons and ligaments get conditioned with the muscles, and injuries are reduced. Alternatives to corked bats? Aluminum is a change I never want to see in the bigs. Maple seems to be making some difference, but I don't have any alternative other than to hope players gain a conscience and think of the kids.

Should we care about all the rampant cheating? On one hand, the year Sosa and McGwire chased Maris was exiting enough for the fans to forget the strike year. It is more fun to see players hit .350 with 55 home runs and 140 rbi than it is to see someone hit .285 with 25 home runs and 100 rbi. It is fun to see many people throwing 98+. It is fun to see 500 foot home runs, and records being broken. One reason I am surprised everyone isn't juiced (at least I hope) is the money that is being thrown around. Juice for a few years, hit 40 home runs and get $20 million over 3 years. Seems like a no brainer. A few secrets, a little risk to your health, and be set financially for life. Why do we care? There are no such things as victimless crimes. Once again the people who get the shaft in the whole ordeal is Joe Public. Who can forget the "Say it ain't so, Joe?" kid who was crushed when Shoeless Joe was banned from the game. Kids who dream of playing in the bigs are realizing that to make their dreams happen they need to start juicing younger. Steroids are now all the rave in High school sports. I have far less sympathy for big leaguers making more money in a year than I will in a lifetime if they show negative side effects, but high school kids usually don't know what they are getting into. Finally, with a bunch of people hitting a ton of home runs, salaries have spiraled out of control. The days of kids skipping out of school to go to the ball game are over. For a family of four to go to a game, it will cost at a minimum of $120. Parking…$5. Four tickets in the nosebleed seats…$80. Four hotdogs…$16. Four sodas…$12. Foam finger…$3. Peanuts…$3. Watching a bunch of balding, 250 pound mounds of muscle who make millions of money from the fans who can barely afford the parking…no, I can't say it. It is not priceless. It may be costing more than any price tag can list. The innocence of youth. The beauty of fair competition. The ability to sit in box seats on a 70 degree May afternoon. The belief that anyone can be whatever they want to with enough hard work. The belief that "they are only cheating themselves." The belief in all that is good in our fine country. All these things are at risk as the fabric of our society tears apart. People are willing to cheat at a GAME. This is a game that should be entertainment. If people are willing to cheat at a game, what about things that should matter, like politics. I guess we already knew that they all lie through their teeth, but to cheat on such a profound level at our leisure activities? Musicians lip-synch their music, athletes cheat, and sharks swim in the oceans. I just wish there was some way to blame it all on the agents...