Crackhead cries racism
So I am watching Sportscenter this morning, and they run a clip of Jose Canseco on Outside the Lines Nightly talking about the Sammy Sosa bat-corking incident. Of course, what are the first words out of his mouth? “This is an attack on minorities in general, and I’m really disgusted with it.” His belief is that the media has blown the bat corking thing out of proportion for Sosa when they wouldn’t have done so for a white athlete. Of course, to believe this, Canseco just has to completely ignore the whole issue of corking to be illegal in baseball. He also has to ignore the fact that by and large, baseball is a pretty boring sport at this time of the year, in the first third of the season. What else does the media have to report on besides an issue of this magnitude? Canseco needs to stop popping what ever pills he is currently taking so the delusions will go away. Sammy Sosa is one of the most recognizable (and marketable) athletes in baseball right now, which does not square with Canseco saying that he is not an “All-American name.” Baseball needs this kind of scrutiny since fans are coming to see talent on display and they shouldn’t have to wonder if the players are on steroids or using illegal equipment. Maybe Jose should take a hint from Mike Tyson and “Fade into Bolivia,” hopefully in silence.
Sammy did the right thing and apologized for the corked bat, and the investigation of his other 76 bats (by the way: why does ANYONE need 76 bats?) found them to be clean. However, this does not resolve the issue of the uncertainty now surrounding the rest of his accomplishments. You can find articles here, here, and here that highlight some of the new controversy that now surrounds Sosa. They are even talking about investigating the five bats in the Hall of Fame. Like he needed that after last year’s steroids debacle. The question I heard asked at first right after the apology was, “If it hadn’t broken, would he have come forward?” Unfortunately, I
do not think that is the case since Sosa is human, and humans tend not to point out mistakes they make if they are not caught. Sad, but true.