As stern criticism concerning Jose Canseco’s lack of character, ill-intentions and sleaze factor mounts, there seems to be a sudden shift in gears with his public relations strategy.

After glowing in the spotlight as MLB’s snitch of the century and taking in tons of cash, Canseco decides it’s time to say he is sorry and he does it in his new A&E documentary called, “Last Shot.”

Now bankrupt, Canseco said he is sorry he ever created his book ‘Juiced”, and sorry for outing his fellow MLB players for taking illegal steroids.

The following quotes from the book and other interviews have revealed a  character unconcerned about his fellow athletes and former friends.

During a past interview with Mike Wallace: “When the cameras stopped rolling, Wallace asked me if we could talk, off-camera. He kept me there for another hour, clearly curious about steroids. . . . He wondered how the steroids and human growth hormones (HGH) might help him, a man in his 80s, live a longer, healthier life. He wanted to know everything.”

In his book: “I met Mags (Magglio Ordonez) in 2001, when I was with the White Sox. When it was all said and done, when Maggs had the information he needed, he told me he was in. A few days later, we went into the back room in the clubhouse, and I jabbed a needle into his butt. ‘Ow,’ he said. ‘That hurt.’ ‘You’ll get used to it,’ I said.”

Canseco also mentioned the comments he made about Roger Clemens were edited out of interviews he had with ESPN and 60 Minutes and attributed that to the fact Clemens, who is a member of our Famous Mugshots Gallery, is from Texas and is very close to the Bush family.  “Clemens is a personal friend of Bush Sr. and his wife, Barbara. Clemens still has a standing invitation from Bush Jr. to visit the White House anytime. Getting the picture? Maybe the President of the United States, or his daddy, the ex-President, made some calls and took care of things for good ol’ Roger.”

In another chapter: “So A-Rod, if you’re reading this book, and if I’m not getting through to you, let’s get clear on one thing: I hate your — guts.”

Canseco’s National-Enquirer-like tale has ruined the careers, reputations and lives of several people including Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire to name only a few.

Canseco’s life since retiring from baseball, has taken the route of a desperate man, whoring himself out to productions like Celebrity Boxing along the way; it doesn’t get much more pathetic than that.

Celebrity Boxing has included other people over the years who were trying desperately to cling to fame. There was a Tonya Harding vs. Clinton-sleaze Paula Jones, Refrigerator Perry vs. Manute Bol; and even a Partridge-family member vs. Brady Bunch member bout.

Canseco was knocked out in his bout by a sportscaster, Vai Sikahema. Canseco, 6-ft 4in, 245 lbs. got pummeled by the much smaller Sikahema, 5ft 9in, 205 lbs.

Sikahema knocked Canseco down with a left hook and again with a flurry of punches, both in the first round and the fight was called after just one round.

Entertainment? Depends who you ask.

Is his book ‘Juice’ entertainment? Depends who you ask.

So how sorry is Canseco, really?

Canseco recently released a second book slamming steroid use as well as the A&E documentary. Creating more negative exposure against the same sport and people he threw under the bus sounds more like a PR and marketing tour. It’s no wonder most people do not see any sincerity in his apology and look at it as another money-making scheme.

When filmmakers make a movie, they go on tour, doing interviews to draw attention to their movie and stir interest . . . the exact things Canseco is doing. If Canseco was sorry and concerned about the damage he has done why give it more exposure.

In this interview on A&E he recites a script that many feel are nothing but words without meaning, “I should not have written that book. The more I think about it the more I regret mentioning these players in my book because I admired them, I respected them.”

Respected them so much, that instead of trying to brush it under the rug; he writes a second book then goes in front of a camera talking about them.

Canseco goes on in his interview making statements that does nothing more than question his intelligence, “I never really realized this was going to blow up as big as it was going to blow up and hurt so many people.”

What planet has he been living on?

“If I could meet with Mark McGuire and these players I would definitely apologize to them because the more I think about it, the more wrong I was.”

If he were really sorry he would help pay for Bond’s and Clemen’s legal fees and pursue getting Mark McGuire into the Hall of Fame instead of going on his PR tour.

The only thing Canseco is sorry about is that very few people care what he has to say anymore so his new book sales are down and bill collectors are said to be banging on his door.

His greed and lack of concern for his fellow players and his sport will make him remembered as nothing but a greedy snitch who stabbed his friends in the back.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

BEANTOWN – Some Red Sox fans miss history

The Tampa Bay Rays blew a 7-0 lead and allowed the Red Sox to score 8 runs in the last three innings for a record-setting, 8-7 dramatic comeback.

And how pissed off are the fans we saw heading to their cars during the seventh inning stretch and their team down 7-0?

Fans in every city criticize the fans in their rival cities for not being loyal enough and jumping on the bandwagon, but when it comes down to it, we all have a game we regret leaving early.

Mine is last week’s Atlanta Falcon game against the Bears when the game was “certainly over” with only 11 seconds left. The Bears had just put together the best drive of their year and went ahead 20-19.

With a rookie QB Matt Ryan in the driver’s seat and only 11 seconds left, you may as well put this one in the books . . . unless of course Lovie Smith calls for a squib kick, the rookie QB throws a perfect 30-yard sideline strike to a WR who makes a tip-toe reception with just 1 second left on the clock then a kicker splits the uprights with a 48 yarder to win the game 22-20 with no time on the clock.

Two sayings fit this scenario, “It isn’t over ’til the Fat Lady sings” and “Misery loves company?” Well my company was all those dumb-ass Red Sox fans who will regret throwing in the towel too early and missing the greatest comeback in MLB history.

Who will win this MLB series? Vote on our homepage.

Bob Uecker Seats in Tampa

The Tampa Bay Rays announced they will remove the tarp covering their “Bob Uecker” seats in the highest point of the upper deck of Tropicana Field. This opens the area for an additional 5,762 “jump-on-the-bandwagon” Rays fans for Game 6 of the AL Championship or Game.

According to a team’s spokesman, some of the seats are obstructed-view and some don’t have seatbacks.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

MILWAUKEE – In one of the strangest managerial moves in MLB history, the Milwaukee Brewers fired their skipper, Ned Yost this past week.

The fact that a MLB manager was sent packing late in the year is not unusual. Coaches and managers many times get pink slips at the tail end of a season, or even in the middle of the night like in N.Y; but the timing of the move is utterly asinine.

The Brewers are TIED for the wild card lead with 12 games to go.

Yost’s Brewers were mired in their worst slump of the season, and most recently were swept by the Phillies. The Brew Crew has lost 11 of their last 14 games, and has blown a 5 ½ game wild card lead since the beginning of September but are still firmly in the middle of the playoff hunt.

Although I skipped my calculus classes as often as possible throughout my college drinking career, the math to this Brewer’s equation seems simple and calculates to this:

C.C. minus N.Y. = 0 playoffs.

Apparently, the Brewer brain trust feels third base coach, Dale Sveum, who has no major league managing experience, is the answer to their offensive woes. If Coach Sveum takes the next two weeks getting settled into his newly appointed position, like many MLB managers do, the season will be over.

When asked about the untimely move, Brew Crew GM Doug Melvin said, “I’m not sure if I have all the answers, and I’m not sure this is the right one, either.”

What makes this move even more baffling is this is the same front office, who in July, pulled off one of the greatest deadline trades of all time when they dealt coveted prospect, Matt LaPorta to the Indians for stud pitcher CC Sabathia.

In less than a half season worth of work, Sabathia has pitched well enough to be mentioned as a long-shot MVP candidate. Unfortunately, this masterful move may have been negated by today’s move that could trigger a new “Bonehead-of-the-Week” column.

It’s been 26 years since Milwaukee has sniffed the playoffs, and with Sabathia almost certainly lost to free agency upon season’s end, it may be a much longer wait.

After this Brewer’s “shake-up”, the best news today in Cheeseland is . . . the Favre-less Packers are 2-0.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Previously published in The Detroit Free Press and Baseball Digest on May 28, 2008.

ATLANTA – The last time Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox said, “This kid can pitch, he’ll be around here for a while.” he wasn’t kidding. The year was 1988, Cox was the GM for the Braves and the “kid” he was referring to was John Smoltz, a young, hard-throwing pitcher who had just been obtained in a trade with the Tigers.

Since then, Smoltz, who still pitches for the Braves, has blossomed into a sure Hall of Famer, posting 210 wins, 154saves and over 3,000 strike outs.

In May, 2008 as manager of the Braves, Cox made a similar statement, “This kid can pitch, he’s gonna’ be a good one”. This time the “kid” Cox is referring to is another acquisition from the Tigers, 22 year-old starting pitcher, Jair Jurrjens. After eleven starts this year, the rookie pitching phenomenon, is taking the National League by storm.

After being part of an unpopular trade that sent hometown favorite, Edgar Renteria to the Tigers, Jurrjens is now being referred to as the most impressive rookie pitcher the Braves have had in over a decade.

The Braves were at home on Memorial Day Monday and Cox, again showing confidence in Jurrjens, put the rookie right-hander on the mound against the first-place Diamondbacks and their ace Brandon Webb (9-1). Going into Monday’s game, Jurrjens had a 5-3 record with an impressive 2.64 ERA.

At that time, Jurrjens ERA was 4th best in the league and better than Webb’s (2.69).

Against the Diamondbacks, Jurrjens, out-pitched Webb during the Braves 7-3 win, but was pulled with a 5-3 lead because of a blister developing on his throwing hand, just one out shy of recording his 6th victory of the season.

During his post game interview Monday, Cox said, “Jurrjens pitched incredibly good. He’s a young kid; he’s pitched a ton of good innings for us this year.”

Yes he has and his record should indicate that. In two of his past outings, the rookie walked away with no decision after giving up no runs in one game then only one run in another. It is safe to say both of those outings deserved to be victories as well as Sunday’s game if he were left in for one more out.

Jurrjens record could easily be 8-3 right now which would only rub more salt in the wounds of Tiger fans as they watch their team’s starting pitching staff struggle throughout the year.

Jurrjens who has not given up more than four runs in any of his outings this season, is way ahead of Smoltz’ pace, thus far, as Smoltz struggled his first year as a rookie in 1988 then went on to win 12 games in his second year, posting an ERA of 2.94. Jurrjens’ performance is creating a buzz around Atlanta and talk about the possibility of him taking home the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year award.

While Renteria is having a respectable season hitting .279, the Tigers sit near last place with one of the statistically worst starting pitching staffs in baseball, it’s hard not to notice what contributions Jair Jurrjens could be making for the Tigers at this point of the season.

This season, only one of the Tiger’s starters has more than three wins and with the Tiger starters having ERAs between 4.58 and 6.66, they could use a young right arm like Jurrjens’. While the top four starters for the Tigers have given up at least seven home runs each, Jurrjens has given up just a total of two long balls in his 11 outings.

Many Braves fans hated to see Renteria get traded and were bitter and questioned the move. Over the years, Bobby Cox has shown he has a knack for recognizing talent, and the Braves manager liked the potential he saw in shortstop Yunel Escobar.

When Jurrjens’ name came up in trade talks, he jumped on the opportunity to land the great prospect, even at the expense of Renteria, his all-star shortstop.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Escobar was hitting .310 compared to Renteria’s .279. Both players each had 4 home runs, 4 errors and almost an identical number of RBI’s.

Clearly the Braves have not lost any offense from the transaction and have made a huge gain in their starting rotation. With John Smoltz on the mend from typical aches, pains and injuries of a 40 year-old pitcher and Tom Glavine turning 42 years-old this season, Jurrjens success coupled with the evolution of Escobar is making Braves fans forget about the loss of Edgar Renteria.

With solid starting pitching hard to acquire in Major League Baseball, this trade appears to be an excellent move by the Braves.

Time will tell if the Renteria/Jurrjens trade will haunt the Detroit Tigers and their fans, like the Smoltz trade of the 80’s.

In the meantime, in Atlanta, the team and fans are reaping the rewards.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – At All-Star break the Atlanta Braves were poised to make a run. Their schedule allowed them a realistic opportunity to create a tight, four-way race in the NL East.

Being in the hunt for a playoff spot would put the Braves in the position most analysts expected them to be in throughout this season. Being in the hunt could also convince Braves GM Frank Wren to stop accepting calls inquiring about a Mark Teixeira trade.

On July 16 with the Braves sitting 6.5 games behind first and the last-place Nationals coming to town, it wasn’t time for the Fat Lady to sing just yet.

A lot has occurred since the Braves laced up their spikes and took the field after All-Star break and most of the news is bleak.

The underachieving Braves lost the first series after break to the overachieving Nats, allowing one of the worst offensive teams in MLB to score 29 runs at Turner Field.

Scurrying out of Atlanta with their tail between their legs, the Braves went on the road where they regrouped and won a three-game series against the division rival Florida Marlins.

Although the Braves lost just one of those games, their biggest loss occurred during their Game 3 win when All-Star third baseman Chipper Jones strained a hamstring hustling to beat out a throw to first base.

Taking the momentum from their road series victory in Florida, the Braves continued on to the City Of Brotherly Love for their much anticipated series against another NL East division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies; a series they would have to play without Jones who was still nursing his hammy.

Citizens Bank Park is known as a hitter’s ballpark and is an intimidating place to take the mound, even for seasoned veterans. That didn’t seem to faze Braves rookie phenomenon Jair Jurrjens who started Game 1 and hurled eight innings of shutout ball, leading his Braves to an 8-2 win for his 10^th victory of the season.

In Game 2, capitalizing on the hitter’s park theory, the Braves scored nine runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 9-3 lead and were primed to win back-to-back road series for the first time all season.

The Phillies had other plans. They answered with seven in the bottom of the fifth to take a 10-9 lead and steal that game from the Braves.

The Braves bats stayed alive for most of that Phillies series. Offensively, they averaged nine runs per game, scoring a total of 27 runs in the three games . . .  but that wasn’t enough; not when your bullpen squandered every lead they are handed.

The Braves blew dominating leads of five and six runs during Game 2 and 3, their bullpen collapsing both times and causing the Braves to surrender the most important series of the year. They were clearly in position to return home in the thick of the NL East playoff race.

Instead, the Braves returned home for seven games against tough opponents, the Cardinals and red-hot Brewers, and will be playing without their All-Star cast.

Brian McCann suffered a concussion during Game 3 from a collision at the plate and is listed game-to-game while Jones and No. 1 starter Tim Hudson were placed on the 15 day DL beginning July 28^th.

This is deflating news. Even the most optimistic should consider throwing in the towel.

There is a window of opportunity in sports and the Braves window is slamming shut. After this past week of blown opportunities, GM Wren is expected to not only answer the phone when it rings, but also place a few calls of his own.

With the deadline looming just hours away, Teixeira should be packing his bags. And as for The Fat Lady . . . it’s time for her to warm up her mic.

Previously published in Baseball Digest on July 15, 2008.ATLANTA, Ga. – It’s the bottom of the 6th inning with two outs and a man on base for the Arizona Diamondbacks who trail the visiting Houston Astros 7-5. Diamondback’s Manager Bob Melvin decides to call on a right-handed pinch hitter.

Houston manager Cecil Cooper makes a trip to the mound and counters Melvin’s move by making a pitching change, bringing in reliever Dave Borkowski to come in to get the important final out of the inning.

The raucous crowd of Diamondback fans at Chase Field rise to their feet as the pinch hitter digs in, staring through Borkowski awaiting the delivery. Borkowski, confident, rears back and fires the ball, challenging the hitter.

The ball is greeted with a solid crack of the bat and the crowd erupts as the ball sails into the right field seats for a two-run pinch hit homer to tie the game. In a matter of seconds, one pitch, one crack of the bat. . . and two runs on the board for the Diamondbacks.

Unusual? This time it was.

The pinch hitter was Micah Owings, a member of the Diamondback’s starting rotation. A pitcher who many believe may be the purest hitting pitcher ever to play the game.

Last year while playing in front of friends and family at Turner Field in his home state, Owings had a record-breaking night at the plate going 4 for 5 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI’s and 4 runs scored while earning the win against the Atlanta Braves. His 11 total bases for a pitcher is a feat that had not been accomplished in nearly 50 years. Those are numbers A Rod would call home about.

Owings went on to hit .333 last season with 20 hits, including 4 home runs, 15 RBI’s and a .683 slugging percentage in 60 at bats. It’s no wonder Bob Melvin felt confident to give Owings the call at a crucial time in that tight game against the Astros earlier this season.

In addition to Owings, baseball fans expect a solid at bat whenever Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano steps to the plate. At the time this article was written, Zambrano was hitting an astounding .362 this season with 17 hits including a home run, two doubles and a triple.

Zambrano exhibited a solid swing throughout the 2006 season when he belted 6 home runs escalating his major league career total to 13.

Zambrano and Owings have both compiled impressive stats and have proven they are not automatic outs like most other pitchers. When these great hitting pitchers step up to the plate, it seems to turn up the volume of the hometown fans and create uncommon pressure for the guy on the mound, adding a unique element to the game.

Before being traded to the American League where the DH is used, Dontrelle Willis ran up some great numbers at the plate for the Florida Marlins while being placed as high up as 7th in the batting order.

Like Owings, he once hit two home runs in the same game. He did it in 2006, the same year he connected for a grand slam in another contest. During the 2007 season, his final year on the Marlins, he hit .286 with an on-base percentage of .348.

Rick Wise is another member of this elite group. In 1971, the Phillies starter pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Reds while hitting two over the fence at Riverfront Stadium. Again in the same year, he added a second two home run game to his record.

Throughout baseball’s long history, other pitchers have evolved into serious threats at the plate. The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a few, like Orel Hershiser who batted .356 in 1993 and Don Drysdale who hit .300 and connected on 7 long balls in 1965.

In recent history, Jason Marquis now pitching for the Cubs accrued some real impressive numbers when he batted .292 in 2004 followed by .310 in 2005; both seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals while winning 28 games as a starter during that same span.

When these great hitting pitchers are in a game, opposing pitchers have the task of studying an additional hitter in the line-up. Today, pitchers have learned not to throw three quick fastballs over the plate to Owings or Zambrano or they may end up on the bad end of an ESPN highlight reel.

When these starters get the call, NL managers Melvin and Lou Piniella have the luxury of having the additional bat in the lineup; like having a DH. In fact, during spring training Melvin used Owings in the DH slot during some inter-league games.

These athletes are MLB’s rare breed of hitters. A strong hitting pitcher adds an exciting element to the game and pumps up the volume when they step to the plate in front of their hometown fans.

Makes some baseball fans wonder, how great is the DH rule?

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

DETROIT – This year, star MLB players are learning there are no guaranteed positions on the rosters. Despite receiving enormous salaries and long-term contracts, All-Star players and fan favorites are being forced to trade in chartered flights and room service at five-star hotels for Greyhound bus rides and overnights at low-budget motels.

Dontrelle Willis, $29,000,000 over three years, discovered that in June when the Detroit Tigers tossed the All-Star left-hander out on his ass and shipped him to their Single A affiliate in Lakeland.

How’s that for a kick in the nuts.

The organization couldn’t even trust the former All-Star at their AAA or AA affiliate.

Willis was booted off the Tiger sqaud after posting a dismal 0-1 record with Detroit over four starts, lasting a total of 11.1 innings. His problem seems to be a major one–he couldn’t throw strikes and walked 21 (almost two per inning average) while posting an ERA of 10.32.

After reporting to sunny Florida, Willis (see his photo in our Sports Mugshots Gallery) and his control problem got even worse. He couldn’t come close to the strike zone in Lakeland while facing teenagers struggling to make it to AA ball.

$29,000,000 over the three years equals $185,897.43. Let’s see . . .  at $10 a pop, the first 18,589 medium Little Caesars pizzas that owner Mike Ilitch sells each week goes into this underachieving flop’s pocket while the rest of us bust our asses trying to make ends meet.

Another victim of demotion is the Atlanta Braves’ Gold Glove winner Jeff “Frenchy” Francoeur. After batting a miserable .121 over an 18 game span, Bobby Cox relegated the starting outfielder to AA affiliate Mississippi, the same team Francoeur played for before his MLB debut in 2005.

Over the past two and a half seasons, Francoeur has started 408 games and was settled in as a regular for the Braves until the surprising news came after the Braves lost to the Phillies on Thursday. He was held hitless in four at bats that game, swinging at the first pitch in his last three at bats for routine outs.

Francoeur who hit .293 last year couldn’t hit a watermelon tossed to him underhanded right now. He visited an eye doctor in late June and began wearing a corrective lens in his right eye hoping to break out of his slump but that worked about as good as whatever Willis has tried lately.

After that doctor visit, Frenchy’s performance at the plate got even worse. His average before the corrective lens was .246 and dropped even lower to .234 over the next few weeks.

His mechanics were horribly out of synch during Thursday’s Philly game; so bad that Cox had finally seen enough and immediately after the game, demoted Francoeur.

The Tigers responded to the Willis move that occurred on June 10th by winning 15 out of the next 18 the rest of the month of June.

Talk about putting the fear in the rest of those players! Those remaining guys wearing the “D” in Motown weren’t gonna give up those steak dinners for Denny’s. 

Both of these transactions are justified and they send a strong message . . . get off your ass and produce or don’t let the door hit you in the ass.