Juiced : Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

Rating:
Summary: Solo Rambling
Review: Asked to review this, how can someone?

Anyone can say anything, if no one else was around.

Laziness in the latter years of a failing career, one can always write a controversial book.

Being broke makes people do things....

Rating:
Summary: Here's what I think.....
Review: Canseco's true confessions are not pretty but maybe necessary to bring light to the problem of pro athletes and drug use. While its primary mission is probably to bring attention and money back to Jose, it is also a grim reminder that some of our heroes are greedy and spoiled. I have to say, however, that steroids may make one stronger but it still takes incredible, natural talent to hit a little sphere traveling over 90 mph! No strength enhancing drug can replace raw hand/eye coordination.

Gene Jennings, Author of Timely Words

Rating:
Summary: Let The Discussions Begin
Review: Jose Canseco released this book with intentions of doing two things: turning a huge profit and shedding some light on the role steriods play in major league baseball. Will he accomplish both? As much as some would hate to admit it, yes he will.

The book starts with Canseco's childhood and leads to the current landscape of baseball. There are all kinds of allegations made against some notable players:

Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Brady Anderson, Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, Dave Martinez, Tony Saunders, Bret Boone, and Wilson Alvarez

Honestly, I believe him to a certain extent. You have to take it all with a grain of salt because we're talking about Jose Canseco. To put it in mild terms, his credibility is completely shot. But we all know that steroid use is running wild in Major League Baseball. I think some of the facts have been overblown in order to make for a more captivating read, but those with any kind of common sense will quickly pick up on it when it happens. I also didn't agree with his endorsement of steroid use; that is most definitely a bad signal to send to the kids that will read this book. Canseco even goes as far as to suggest that it would be harder to find an elite player who hasn't used steroids than it would be to find one who has. My point: All it takes is a long hard look at the facts.

One of the facts is that numbers don't lie. I'm a huge Orioles fan and even I have to admit that Brady Anderson (who was implicated by Canseco) was RIPPED when he hit 50 home runs for the Orioles in 1996 (his previous best, 21...his best since '96, 24). He had never been that size before in his ENTIRE career and he hasn't been that big ever since. I don't know if he decided to quit using or what, I just know the guy had put on an alarming amount of bulk since the previous season.

Will all the questions get answered? Probably not. Will speculation ever cease? Not any time soon. Did the players accused actually juice up? Probably. Is Canseco exaggerating the facts? To an extent, I believe he is, but there's a strain of truth to his accusations that is VERY hard to disregard. Is the new policy tough enough (4 violations = 1 year ban)? Not even close. Will we ever know the entire truth? Definitely not. MLB stands to lose a significant amount of revenue if we do learn the whole truth. I know one thing though, reading this book will either confirm or completely change your perception of Jose Canseco AND Major League Baseball. No matter what your opinion of him is, you'll have a new and broader perspective of the entire steroid soap opera after reading this book. Some of this stuff you just can't make up, but you don't need a book to tell you what your eyes have already seen. The fact is some of your favorite baseball players have put on alarming amounts of muscle in very short amounts of time and that cannot be blamed on Jose Canseco's monetary lust. I reccomend drawing your own conclusion based on facts and nothing more. I highly reccomend this book though.


Rating:
Summary: Poor Jose, he needs a hug
Review: Some contents are truthful, some are lies. But what's obvious is Jose is carrying around a lot of sour grapes and jealousy towards a lot of other major leaguers who got the adulation and respect he always wanted. Jose has too much time on his hand since he stopped playing baseball and needs something constructive to do with his life. Maybe another trip to Hooters will do him good, there just might be another wife there in the waiting.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting.
Review: This is an intersting book. While you have to take much of the information and accusations with a grain of salt, I believe that you also cannot ignore much of what Mr. Canseco says about steroids. To think that professional baseball is the same game that it was 20-30 years ago, is pretty naive, and all you have to do is look at the statistics:

1. Number of times in MLB that the feat of 40 Home Runs was achieved from 1980-89: 13 times in all, or an average of a little more than once per year.

2. Number of times in MLB that the feat of 40 Home Runs was achieved from 1990-99: 70 times in all, or an average of 7 times per year.

In 1996 alone, 16 players achieved this feat, which is more than all of the years from 1980-89 COMBINED. 1996 also just happened to be 2 years after the MLB strike. You can draw your own conclusions from this.

Thus, while there may be some exaggerations by Mr. Conseco, I believe that all in all, he is bringing to light something that has been going on for a long time, and that the management in MLB has been in denial over for just as long.

Rating:
Summary: Garbage-Garbage-Garbage-Garbage-Garbage-Garbage
Review: This pathetic "tomb" scribed by a third rate ghostwriter is almost unreadable and offers the reader few revelatons that have not already been leaked to media, etc.

Jose's nonsensical musings about how great "Jose" and steriods are for all to indulge in is pure and simply GARBAGE..

The material covered in the book is best suited for a Sports Illustrated or Vanity Fair article entitled: "Jose Canseco's Fall From Grace: From Steriod Superman to Disrespected Clubhouse Rat-Fink"..

I implore anyone that likes baseball, mankind and love of great books to not purchase this garbage...purchase a copy of "Ball Four" if you wish to read a real baseball book..

Jose should retire his number in Hall of Shame and his ghostwriter should get "Hooked on Phonics"

Simply....GARBAGE

Rating:
Summary: Jose Loser
Review: This unit must be desperate. Get a real job, Jose, and find some decency - I'm sure there's some lurking somewhere within you.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting book on steroids in major league baseball.
Review: What I got from this book was that Canseco was being quite honest about the high use of steroids in major league baseball today. The argument that he is just doing this for money is ridiculous. He is really saying that baseball can be comparable to professional wrestling where steroid use is rampant. The only difference is that in baseball many major league baseball fans still might think baseball is real. However, in professional wrestling everyone knows it's fake. Think about it-- why do you think major league baseball has been called "The Show" for many years? Baseball is meant to entertain nothing more nothing less. However, the way that majorleague baseball claims to be real is rather deceiving. For one, having 80% or more of major league baseball on steroids or some kind of growth hormone is really cheating the fans of how real baseball should be played. Steroids is also rampant on the college circuit in division I, II and III baseball.
It is sad today that players don't rely on their natural ability. I could remember the days when someone who hit 20 home runs in a major league season was considered a legitimate power hitter.
The bottom line from this book is that steroids will increase bat speed at an alarming rate. Of course, we already knew this. However, many people still think you still need hand-eye coordination and ability to still hit the ball. This is only part of the picture. The best hitters usually are the one's who can hit the ball the hardest-whether it's a line drive or a home run. Using steroids will increase one's bat speed. If a baseball player can increase their bat speed, balls will be hit harder. If you hit the ball harder, this dramtically increases your chances of getting a hit. Also, with an increased bat speed from the use of steroids, once routine fly balls will be home runs. Line drives hit into the gap for doubles, now suddenly go over the fence for home runs. Using steroids will increase one's home runs and batting average at ridiculous rates. In addition, steroids will increase one's running speed, turning long singles into doubles. In addition, stealing a base will be much easier. It's very sad that major league baseball has come to this. I don't even watch it on TV anymore because I'm sick of watching baseball players on steroids. Remember steroids and growth hormone can cause cancer in later years of life and lead to other health problems.
If you want to become a great athlete without using drugs, get the following instructional guides:
The Art of Hitting .300 by Charlie Lau. This book is the best book on hitting instruction. This shows you how to hit the ball hard at every at bat.
If you want a great golf instruction book get the following.
The Ultimate Golf Instruction Guide: Key Techniques for Becoming a Zero Handicap Golfer or Better by Patrick Leonardi
This last book showed me how to become a great golfer without the use of steroids or growth hormone.

Rating:
Summary: How Baseball Got Big: The Story Behind the *70 in 1998
Review: When I first began to follow baseball as an eight year old, Jose Canseco was arguably the most exciting player in baseball, and, as such, he became my favorite player until the Oakland A's choked against the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series. I remember hearing the word "steroids" being chanted at Jose by the fans at Fenway Park at a game in 1988, though I never believed that he actually was injecting himself until over a decade later, when allegations came up against Barry Bonds and other stars. Given my past, then, I just had to pick up "Juiced" and read it for myself.

Juiced is an easy read from start to finish, and although Jose Canseco comes across as a relatively average narrator, the book is a must read for any sports fan. Obviously, in a book like this one, content is far more important that style, and Juiced certainly delivers with enough content to further shake up baseball's mystique following the outbreak of the BALCO scandal. Much has been made of the allegations against Mark McGwire, whom Canseco says that he injected himself. Certainly, after reading this book, McGwire comes across as an equally dark figure in baseball's recent history as Jason Giambi or Ken Caminiti. How anyone cannot look at old photos of McGwire from his USC days, or even his minor league tenure, and not believe that he got big artificially is beyond me. The andro story first broke in 1998, but Canseco makes a convincing argument that andro was not the only substance behind McGwire's success.

Perhaps more startling, however, are the allegations against Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez. While I remember Palmeiro as a smaller player in his early days with Houston and Texas, it never apparently struck me, or most baseball experts, that maybe steroids had something to do with his subsequent total of over 500 career home runs. Now that I look back, though, Canseco's statements that he introduced Palmeiro to steroids when they were Rangers teammates makes a lot of sense in explaining how a relatively ordinary player at the beginning of his career could end up as a top-10 home run hitter. As for Pudge, the stats show that his slugging percentage did significantly increase after Jose Canseco became his teammate, and memory shows me that he was not much of a hitter when he first reached the big leagues. Therefore, Canseco's arguments seem to me to hold true when discussing teammates who also used steroids.

In conclusion, Juiced is probably somewhat embellished in areas, but it is difficult to tell where, given that Jose Canseco seems right on target with most of his statements regarding who used steroids. To all the naysayers who say that Jose is just jealous of McGwire and/or out to make a quick buck, please think again before judging this book's content. There does seem to be enough truth here, and baseball is much worse off for it. Whether fans will lose interest in the game remains to be seen, but you cannot blame Canseco for that - at least some of this knowledge would probably come out eventually. This book certainly made me less of a fan (as did BALCO) and makes me wonder who will inevitably be exposed next for tarnishing America's pastime by using steroids.