Steve Kettmann, Jose Canseco's ghostwriter for 'Juiced' will not be starstruck by the names in the Mitchell Report. No, it would appear he may be skeptical since many more names weren't there. From the New York Times letter section:
In fact, given its timing and high profile, the (Mitchell) report could well go down as almost the Rosetta stone of steroid literature, giving the general reader a key to unlocking a world of secrets previously off limits to most and to seeing in full Technicolor what had for many been restricted to black and white.
To take but one example, Roger Clemens has been added to the ranks of those linked to steroid use — despite his most recent denial Tuesday. This is hardly a surprise to those of us who have worked the steroid beat over the years.
In fact, as the ghostwriter for Jose Canseco’s tell-all memoir “Juiced,” I can now reveal that serious thought was given to including Canseco’s recollections of golf course conversations with Clemens about steroids. At the time, we decided to focus on players Canseco injected since those revelations would carry the maximum impact.
Kettmann published a piece in the Times 8 years ago, a piece accusing Mark McGwire of juicing. Clemens's boy Brian McNamee pounded Kettmann for the article.
The most fascinating reply was the article-length response published in The Times six weeks later, by McNamee, headlined, “Don’t Be So Quick to Prejudge All That Power.”
“Kettmann alleges steroid use,” McNamee wrote. “He marks today’s players as cheaters, and not the role models we want them to be. I beg to differ. Players today are so much smarter when it comes to their bodies: how they work them, and what they put in them.
“Kettmann’s article insults the players, the teams’ medical staffs and the teams’ organizations.”
As he wrote that response, McNamee was about to inject the Rocket, according to Mitchell. While hypocrites ever cease to pontificate? Kettman answers that:
Looking back on how this story has unfolded over the last 10 years, it becomes clear how easy it is for those with a vested interest in obfuscation to cast doubt on the credibility of just about anyone.
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