Congress wants to know
Jay Mariotti
Sosa's next answers can be under oath
March 4, 2005
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
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Dare you, Sammy Sosa. Dare you, Mark McGwire. Dare you, one and all. If you think you've been unfairly smeared by Jose Canseco and the lingering innuendo clouding baseball's Steroids Era, then here's an opportunity to show the doubting masses that you have nothing to hide and no syringes in your closets.
Do so by testifying under oath before a House committee. If you're clean, you'll be in Washington for a March 17 hearing and prepared to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you're dirty, you'll be somewhere else.
It's really that simple now, given the significant developments Thursday.
Just when the sport's embattled players and leaders assumed they were out of the steroids crossfire, here comes my new political hero, Rep. Henry Waxman of California, to shed brighter light on the haze. Unsatisfied by the industry's reaction to revelations about performance-enhancing drugs, Waxman and the House Government Reform Committee are inviting Canseco and six other former or active major-leaguers -- including Sosa, McGwire, Frank Thomas, Jason Giambi and Curt Schilling -- for a full-disclosure session about steroids. Because commissioner Bud See-nothing won't probe Canseco's published claims that McGwire and other big-name sluggers used 'roids, some leery politicos won't settle for a public-relations whitewashing.
They want more answers, as do we. "There's a cloud over baseball. And perhaps a public discussion of the issues, with witnesses testifying under oath, can provide a glimpse of sunlight,'' said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the committee.
"Mr. Canseco insists his information is accurate,'' said Waxman, the committee's highest-ranking Democrat. "[This] would be an opportunity to find out what really happened and get to the bottom of this scandal.''
Why not testify?
Why Barry Bonds wasn't named as an invitee, I have no idea. But how fascinating that Sosa and McGwire, the men who "brought back'' the game with their 1998 power duel, have been asked. Both have repeatedly denied ever using steroids, so there's no reason they shouldn't appear before the committee and answer all questions. By testifying under oath, they could go a long way in restoring their names, assuming they're telling the truth. But what if they don't testify? In the ongoing perception crisis, it will suggest to fans that too many skeletons lurk for open talk. Ultimately, the legacies of both men would be tainted by their silence.
My guess is, Sosa will claim his groin is too sore to leave the Baltimore Orioles camp, while McGwire will say he has an important golfing date. In fact, because Canseco has agreed to testify if given immunity, don't be surprised if no invitees show up because they want to distance themselves from his sideshow. But they really should testify, for the sake of a soiled game and the public trust they purport to represent. No one could benefit more than Sosa, whose credibility hit rock bottom after his corked-bat episode and might be helped by quality public face time. When I've asked him if he has used steroids, he answers with an emphatic "no'' and changes the topic. Why not take the same stance at the hearing?
In a perfect world, all of these men would show up and spill their guts. The one who might is Thomas, who isn't in White Sox camp as his ankle slowly heals. Unlike the others, he never has been connected to steroids rumors and has bitterly criticized users. This would be a chance to detail what he knows and cast his career in a better light for Cooperstown consideration. Imagine Sosa testifying in the hot seat, followed by Thomas. C-SPAN could charge pay-per-view rates for that drama. Same goes for Giambi, who could use the hearing to describe the depth of his steroids use. Schilling, who has talked candidly about pitchers (not himself) using steroids, always is great theater.
Breaking the silence
The game can't move on from a crisis without its biggest names speaking out. Alas, baseball has a commissioner who prefers to sell tickets and focus on the coming season rather than resolve a smudged past. Selig doesn't come from the school of total disclosure. He, too, has been invited to the hearing, and he, too, probably will pass. Never mind that this has been another ugly week in Syringeville, with Padres general manager Kevin Towers acknowledging that he suspected the late Ken Caminiti as a steroids user in the mid-'90s and looked the other way -- for all the wrong reasons. "The truth is, we're in a competitive business,'' Towers told ESPN the Magazine, "and these guys were putting up big numbers and helping your ballclub win games.''
Sox GM Ken Williams says he had suspicions about Canseco and steroids in 2001. But that didn't stop the club from signing him. Did he ever ask Canseco about steroids? Of course not. "[You're] trying to have a good positive relationship with your players,'' Williams said. "There are a number of things that are brought up in rumor fashion. You just don't go there.''
You go there if you want to clean up the game. The game is more important than how the Sox fare in a particular season, especially when Thomas and many Sox players were openly crusading against steroids. But the mind-set was that the union was almighty and the owners couldn't crack down if they wanted. Selig points to his tougher testing program, which began Thursday, but even that is a myth. How tough can it be when amphetamines and human growth hormone aren't tested? When four strikes are allowed before a season-long ban kicks in? When there are ways to shake detection?
"I still don't think it's good enough,'' Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I'm disappointed with Major League Baseball and the [players'] association for not implementing a plan that is completely solid. We need to prove to the fans that there's no question baseball should be clean and is clean, and we're not sending the right message with this policy.''
That's why I'm advocating full disclosure. See you March 17, gentlemen.
In my dreams.
