FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Curt Schilling believes that Jose
Canseco told the truth in parts of his book and said Saturday that
the slugger's career was "a sham" because he used steroids.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher spoke publicly for the first time
since testifying Thursday at a congressional hearing on steroids
and baseball.
Canseco's lawyer, Robert Saunooke, responded by noting that
steroids were not banned by baseball when Canseco used them.
Saunooke also questioned the credibility of Schilling, who
backtracked at the hearing from his earlier claims of rampant
steroid use in baseball.
"Curt's inconsistencies indicate that he has no clue but
supports baseball so he can keep his high-paying job," Saunooke
said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
In his book, "Juiced," published last month, Canseco named
several players, including himself and Mark McGwire, who he said
had used steroids.
At the hearing, Schilling sharply criticized Canseco.
"What you saw Thursday, unfortunately, was the result of
someone who didn't think a lot in a lot of different instances
before he ruined some people's lives," Schilling said Saturday.
"That's not to say that he lied. I don't believe his book is all
lies.
"I believe that there's some truth in it, but that's for each
and every one of us to decide."
Schilling said he was wrong in some of his past comments that
indicated steroid use in baseball was greater than what he told the
committee.
"I made a mistake," Schilling said. "Being called on that [at
the hearing] made me actually start to look at the subject matter
instead of guess about it."
But Saunooke said Schilling "was brought to Washington with the
sole purpose that he believed [steroid use] was rampant, and he
changes his story."
Schilling said Saturday that 98.3 percent of players passed
their tests for steroids. Saunooke said "that number is totally
misleading" because it was based on a small, random sample.
Schilling also said the public's perception is skewed because of
suspicions about high-profile players such as McGwire, Sammy Sosa
and Barry Bonds, and Canseco's statement that he used steroids.
In 1988, Canseco became the first player to hit 40 homers and
steal 40 bases in the same season.
"He admitted to being a cheater. His whole career was a sham,"
Schilling said. "It makes me appreciate the fact that Alex
Rodriguez is more of a genetic freak than we ever thought because
he's truly the only 40-40 guy to ever play the game."
Canseco won the AL MVP award in 1988 when little attention was
paid to steroid use in baseball.
Saunooke said that if Canseco's career is a sham, then "what
does that say about Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire?
If his is a sham, so are theirs."
Schilling said he didn't know if McGwire was treated unfairly at
the hearing. McGwire declined several times to say whether he had
used steroids, while three other witnesses in Washington, Sosa,
Schilling and Rafael Palmeiro, said they hadn't.
"Mark is a friend," Schilling said. "He made decisions based
on advice and I can only speak about my situation and how I would
have acted. It's tough when you have a guy sitting there refusing
to talk and the guy sitting next to him absolutely denying"
steroid use.
"As a person, not as a player, I felt bad for him to have to go
through that."
But Saunooke noted that Canseco's book put the spotlight on
steroid use.
"Had he not done that, baseball would have continued to live in
this web of secrecy," he said.
Schilling said the issue hadn't been given proper attention in
past years.
"For 17 years there has been this elephant in the room that has
been danced around by a lot of you [reporters] as well as
[players]," Schilling said. "The same players you guys are
vilifying and crushing now are the same guys you touted to the
world for the last 15, 20 years with the same suspicions that we
had."
Schilling knows what he would have done had Canseco alleged that
he used steroids.
"I would have issued a press release to deny it and call him a
liar," Schilling said, "and I would have sued him."
He also said he had never seen steroids in pill or liquid form
or seen a player inject himself and doesn't know which players used
them.
Under the current program, players are tested randomly and a
first offense is subject to a 10-day suspension or a fine.
But Schilling said players can decline to take a test and can
use a masking agent that would need only an hour to work so that a
test would be negative even if a player had used steroids.
"Those should be addressed and cleaned up now," he said. "I
believe there are holes in the agreement that need to be fixed."
He also said every major league player that doesn't cheat agrees
with that.
"I don't think you'll hear one ounce of complaint from the
players association about closing any loopholes Congress feels are
in our tests as long as they are valid and they can be closed in a
valid manner," Schilling said.
"I don't think there can be any question about the fact that
things will change."