Jose Canseco is a slime - let's get that out of the way right off the bat. Even before he was run out of the bigs, everyone knew the man was low-rent. His rap-sheet: Convicted of assault in '92 for intentionally crashing into his wife's car; convicted of beating his wife in '97 and sentenced to counseling; jailed in 2001 along with his brother Ozzie after a nightclub fight (the last one actually happened a couple months after his final major league at-bat as a member of the White Sox, and was probably one of the last nails in the coffin of his pro baseball career).

In his post-baseball career, Jose has been said to redeem himself by becoming a truth-teller, but that is wishful thinking at best. His book Juiced? On the one hand a scathing indictment of Major League Baseball and its tacit condonement of cheating; on the other, a transparent attempt by one bitter ex-player at cashing in on his notoriety.

Jose does steroids and it makes him a lot of money; he gets outed as a cheater, disgraced, booted from the game...and finds a way to make even more money. That's just the American way, right?

You'd think with all the bank he's made, Jose would be set for life. Apparently this isn't the case. Jose, it seems, is strapped for cash. Which is why he has another book coming out (conveniently timed to take advantage of the Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens controversies). But even another publishing windfall apparently wouldn't be enough to cover Jose's expenses. So, he is seeking other means of making money.

Like blackmailing people.

Jose has long-since figured out what an advantageous position he holds vis-a-vis players who are still in the game. Jose, being out of the game, has nothing to lose - he knows that, and knows that we know that. Therefore Jose can tell the truth. Or say things that people will perceive as the truth because, a) they want to believe the worst about pro athletes; and, b) they've convinced themselves that Jose has nothing to gain by lying.

Great gig if you can get it. Unfortunately, Jose has somewhat over-reached in his latest attempt at cashing in on himself. He's stooped to out-right extortion. Allegedly.

The plot involves Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez. Apparently, Jose offered to not name Ordonez in his new book if Ordonez promised to pony up some cash for Jose's new movie project. The FBI was set to investigate until Ordonez said he didn't want to file a complaint. Ordonez obviously just wanted his name kept out of anything remotely related to steroids. Jose, of course, is denying the whole thing. And why should we doubt him? He's all about the truth.

In a perfect world, this latest transgression against decency would get Jose Canseco booted from the public eye the same way he got ejected from the majors. But we do not live in a perfect world. We live in one where people like Canseco become objects of perverse media fascination. And even worse, where people like Canseco acquire credibility because some folks fall for their crap, and salute them as truth-tellers.

The argument in favor of the Cansecos of the world is, "The messenger may be scum, but the message is something we need to hear." That may have once been true, but the message has been delivered now, and anything else Canseco has to say is just rank exploitation. I don't want to hear anything else from Jose Canseco. I don't want him to call out any more players. I don't want him to hold himself up as some pillar of honesty in a world full of liars. I just want him to disappear.

But I know he won't. And that's the most sickening thing of all.