Words Weren't His Only Poor Choice

The image of Rafael Palmeiro angrily punching the air with his index finger as he swore he had "never used steroids" was all over the television airwaves Monday after Major League Baseball announced Palmeiro faced a 10-day suspension for testing positive for steroids.

A gripping TV moment -- Palmeiro defiantly asserting his innocence in front of Congress on March 17 -- has become the latest embarrassing face on a steroid scandal that not only is rewriting baseball history but is also rearranging the future interior design of the Hall of Fame.

Five months ago, Mark McGwire and Palmeiro seemed locks for Cooperstown. Then they were called before Congress in part to rebut claims in Canseco's spill-the-steroids book that both players had artificially enhanced their Hall of Fame resumes.

That day in front of glaring camera lights and wary politicians, the two men appeared to provide a case study on the right and wrong ways to confront a steroid charge.

McGwire sweated and stammered and refused to answer round after round of questioning, stating repeatedly, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

Immediate public and media reaction: McGwire is either guilty or acting on the worst legal advice in history -- or both.

Palmeiro took the opposite tactic, aggressively taking the offense to build a persuasive defense.

"Let me start by telling you this," Palmeiro began as he glared at the panel and began wagging his finger to punctuate every syllable, "I have never used steroids. Period. I do not know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.

"The reference to me in Mr. Canseco's book is absolutely false. I am against the use of steroids. I don't think athletes should use steroids, and I don't think our kids should use them."

Immediate public and media reaction: That is the way to do it. Look convincing, sound convincing and you will convince a lot of people you are not guilty. Why didn't McGwire think of that?

Flash ahead to August. Palmeiro has tested positive, and McGwire now has company in the same boat listing away from Hall of Fame first-ballot status.

Meanwhile, not as many people are scoffing today at Canseco and his much-slammed book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, And How Baseball Got Big." Could it be that Canseco had it right about McGwire and Palmeiro and others on his steroid hit list?