Desperate Times Call for… Extortion?

From the NY Times (Duff Wilson and Michael Schmidt):

José Canseco, the former major league slugger and admitted steroid user who exposed other players in his 2005 best-selling book “Juiced,” offered to keep a Detroit Tigers outfielder “clear” in his next book if the player invested money in a film project Canseco was promoting, according to a person in baseball with knowledge of the situation.

The article goes on in detail about Canseco’s alleged actions (which he denies). Ordonez himself states that he will not pursue the matter in terms of a formal investigation (by the FBI). He also states that Canseco never directly asked him for money. Instead, Canseco apparently tried to get Scott Boras (Ordonez’s agent) to cough up $5 million for his “movie project,” which was a documentary-style film based on his first book (Juiced).

I’d like to say that all of these discrediting reports (e.g. switching publishers, lack of substance or valid content, etc) will bring Canseco down. I’d like to say that, by working with the man who helped to pen OJ Simpson’s “If I Did it” book, Canseco won’t sell any books. I’d like to say that, by attempting to extort Magglio Ordonez and his agent (allegedly), Canseco will not find an audience that is susceptible to his lies.

But, again, that’s all of the stuff I’d like to say…