Just 38 home runs shy of 500, six-time All-Star slugger Jose Canseco begrudgingly retired from baseball on Monday. But make no mistake, Canseco is not going out on his own terms and he's not leaving quietly. In fact, he's going out kicking, screaming and threatening to take a couple of literary swings at major-league baseball.

	Canseco was the first major leaguer to have 40 home runs and 40 steals in the same season.

Reaching the 500 home-run mark could punch Canseco's ticket to the Hall of Fame, but he's leaving the game becaues he feels he doesn't have a real chance to play in the majors again. And he feels that chance is being taken from him for reasons unrelated to his playing ability.

The former "Bash Brother" most recently found a home with the Chicago White Sox but was pushed out when Frank Thomas returned to resume the designated hitter spot. Sent down to Triple-A in Charlotte, Canseco was given the opportunity to display his talent in hopes another team would pick him up.

There were no takers.

At 37, Canseco feels he's got a lot of game left. He can't understand why no one would give him a chance. Therefore, the only logical answer (to him) is that he's been blackballed in the game. Once the superstar icon of MLB, Canseco found himself friendless and rejected by the sport that once crowned him king. He feels he deserves more. Maybe so. But he's not going to get it.

The sport that created him has abandoned him. And like many players before him, Canseco now faces some harsh realities. In baseball, when you're no longer hitting home runs, having 40-40 seasons, winning MVPs and playing on championship teams, people are going to forget about you.

All of which has left Canseco bitter and vindictive. In turn, he's not simply taking his ball and going home. Canseco is threatening to write a tell-all book. In which he'll be naming names and citing episodes of steroid use, extramarital affairs and other indiscretions.

I'd like to tell you more, but each time I asked Canseco to be more specific, he replied, "It will be in the book."

Canseco is threatening to write a tell-all book. In which he'll be naming names and citing episodes of steroid use, extramarital affairs and other indiscretions.

Canseco wants to lash out at somebody. And I can understand that to a point. But he's lashing out at the wrong people. If he wants to tell the truth, fine. But if he's going to bring down other players, he'll be doing a disservice to individuals who have nothing to do with the end of his playing days. If he wants to talk about being blackballed, he should target owners, general managers and coaches, not players and former teammates.

If anyone is familiar with the fallout from a tell-all book, it's "Ball Four" author Jim Bouton. Bouton chronicled his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots to give fans an inside look at the baseball world. In doing so, Bouton not only turned the establishment on its ear but also alienated himself from many teammates and friends. He was ostracized from baseball and three decades later, continues to try to repair broken relationships.

As titillating as "Ball Four" was at the time, its content was tame in comparison to the gossip, and news, of today. For instance, Bouton wrote that Mickey Mantle once hit a home run when he was hung over. As a guest on my radio show, Bouton explained that if you're going to write a tell-all these days, you've got to come to the table with more than just steroids and affairs.

He also pointed out that if Canseco didn't actually keep a journal, he'd be hard-pressed to remember details that would give his stories credibility. Bouton said that "Ball Four" was an attempt to bring fans closer to the game. Unlike Canseco, Bouton didn't have malicious intent.

"Ball Four" has stayed in print for 30 years because, at its heart, it was an expression of Bouton's love for the game that had given him a life and career. He ruffled the establishment and it cost him because so many people (players, executives and writers mostly) weren't ready for that line to be crossed. But his book is still around because Bouton did what he set out to do: bring fans into the daily world of being a professional baseball player. In doing so, he literally spawned a genre of sports books. No such contributions would result from what Canseco has in mind.

Early in Canseco's career, it was clear that he had the makings of a Hall of Famer. But somewhere along the way, he bought into the persona he created for himself: the guy who hit the majestic home runs, dated Madonna and put rocket fuel in his car. He became the dashing Jose Canseco and forgot about being a baseball player.

So while his retirement has sparked re-evaluation of his talents and a debate regarding the Hall of Fame, what may be more important is that Jose Canseco the man finds peace within himself and thinks twice before tarnishing his baseball reputation forever. Certainly, writing this book would make the debate moot: He'd have no chance at the Hall.

I doubt this book will ever be written. I think Canseco will realize he'll do more harm to himself than good. He's angry now. When he calms down, hopefully he realize that selling out your friends is not striking back.

It's striking out.