Sox players didn't see what Canseco claims

TUCSON, Ariz. - If Jose Canseco injected Magglio Ordonez with steroids when they both played for the White Sox in 2001, it's news to Mark Buehrle and Paul Konerko.

They are the only two current Sox players who were around in 2001, and they're both skeptical about Canseco's charge against Ordonez, which reportedly will be included in his latest book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball," which has a scheduled release date of April 1.

Canseco played in 76 games with the White Sox in 2001, batting .258 with 16 home runs and 49 RBI in his final major-league season.

"I've heard that rumor before,'' Buehrle said. "To be honest with you, you could have had a bottle of steroids in my locker back then and I wouldn't have known what it was. Canseco was a couple lockers down from me. He was a big guy, but you could have told me he was on steroids and I would have been: 'What are steroids?' I was so dumb, not knowing anything about that stuff. I have no idea if he did, or what anybody did.''

That doesn't mean Buehrle believes Canseco now.

"He's out of baseball, but he obviously still wants to be a part of it because he keeps bringing guys into it,'' Buehrle said. "I didn't read his book and it sounds like he's got other books coming out. I thought he was a great guy when he played here. I didn't talked to him too much because he was still Jose Canseco and I was just Mark Buehrle with less than a year in the big leagues.

"I didn't talk to him too much, but again, I was pretty dumb when it came to that stuff. I just kind of sat in my locker and didn't pay attention too much.''

Konerko often singles Ordonez out as one of the most talented teammates he has every played with, and Canseco's accusation doesn't alter that opinion.

"I never heard or saw anything with any of that stuff,'' Konerko said. "You look at Magglio and he was always a pretty good hitter, so that's all I have to say about that. With Canseco, he was just here for a couple of months, so there's really nothing there. It seems like he's had a lot more to talk about since he's been out of the game.''