Canseco Warns A-Rod: "I've got the ace in the hole, and he knows it."

From the Daily News (hat tip to WasWatching.com):

It's been a week, of course, since an obscure blog first reported on the juicy parts of "Vindicated." It's been a week since fans learned of Canseco's claims that he introduced A-Rod to a steroid dealer, and that the third baseman returned the favor by trying to sleep with Canseco's then-wife. Canseco is still reveling in the discomfort he's caused Rodriguez. Every awkward "no comment" from A-Rod gives Canseco great glee.

The best part, Canseco says in an exclusive interview at the Omni Berkshire in midtown, is that Rodriguez can't do anything about it. If A-Rod threatens to sue Canseco or goes on "60 Minutes" to attack his credibility, Canseco will respond with "Max," the Canadian steroid dealer he claims to have hooked A-Rod up with in the late 1990s. If Canseco is sued or attacked, Max - up to this point simply known as an unidentified .steroids supplier - will go public with everything he knows about A-Rod, says Canseco. This, Canseco adds, is not a war that A-Rod can win.

"I've got the ace in the hole," Canseco says with a laugh. "And he knows it. So there's no way that he's going to fight me. He's trying to make it go away."

First things first, I believe A-Rod and Canseco spoke about steroids, I believe Canseco may have even introduced A-Rod to the steroid dealer, but I do not necessarily believe A-Rod used steroids. OK, just wanted to get that out of the way.

This is why I questioned A-Rod's "no comment" last week. Even though some Yankees fans thought that this would just go away because "nobody believes Canseco," that just isn't the case. Canseco was on ESPN and Letterman yesterday, and will be on Howard Stern and Keith Olbermann today, as much as people don't want to admit it, people are interesting in what he has to say. This will go on as long as Canseco wants it to go on, he has complete control of the situation.

There is always the chance that Canseco's "ace in the hole" doesn't exist, and that it's just a way for him to keep people interested. Either way it seems like it's working.