From: Anonymous Major League Athlete

Hey Rog,

Dude, WTF!!?? All I know is what I see on ESPN but it looks like you got roughed up a bit the other day on Capitol Hill. Some of those lawmakers really know how to play hardball.

I have to confess -- I know it's all serious and s*@%, but I had to laugh when they started asking you about the party at Canseco's house that night. Dude -- I was there!

Or, at least I think I was there. We had a pre-party down the road at my place. After a few blunts (it's always 4:20 at my pad!) and about five shots of Cuervo, I was blotto. Don't remember much after that -- have no idea how I drove home that night. I know I don't remember seeing you there. So I got your back on that one.

Speaking of which -- I need to ask you a favor. Remember that blonde from Toronto? I think her name was Sandy, Sally…Sarah, maybe? I was with her that night. As far as the wifey knows -- I was with you with you playing golf that day. So Dude -- I'm begging you -- whatever you do, don't go changing your story on that one. I told the old lady I shot a three under par that day -- best day of golf ever. Way too late to be changing the script.

As far as the whole steroids deal goes, I have no idea whether you did it or not. I know I've been fortunate in my career. I've never had the temptation. Early in my career, I had Tommy John surgery. Thanks to the great work by the doctors, I came back throwing the ball harder than ever. The miracles of modern science!

Then a few years later, I blew out my elbow. The pain was tremendous. Thank goodness for morphine and oxycontin! I could have never made it through that winter without those two friends.

Wasn't baseball so much better before all this steroids crap? Players just walked into the clubhouse, brewed up a pot of "leaded" coffee and were good to go. When I first came into the league, there were sleeves of Skoal and pouches of Red Man up and down the dugout. They really knew how to cater to players back then.

I can remember my first manager in the minor leagues. He actually used to do commercials for cigarette companies! And got paid pretty good money to do it. Apparently, a lot of players used to do things like that. Here's something I read just the other day.

"Joe DiMaggio smoked like a chimney in the dugout runway between at-bats during his 1941 hitting streak, so it was perhaps unsurprising that he appeared in print ads for Camel. One late-1940s ad had DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Bob Elliott, Ewell Blackwell, and Bucky Harris all swearing allegiance to Chesterfield, 'The Baseball Man's Cigarette.' Willie Mays pumped Chesterfields too."

Of course, those days of innocence are gone now. All everyone talks about is steroids. And as Big Mac says, "steroids is bad." Steroids can kill.

Things are so different today, aren't they?

I just wish we wish we could get back to the days when the focus was on the field.

Remember that playoff series a few years back? We stole their signs and knew every single time they were planning a pitchout. Then thanks to our video crew, we noticed that two of their guys were tipping their pitches. They never knew what hit them.

I'll never forget that one game where I had pitch in relief after starting just a few days before. I got lucky. I remembered a couple of things that Gaylord Perry taught me that off season. That dude can do things with a baseball I never thought possible. Between Gaylord's tricks and what I learned from our pitching coach (the one who taught me how to scuff a baseball), I somehow managed to strike out the side.

Those were good times.

I gotta run now. Just wanted to drop you a note and offer some encouragement. Let's hope this whole mess blows over soon.

As for advice, I'll just say this, Roger: you have to learn to be open, honest and natural…like me.