Professional winner Alex Rodriguez just can't win this week. He's been on the clock to break Barry Bonds's home-run record for exactly three days, and the tabloids are already 'roid raging. First, Braves third-baseman Chipper Jones said anyone who nears Bonds's record will have to answer doping questions — which the Post turned into yesterday's back-page headline "A 'ROID SHOCKER." Then, Mike Lupica's levelheaded Daily News column today about the Players Association became the back-page banner "UNDER SUSPICION." All this because money-hungry whistleblower Jose Canseco vaguely claims he has "other stuff" on Rodriguez in a book he's shopping.

Here's what we're thinking: As A-Rod's agent pointed out to the News today, if Canseco knew Rodriguez had used steroids, he would have put it in his first book, Juiced. Plus, when Canseco originally told Boston radio station WEEI of his intentions to publish the second book, he said it would prove A-Rod to be a "hypocrite." The Bronx Bomber has never taken a particularly vocal anti-steroid stance, and he's actually one of Barry Bonds's only New York fans. Not to credit Canseco with too much verbal nuance, but a steroid revelation would make A-Rod a phony, not a hypocrite. So we're guessing the "stuff" is something else. Let's hope involving "things." —Joe DeLessio

Related:
Chipper Shocker [NYP]
For Yankees Star, it's a Case of Guilt By Players Association [NYDN]
Alex's Agent Reads Between The Lines [NYDN]