Last June, I wonder if “a major publisher would ave advanced Mike Piazza $800,000 merely to find out the favorite backstop’s favorite King’s X album?” (“Can one fashion a New York Times best seller from the words, ‘Where’s Mota?’ repeated 50,000 times?”). Said questions were raised by former NY Times baseball columnist Murray Chass‘ insistence the scheduled February 2013 publication of Mike Piazza’s autobiography was curiously close to the next batch of Hall Of Fame inductees being unveiled. Earlier today, Chass revealed himself as still utterly obsessed with Piazza’s rumored use of PED’s, and specifically the complexion of the metal-loving backstop’s back (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)

We’re getting closer to the moment of truth for Mike Piazza. His name, for the first time, will be on the Hall of Fame ballot voters will soon receive, and his book is supposed to be out in February.

The book has been kept hush-hush, the better for voters not to know if he admits in the book to using steroids use.

A bad scenario for the voters: they elect him, then learn from the book that he used steroids.

A bad scenario for Piazza: he is not elected on the first ballot, and his admission in print bars him from ever gaining election.

A good scenario for voters: enough vote for him to keep him eligible for future ballots until the book is published and we see what he says about steroids.

A good scenario for Piazza: he finds a way to prove he never used steroids, and the tell-tale acne that covered his back and disappeared only when baseball began testing for steroids was just a delayed case of teen-age acne.

Here’s yet another scenario ; with all the scores to settle (Clemens, Mota, Art Howe), discussions of popular culture (Zakk Wylde, Eddie Trunk, Stuart Murdoch) and myriad opportunities to declare his heterosexuality, maybe, just maybe, Metal Mike never mentions backne once?