There were no officials from Major League Baseball at Borders in downtown Boston yesterday waiting for Jose Canseco.

Just nearly 150 people, clutching red hardcover copies of Canseco's latest steroid tome, "Vindicated," already at 30 percent off, as the former Red Sox slugger and admitted steroid user sat calmly in the Travel section and autographed books.

That was in marked contrast to the day before, when MLB investigators approached Canseco for information on the steroid scandal that has plagued baseball since the 1990s, the first time baseball officials have asked Canseco for his assistance in the investigations.

"Very strange, very awkward," he said yesterday of his meeting with investigators at a Barnes & Noble Wednesday in Manhattan. "I'm thinking, 'It's about time.' I mean, what do you have to do? The Mitchell Report came out, all these players being mentioned in this report, not one time did [George] Mitchell call me, or any of his individuals say, 'Jose, do you have any information on any of these guys we're reporting on?'