Hey everyone,

Anyone want to buy Jose's old Porsche?
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/auctionresults/common/cardetail.asp?id=159331

So far, there has been lots of mixed reaction to the Angels signing
Jose. With Mo Vaughn hurt and probably missing the entire season, Jose
might end up seeing some time in right field, as well as his typical DH
role. I really hope he can stay healthy this year. If he's going to get
into the Hall of Fame, I think he not only needs to reach 500 homers (he
needs 54 more), but I think he needs to have another couple of solid
seasons and hopefully prove he's not an entirely one dimensional player.

The second annual Big League Challenge is right around the corner. Jose
will be in Las Vegas to defend his title the weekend of February
10th. Call (702) 730-1226 for ticket info.

All the latest news, including a long list of all of Jose's career
injuries, is below. I saved the best for last. Enjoy...
-Mark

==========
From the AP:
Angels fill DH spot with Canseco

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jose Canseco agreed to an incentive-laden contract with
the DH-desperate Anaheim Angels on Tuesday that could pay him as little as
$200,000 or as much as $5 million.

Canseco is confident he can bounce back from injuries that have hampered
him in recent years and cash in with the Angels.

"My demon in the past has been my health. I think people know I have the
ability. I have to get the monkey off my back, this jinx, and stay in the
lineup for 140-150 games and the numbers will definitely compile," said
Canseco, who laughed and described himself as "probably the opposite of Cal
Ripken Jr."

Canseco, who said he is healthy now, has constantly been reminded about how
myriad injuries, including back problems, have adversely affected his career.

"Day in and day out, I hear people say, 'Jose, can you imagine if you had
stayed healthy, you'd probably have 650 home runs by now.' I say, 'Well, I
try to stay healthy and do the best I can,' " said Canseco, who ranks 23rd
on the all-time home run list with 446.

The free agent slugger got a minor league deal heavily based on plate
appearances, along with an invitation to spring training.

The Angels were third in the AL with 236 home runs, but their power-packed
lineup was minus a steady and productive designated hitter.

Scott Spiezio was Anaheim's most frequent DH and batted only .224 with six
homers in 50 games in that role. Anaheim started 12 players at DH last year.

Canseco, 36, has been sidelined by injuries in each of the last six years,
with back problems slowing him in four seasons.

The New York Yankees claimed Canseco on waivers from Tampa Bay last August,
then cut him loose after winning the World Series. The Yankees declined a
$4 million option on him in November, instead paying a $500,000 buyout.

Canseco hit a combined .252 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI in 98 games for
the Devil Rays and Yankees.

"If we have good fortune and have a healthy Jose, this could be a great
plus for us," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "This is another
chip in place to help a good offensive ball club. I don't see a downside here."

Stoneman preceded many of his remarks about Canseco by saying, "If he's
healthy."

"He has been on the DL more years than not in recent years," the Anaheim GM
said. "I understand that he's lost a little weight, will come into spring a
little more trim."

Canseco said he has dropped to 240 pounds from the 262 he weighed last
spring, slimming down by using lighter weights in his workouts and also
going to a leaner type of diet.

Canseco could join a lineup that already includes proficient home-run
hitters. Troy Glaus led the league with 47, while Mo Vaughn (36), Garret
Anderson (35), Tim Salmon (34) and Darin Erstad (25) also connected often.

The Angels have signed older sluggers to be their DH in recent years,
without much success. They tried Eddie Murray in 1997 and Cecil Fielder in
1998.

Canseco was on the disabled list last May 25-July 17 because of a strained
left heel and missed 46 games for the Devil Rays. The Yankees claimed him
on waivers Aug. 7 to block him from going to another contender.

Canseco made 31 starts for the Yankees in the regular season. He played
five games in the outfield, his first appearances in the field since July
1999. He made only one postseason appearance, striking out as a pinch
hitter in the World Series.

The 1988 AL MVP is a lifetime .266 hitter with 1,358 RBI in a major league
career that started in 1985 with Oakland. He teamed with Mark McGwire as
the "Bash Brothers" when both were with the Athletics.

==========
From the Orange County Register:
Instant replay
By STEVE BISHEFF
January 17, 2001

Yes, Jose Canseco has 446 career home runs. But the newest Angel is the
latest in a long line of no-longer-prime-time players this franchise keeps
bringing in.

It really comes as no surprise that the Angels signed Jose Canseco to be
their new designated hitter. Especially once they checked and found out
Harmon Killebrew wasn't available.

The administrations can come and go in Anaheim, but one thing about this
franchise never changes:

It remains baseball's No. 1 home for tired, past-their-prime ballplayers.
Edison Field has evolved into our national pastime's version of Leisure
World. Former All-Stars, many of them with more aches and pains than they
care to admit, can't wait to drag themselves off the couch and rush here to
finish their careers. They get a rocking chair, some slippers and an actual
paycheck to play out the string.

The Angels, for their part, get another big name at a surprisingly cheap price.

Such a deal, huh?

Eddie Murray ... Fernando Valenzuela ... Cecil Fielder ... Dave Parker ...
and that just scrapes the surface. The injury-prone Canseco is merely the
latest to join the creaky crowd.

"If he's healthy, what a bat!" General Manager Bill Stoneman said of his
latest acquisition.

Yeah, and if he were 10, or even five years younger, some of us might
actually get excited, Bill. Unfortunately, Canseco is 36, and when last
seen, his broken-down body looked more like it was 46.

The whole thing is just another episode in this sad Angels sham. Only by
now, the team is no longer fooling either its disheartened fans or most of
its present players.

Mo Vaughn stood in front of his locker on the final day of the 2000 season
and said: "I've talked to the people upstairs, and I'm confident management
will go out and get the help we need to contend next season."

You have to wonder how confident he is now.

Tim Salmon, in the final year of his current contract, announced the other
day that he needs to see some sign of serious commitment from ownership to
convince him to stay past 2001.

If this was the Angels' idea of a sign, Salmon might already be packing his
bags.

Clearly, this is a team that continues to patch huge holes with tiny
bandages. It is desperate for experienced arms in its rotation, so it goes
out and signs Pat Rapp and Ismael Valdes, a couple of guys who performed
more like batting practice pitchers a year ago. It is badly in need of a
decent designated hitter, so it finds somebody who used to fill that role,
back in another decade.

Other teams pay big money to get proven quality. The Angels pay little
money hoping to hit the lottery some day.

"I just can't see a downside to this," Stoneman said in his teleconference
Tuesday.

"If Jose's healthy, he can be a big factor in our lineup," Manager Mike
Scioscia said.

Well, at least the risk is minimal. Canseco reportedly signed a $200,000
base, nonroster contract with heavy incentives included if he should
somehow find a way to regain his youth.

The Angels would like you to think he could hit 40 home runs. Canseco,
himself, said, if injury-free, "I could hit 50 or 60 ... "

The reality is, last year he delivered 15 homers in 329 at-bats.

Of course, even then, Canseco, who has hit 446 in his career, is an
improvement over what was here a year ago. Scott Spiezio, who is versatile
enough and a nice guy to have on your bench, hit .224 with six home runs in
his time as a DH.

Jose will be a bigger power threat. He also will strike out more and hit
into more double plays.

"His history is he strikes out a lot, and he's certainly not a base stealer
anymore," Stoneman conceded. "But if he's hitting a lot of home runs, I
don't think you'll hear a lot about his speed."

Scioscia spent many a late evening in his office last season lamenting the
fact this team couldn't manufacture runs. Despite the Angels' offensive
prowess, there was little speed in the lineup once you got past Darin
Erstad in the leadoff spot.

For every three-run homer that was hit, there were a half-dozen rallies
that died from a strikeout, or the failure to find a runner swift enough to
beat out a double-play ground ball.

Canseco will only exacerbate that problem.

Insert him in Anaheim's lumbering batting order, and there's still no one
to hit second, behind Erstad. Vaughn, Salmon, Garrett Anderson, none of
them fits. Neither does Adam "I Won't Walk" Kennedy. The void was so
obvious last year, Scioscia was forced to put Troy Glaus in that spot
against left-handers. And Glaus only led the American League with 47 home runs.

When asked whom he would hit second if the season were to start today,
Scioscia said: "Good question. We might end up with Glaus hitting there again."

Not that Canseco is worried about any of this. In his first telephone
conversation with the local media on Tuesday, he sounded optimistic,
although he acknowledged he knew little, if anything, about the current
status of the Angels pitching staff.

"I've dropped weight, I'm a lot more flexible now," he said, hoping it will
help him avoid injury. "Right now, I'm completely healthy."

But even he realizes that might not last.

"I don't know of any other player who's been hurt so much," he said. Then
he added: "If I stay healthy, I'll put up very prominent numbers."

That's like saying if Valdes and Rapp have arm transplants, they'll win 20
games each. And if Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn completely mature in the
offseason, they'll combine for another 40 victories between them.

Yeah, that will all happen.

And any day now, Murray, Fielder and Parker will be calling the Anaheim
front office to announce they're ready for their latest comeback.

Scary part is, the Angels will probably consider it.

==========
From the LA Times:
JOSE, CAN YOU PITCH?
Canseco Signing Shows Offense-Minded Angels Have Again Ignored What Ails Them
By BILL PLASCHKE

It took the Angels three months, but they finally found their pitcher. Big
right-hander. Throws hard. Working on eight years' rest. His 27.00 lifetime
earned-run average doesn't seem much worse than Pat Rapp's. A fly ball that
once bounced off his head and into the stands proved he can field like most
pitchers. That his only pitching appearance resulted in a completely torn
elbow makes him perfect for the Angels.

Welcome to town, Jose Canseco.

What's that? He's joining the American League's best power-hitting team as
a power hitter? Now that's funny.

You know Disney. This surely must be part of a plan. Disney's California
Adventure theme park, opening next door to Disneyland next month, already
features fake beaches, a fake Hollywood back lot and a fake wine country.

Up next, a fake baseball team. Anybody who has visited Edison Field the
last two years can just see it... The Angels will be on display in a faux
old-fashioned stadium near the giant Ferris wheel. Supermen Troy Glaus and
Tim Salmon will belt balls into outfield bleachers filled with
fedora-wearing cardboard fans. Gritty Darin Erstad will work a sliding pit
that leaves customers breathless and dusty. Cuddly Mo Vaughn will waddle
around hugging children and posing for pictures. Weathered Mike Scioscia
will sit next to a belching hot stove telling
Tom Lasorda stories. Lots of fun and fantasy and fireworks. Everything,
really, but pitchers.

Pitchers are boring. Pitchers don't sell. Customers don't want to imagine
themselves in a 1-0 game. Who wants to throw a game-winning pitch when you
can hit a game-winning dinger? You know Disney. This must be the only
reason it spent the winter supposedly looking for arms and wound up trading
one of the team's best, Seth Etherton. This must be why it acquired only
Rapp and the wreck of the Ismael Valdes.

And now, 446-homer guy Jose Canseco. Nothing wrong with that, as long as he
can pitch. "My pitching days are over," he protested Tuesday in a
conference call. Oh. Well, OK, so we'll forget about how, on May 29, 1993,
while with the Texas Rangers, he made one of the more spectacular pitching
debuts in baseball history.

He entered in the eighth inning with the Rangers trailing the Boston Red
Sox, 12-1. He walked the bases loaded, then gave up two hits and three
runs, and left after throwing only 12 strikes among 33 pitches. "I left all
my good stuff in the bullpen," Canseco said at the time.

It was later determined he had completely torn his elbow during that one
inning. He underwent surgery and was lost for the season. He has
experienced only one healthy season since. "I can pitch underhand softball,
that's about it," he said Tuesday. Which means--sigh--he will be the
Angels' designated hitter. Which is like saying the Lakers just signed a
designated shooter.

The Angels need more hitting the way "It's a Small World" needs another
big-eyed urchin.

"I don't see a downside to this, I really don't see it," said Bill
Stoneman, general manager. The deal, by itself, is fine.
The Angels don't pay Canseco big money unless he plays most of the games.
As recently as 1998, playing in 151 games, he produced on a grand scale,
with 46 homers and 107 runs batted in for the Toronto Blue Jays. He could
sell a few tickets. He could arrange a few curtain calls. The problem,
though, is what Canseco cannot do.

One must excuse Angel fans who, starved for a main course, must feel as if
they were just served another dessert. Canseco doesn't help the team with
the league's fewest shutouts, fewest strikeouts and second-most home runs
allowed. He helps the league's best slugging percentage. He doesn't help
the league's ninth-worst ERA. He doesn't give them the nine wins they
needed to qualify for last year's playoffs. Only a veteran pitcher or two
can do that.

"I know offensively, we are strong enough," Canseco said. "But I'm not too
familiar with the pitching staff."

Who is? I thought Etherton, with a 5-1 record, was one of the Angels' best
young arms. But he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a minor league
shortstop. I thought the Angels would need a veteran such as Mike Hampton
or Mike Mussina--or at least Rick Reed--to lead a pitching staff that is
still growing.

But apparently Ramon Ortiz, Jarrod Washburn and Scott Schoeneweis are the
veterans. Even though, last year, none of them threw more than 200 innings
or won more than eight games.

"The way I look at it, there's enough quality there to win," Stoneman said
of his pitching staff.

"I'm not saying we have the top pitching staff in the league, but what I am
saying is, there is enough quality here, if healthy, that the Angels
could be one tough club. A contending club." A California adventure indeed.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@....

==========
From the LA Times:
Damaged, but Good
Year-by-year look at Jose Canseco's injuries:

* 2000--Sat out 46 games while on the disabled list May 25-July 18 because
of a strained left heel.
* 1999--Underwent back surgery July 11 to repair a herniated disk. Was on
DL from July 10-Aug. 19, sitting out 35 games.
* 1998--Sat out 12 games in June and July because of back spasms but did
not miss a game after the All-Star break.
* 1997--Had one at-bat from July 30-Aug. 9 and went on the DL retroactive
to Aug. 1 because of lower back spasms. Activated Aug. 20 but
returned to the DL on Aug. 27 until the end of the season.
* 1996--Was on DL twice. His first stay, April 24-May 9, was because ofa
strained right hip flexor. He injured his back during batting practice July
26 and had surgery to remove fragments Aug. 1, remaining on the DL until
Sept. 17 because of a ruptured disk.
* 1995--Played only 12 games before he went on the DL on May 17 because of
a right groin strain. Aggravated a rib injury during batting practice May
25 and was out until June 20.
* 1993--After his first major league appearance as a pitcher (one inning)
May 29, he started only one of the next 10 games because of back and right
forearm/elbow problems. Started from June 11-19 but had continued soreness
and was put on the 15-day DL June 24. Was diagnosed June 28 with a complete
tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Season-ending
surgery was performed July 9 in Los Angeles, during which time a tendon
from his right forearm was used as a graft to reconstruct the ligament.
* 1992--Was on the DL from July 1-16 because a sore right shoulder.
* 1990--Sat out 31 games because of a slightly protruding disk in his back.
In his first at-bat off the DL on June 23, was hit by a pitch on the
wrist, which turned into a nagging injury.
* 1989--Sat out the first half of the season (88 games) because of a stress
fracture of the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand, which
required surgery May 10.

==========
From the Orange County Register:
Scioscia says Canseco more than just a DH
ANGELS: Plans call for the slugger to see some time in the outfield as well.
January 17, 2001
By CHERYL ROSENBERG

Jose Canseco will play in the outfield for the Angels this season.

The 36-year-old slugger Tuesday signed an incentive-laden, minor-league
deal to become the team's designated hitter. But Manager Mike Scioscia said
he still plans to rotate other players at DH to give them a day off from
the field. That means Canseco will get the call, though not frequently, to
use his glove.

"He has to be versatile," Scioscia said. "He'll have to play the outfield.
If Jose is healthy, we're going to want to keep his bat in the lineup."

Canseco is not known for his defense. He once had a ball bounce off his
head and over the fence for a home run.

But Canseco, 23rd on the all-time home run list, is just 54 short of 500
for his career. He's not promising to hit that many for the Angels in 2001.
He just knows it's possible - if he stays healthy.

He has been injured in each of his past six seasons.

"I try to keep (the injuries) out of my mind, but it's always there," said
Canseco, who played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Yankees last
season. "People bring it up every day. My family. My friends. 'Jose, can
you imagine what would happen if you'd stayed healthy?' I try to stay
healthy. I'm probably different than Cal Ripken, Jr.

"Five hundred home runs is a lot of home runs, but for a person of my
ability, it's not."

Canseco's contract is for the major-league minimum of $200,000, but with
incentives based on plate appearances, it could be worth more than $5 million.

No one doubts his offensive potential but his signing does not address the
Angels' pitching needs. They made offers to free-agent pitchers, including
Darren Dreifort and Andy Ashby, but ended up signing Ismael Valdes and Pat
Rapp.

"It was an opportunity to do something that would help this ballclub,"
Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said of signing Canseco. "We know
we're an offensive ballclub and are recognized as such. This was an
opportunity that presented itself. If we'd passed, we still have a heck of
an offensive ballclub."

Canseco is very similar to players such as Mo Vaughn, Troy Glaus and Tim
Salmon - power hitters who strike out a lot. Canseco said he thinks he
could steal 30 bases, which is two more than team leader Darin Erstad had
last season.

"The No. 1 thing isn't stealing bases," Scioscia said. "It's manufacturing
runs by going from first to third. It's something we need to do more of.
Jose brings strikeouts but he also brings a tremendously productive bat."

Scioscia still remembers Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, when Canseco
dented a center-field camera with a grand slam against the Dodgers. He
knows the threat a healthy Canseco brings.

Canseco said he is completely healthy. He was clocked by a Yankees trainer
consistently at 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and that was when he was
20 pounds heavier than he is now.

==========
From CBS SportsLine:
Offseason analysis
By Ian Browne

SportsLine.com's Ian Browne analyzes the major moves of a busy offseason.
Whether it be a trade or a free-agent signing, SportsLine.com's baseball
insider reacts to all the moves.

January 16, 2001: Anaheim Angels sign DH/OF Jose Canseco to minor league
contract.

It's somewhat ironic that on the same day Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett
were selected to the Hall of Fame, Canseco, who once seemed to be a certain
Hall of Famer, signed a minor league, incentive-laden deal with the Angels.
Anyone who can keep track of all the different uniforms Canseco has worn
since 1995 deserves a medal. Canseco can still put on a batting practice
show with the best of them, but he has been reduced to a one-dimensional
player and a fragile one at that. Canseco, with 446 homers, is obviously
hanging on to make a run at 500 home runs. It's amazing that he was once a
marvel of an athlete, best exemplified when he became baseball's first
40-40 man in 1988. As for the Angels, maybe they signed Canseco as security
in case they decide to trade Tim Salmon or even Mo Vaughn for the pitching
help they so desperately need.

==========
From ESPN:
Monday, January 22
In search of Internet myths
By Rob Neyer

In the absence of any baseball news, this morning I trolled the Internet in
search of debunkable "information." Fortunately, there's no shortage of
such material ...

Canseco can still put on a show in BP with the best of them, but these days
he's a one-dimensional player.

Uh, make that two dimensions. Over the last two seasons, Canseco has posted
a .511 slugging percentage, and hit 49 home runs in 211 games. His power
is, presumably, the one dimension referenced above. But lest anyone think
that Canseco's skills end with the long ball,
Canseco's batting average over the last two seasons is just .267 -- hence
the perception that he's "one-dimensional" -- but his on-base percentage
over that same span is .372, not too shabby at all. Last season, Canseco
drew 64 walks in 401 plate appearance, a rate comparable to Frank Thomas'.

These days, it's de riguer to point to Canseco and say, "See, this is what
happens when players bulk up and DH, and the ballparks shrink. Jose
Canseco's going to end up with Hall of Fame numbers, for heaven's sake!"
Well, I don't know if I'd vote for him. But when he's been able to stay in
the lineup, Canseco has been quite productive, in large part because he's
always been a patient hitter. Canseco's career batting average is 52 points
lower than Kirby Puckett's ... but his OBP is just eight points lower.