Hey Cansecoites,

I apologize if you've already received this, but it appears numerous people
on the list (including me) never got this message I sent yesterday...

-Mark

>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.