Hey Cansecoites,

Not much longer until Opening Day. Despite back, hamstring and neck
injuries this spring, Jose has been back in the lineup and playing fairly
well, but he remains homerless. He says the injuries are nothing to be
concerned about. Let's hope he's right.

Quite a few of you have written in to ask if I'm having a home run contest
this year. Sorry, but no, I am not. For starters, I don't have many bats
left (haha), and secondly, I just haven't had the time to organize the
contest and deal with all the entries. Sorry... maybe next year.

I did make time to start another "Heavy Hitters" group again this
year. For those that don't know, Heave Hitters is a free online fantasy
baseball game. It's very simple. Basically, you pick a hitter for each
position, and that's you're lineup. You get points based on how they
perform. The players all have salaries that change every week. You can
make as many moves as you want week to week, but you have to stay under the
salary cap. If you want to play along, go to
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=7DBNEIiXDlg&offerid=28204.10000039&\
subid=0&type=4
and sign up for the game called Heavy Hitters. If that link doesn't work,
there is a banner on Canseconet.com that goes to the same place. After you
register, click on "Groups" on the left menu, and then "Join a Public
Group." Our group name is Canseconet.

All the latest Jose news is below. There is an excellent article in there
about Jose's stint with the Yankees. He described it as "a very bad dream."

Take it easy,
Mark

==========
From the LA Times:
March 20

...Jose Canseco, sidelined because of several nagging injuries, played
Monday for the first time since March 9, hitting a single in his first
at-bat before flying out and striking out. Though his back, hamstring and
shoulder were packed in ice afterward, he said he felt good. "My timing is
a little off, but I had some good swings," he said. . . .

==========
From SportsLine.com
Injury-prone Canseco gets chance with hopeful Angels
March 21, 2001

TEMPE, Ariz. -- They always said Jose Canseco had the body of a Greek god,
only what those early scouting reports didn't tell us was that it was
Achilles with a faulty heel.

If there's a player in the game whose body is more sensitive to injury,
modern medicine is not ready for him. The wind blows, Canseco's hamstring
blows. The sun sets, Canseco's back wrenches. The humidity increases,
Canseco's feet swell.

He is a man for all seasons -- the only player in the game who could land
on somebody's disabled list in the winter.

Jose Canseco got his second World Series ring with the Yankees in 2000
despite playing sparingly. (Allsport)

So here he is in the twilight of his career, trying to keep the candle lit,
in camp with the Anaheim Angels as a non-roster player. There are no
guarantees beyond a $200,000 base salary -- the major league minimum -- and
that's only if he makes the club. If he actually stays healthy and
produces, there's another $4.95 million out there for him if he reaches 600
plate appearances.

The early returns, though, are very Cansecoesque.

For example, despite playing for a second consecutive day in the Angels'
6-3 Cactus League loss to San Diego on Wednesday, Canseco, 36, had missed
the previous 10 games.

The reason? The Canseco Special: Back spasms and a strained right hamstring
-- at the same time. It's like ordering the Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's
-- by now, you know the combo by heart.

"I would have hoped to have seen more of him by now," said Angels general
manager Bill Stoneman, who has a handful of decisions to make regarding the
Angels' roster in the next 10 days or so. "We're hopeful we're going to see
him a lot more."

But as with any kind of (very) limited warranty, there are no guarantees.

Canseco has played in more than 113 games in a season just once since 1993
-- in Toronto, in 1998, when he rang up 151 games played. Last year,
hobbled for much of the season by a bad back, he appeared in 61 games for
Tampa Bay and 37 for the New York Yankees.

"We're waiting to see him play some games before we judge," Angels hitting
coach Mickey Hatcher said. "We know what he can bring to the club. His
thing is to prove to the manager that he can go out there every day.

"He's been great. He works hard every day. He still has the bat speed. He
hits some balls harder than I've ever seen anybody hit them."

Which is what keeps teams coming back, of course. When Canseco has no
bandages and swings freely and the mechanics are there, he still launches
baseballs into orbit.

Canseco is only 54 homers away from becoming just the 17th man in major
league history to collect 500 in a career. He has averaged one home run per
15.25 at-bats throughout his career. That's a lot of hold-your-breath,
game-changing, edge-of-your-seat moments.

"If I had stayed healthy, 500 would have been surpassed a long time ago,"
Canseco said. "But since I've lost probably five years of my career, 500
home runs now is a big deal."

It is impossible to get away from the what-ifs when assessing Canseco's
career. What if his back had stayed healthy? What if his hamstrings had
stayed intact? What if he had stayed in the lineup all of these years?

"It's just about health," Canseco said. "When I'm in the lineup and
healthy, the numbers go hand in hand."

It's all about health. And Canseco's body is catching up to him, and it's
why this might be his last best chance to make one more impact on the game.

His agent, Jeff Boris, shopped him deep into the winter before getting
anyone to take a chance. Among others, even the Minnesota Twins, who have
been desperate for power for years, passed. The Angels finally stepped up
on Jan. 16, taking a flying leap of faith that maybe Canseco miraculously
will stay healthy and help offset the loss of first baseman Mo Vaughn, who
is out for the season following arm surgery. Vaughn hit 36 homers with 117
RBI in 2000.

"It's extremely frustrating, I tell you," Canseco said. "It's extra
frustrating when you know what you can do if you're in the lineup, and you
can't be in the lineup. And it must be frustrating for an organization when
the organization knows what you can do and you can't apply it.

"It would be different if I were a middle infielder with no power."

But he isn't. He is Jose Canseco, with the muscles of a god and the
elasticity of a mailbox. Everything he does, he does with flair -- whether
it's blowing out his back or being picked up on waivers by the New York
Yankees in August 2000, in an attempt to block him from going to another
contender. The Yankees didn't even want him, and the ultimate irony was
this: Although he finally was healthy, he played sparingly.

"I thought I had seen it all," Canseco said. "I thought I had seen it all
in this game until last year. To be healthy and not playing ... I've never
been put in that situation before. It was very difficult for me."

It was like blowing a month's worth of warm summer days in the Midwest --
when they come around, you'd better take advantage of them, because they
won't be around very long.

Canseco now is tantalizing his seventh club in eight years. He says his
aches and pains this spring are not related to his more serious injuries of
the past. He says they're simply minor nuisances that are keeping him
cautious because, well, to a veteran, the most important thing is to avoid
injuries during the spring. If this were the regular season, he'd be rarin'
to go.

Still, Wednesday's was only his ninth game of the spring. The Angels have
played 22. He's batting .231 (6 for 26) with no homers and one RBI.

"Jose's picked it up," manager Mike Scioscia said. "His workouts have been
great the last four days. His batting practice has been great. He's much
more consistent in his swings."

He tested the hamstring before Wednesday's game, running sprints in the
outfield to make sure everything was OK. He said it stiffened on him
Tuesday after he ran hard on a line drive toward third base.

But, oh, those baseballs he drives before the games, how pretty those arcs are.

"Oh, geez," Hatcher said. "It's a joy to watch him in batting practice."

==========
From the Fresno Bee:
Canseco's neck is Angels' pain
March 24, 2001

Designated hitter Jose Canseco suffered another minor injury Friday,
casting further doubt on his ability to be a reliable force in the Angels
lineup.

Canseco, who has missed nine days of spring training because of lower-back
and hamstring problems, woke up with a twinge in his neck.

He had been scheduled to play in an 8-5 exhibition loss to Colorado but was
sent for X-rays instead.

The oft-injured Canseco said his latest problem was "no big deal," and that
if this were the regular season, he would be playing.

The Angels, however, are so concerned about Canseco's availability that
they are formulating contingency plans. In one scenario, manager Mike
Scioscia said, all three first-base candidates -- Wally Joyner, Larry
Barnes and Scott Spiezio -- could make the team.

"Jose is a definite question mark," Scioscia said. "He's a great player,
but he has to show he's healthy and can perform at this level."

==========
From the LA Times:
Canseco Suffers Another Injury
By MIKE DIGIOVANNA

TUCSON--Designated hitter Jose Canseco suffered another minor injury
Friday, casting further doubt on his ability to be a reliable force in the
Angel lineup.

Canseco, who has missed nine days of spring training because of
lower-back and hamstring problems, woke up with a twinge in his neck. He
had been scheduled to play in Friday's 8-5 exhibition loss to Colorado but
was sent for X-rays instead.

The oft-injured Canseco said his latest problem was "no big deal,"
and that if this were the regular season, he would be playing.

"During the season, the only way I'll come out of the lineup is if I
have an injury that requires surgery," he said.

The Angels, however, are so concerned about Canseco's availability
that they are formulating contingency plans. In one scenario, Manager Mike
Scioscia said, all three first-base candidates--Wally Joyner, Larry Barnes
and Scott Spiezio--could make the team.

"Jose is a definite question mark," Scioscia said. "He's a great
player, but he has to show he's healthy and can perform at this level."

==========
From the Orange County Register:
Ailing Canseco concerns team
An injury puts the projected DH out for the third time during spring training.
March 24, 2001
By CHERYL ROSENBERG

TUCSON - Jose Canseco was dozing on the team bus Friday morning when Angels
manager Mike Scioscia sent him back to the clubhouse.

Canseco, who was scheduled to be the designated hitter against the Colorado
Rockies, instead received a precautionary X-ray on his stiff neck.

He had received massages on his neck the past few days, and Scioscia
decided it would not be beneficial for Canseco to endure the two-hour bus
ride from Tempe, Ariz., to Tucson.

Canseco said he wasn't worried about the stiffness, but the Angels clearly
are concerned. This is the third time in spring training he has missed a
game or more because of minor injuries. He missed 10 games because of back
spasms and a slight hamstring strain, returning Monday. Scioscia said he
expects Canseco to play today against the Oakland A's.

"I'm concerned," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "The greater
concern is we haven't seen a whole lot of him. We have to make a decision
in a little over a week. We'd prefer to make a decision on what we see him
do. If he's not out there playing, he's not doing what we're paying him to do."

What Stoneman isn't eager about is the team's options at DH if Canseco
doesn't make the team. Jose Fernandez, who led the team's regulars with a
.400 average entering Friday, is a possibility.

"We're looking at (Fernandez) as a major-league backup third baseman and
DH, not as a Triple-A player," Stoneman said.

Shawn Wooten is an option, as is Scott Spiezio, if he doesn't win the first
base job.

Canseco said the only way he comes out of a lineup during the regular
season is because of surgery, but Scioscia said the question isn't whether
Canseco can be in a lineup, but how productive will he be?

"It's an issue," Scioscia said. "We hope this is a one-day deal."

==========
From the Orange County Register:
Canseco as Yankee: a Bronx bummer
March 25, 2001
By JEFF MILLER

TEMPE, Ariz. It was awful. It was pathetic. It was, in Jose Canseco's
words, "a very bad dream."

Image how horrible it would have been if, at the time, Canseco's team
wasn't winning the World Series.

This is the newest Angel and oldest Yankee. Oldest not in terms of age or
years of service or tread worn. But rather oldest in dust gathered.

Canseco is coming off a season in which he won possibly the emptiest
championship in the history of baseball. His World Series title with New
York last year feels as hollow today as the part of the ring that slips
over your finger.

Not that Canseco is waiting for a ring. He's not sure the Yankees will give
him one. He did receive a portion of a World Series share, but he hasn't
spoken to anyone from the organization since the victory parade.

"I wasn't a part of that team, and I was made to see that," Canseco says.
"I felt like an intruder, like I was getting in the way. I was so glad when
it was over."

Glad, not like joyful, like the rest of the Yankees. But glad, like
relieved, like a man just freed from jail.

"It was the worst time of my life," says Canseco, whose life has taken some
dark corners, including one where he claimed to have contemplated suicide.
"To be healthy and not playing was eating me up inside."

Canseco wasn't a player last season as much as he was a pawn. He always has
hit well off the Yankees' Andy Pettitte, and there was talk of Oakland
trading for Canseco for the playoffs.

So New York picked him up off waivers from Tampa Bay, blocking the deal and
adding a player manager Joe Torre didn't need or, more important, want.
When asked about the acquisition, Torre said, "I'm stunned."

After Canseco joined the Yankees in August, Torre met with him, David
Justice and Glenallen Hill, telling the outfielders he would try to give
each as much playing time as possible. Over the next two months, Canseco
appeared in 37 games, batting a disinterested .243.

When the playoffs began, he wasn't on the Yankees roster. Here was a hitter
with 446 career home runs, who had hit 46 just two seasons earlier, being
told he wasn't good enough.

He was activated for the World Series but still was as lifeless as a jersey
hanging in a locker. He also contributed as much as an unoccupied uniform.

Canseco made only one plate appearance. By the time it happened, in Game 4,
he barely was paying attention. He was sitting next to Roger Clemens when
Torre told him to get ready to pinch hit. Canseco stood up and felt so
stiff he announced it to those near him. Clemens pretended he had an oil
can and started lubing Canseco's joints.

"I had already shut my body down completely," Canseco says. "I didn't think
there was any chance I would play. It was a token at-bat. I think Joe did
it just to be nice, just him saying, 'Hey, here's Jose in the World Series.
He's still alive.' I had no chance in that at-bat."

Canseco struck out looking, appropriately ending his chance to do something
by doing absolutely nothing.

Two days later, the Yankees claimed their third consecutive title.

"I was glad they won," Canseco says. "I say 'they' because it wasn't 'us.'
I had nothing to do with that team. I didn't add a thing. I didn't even
know how to react when it was over."

So what, exactly, did he do when Bernie Williams grabbed Mike Piazza's
liner for the final out of the final game? He ran out to his mobbing
teammates - if you consider these strangers teammates for a second - and
awkwardly hugged a couple of them. Then he congratulated Torre.

It was a bizarre scene, one in which Canseco would have been better served
had his name appeared on the front instead of the back of his jersey. You
know, on one of those "Hello, my name is" tags. The moment captured these
days of cash-register baseball, when teams like budget-busting New York can
just buy the best players to stash them away if necessary.

After a couple of minutes, Canseco walked off the field, into the clubhouse
and found himself moving toward the corner of the room, away from the
spraying champagne, swirling cigar smoke and glaring TV cameras. "I wanted
to stay out of the way," he says, "and let those guys celebrate."

So when did Canseco return home to Florida?

"The next morning."

He did fly back for the parade, his focus as fluttery as the ticker tape
falling. He sat there, rolling down the Canyon of Heroes, wondering, "What
am I doing here? I don't belong in this at all."

Canseco kept his Yankees uniform but has nothing else from his three months
with the club. Unless you count a sour memory of baseball's sweetest moment.

Reminded that this is a game full of quirks, Canseco smiles and says,
"Yeah, and last year I was one of them."

This guy has been a lot of things in his career. A Bash Brother, a headline
about to happen, a broken-down body part.

But there's still one thing he has never been.

A Yankee.

==========
From the LA Times:
March 27

...Jose Canseco's hamstring, back and neck were packed in ice after
Monday's game, and the designated hitter said he was "really sore," but
there was no cause for alarm. "I ice my back after every game as a
precaution," he said....

==========
From the Orange County Register:
March 28

...The health of Jose Canseco is a factor because if the Angels don't think
he can be relied upon to be in the lineup regularly, they will need to look
at other players to take the spot. The versatility of the bench is another
consideration. The more versatile the players, the greater the likelihood
of the Angels carrying 11 pitchers, rather than 12. ...