Hey everyone,

I have to be honest with you. A few days ago, if you asked me to rank
every major league team based on where I would like to see Jose sign, the
Expos would have been last on my list. Dead last. But you know, the more
I think about it, the more I like it. First of all, I'm just glad to see
Jose playing for a major league team. That nonsense he had to go through
last year, missing nearly half the season waiting to get signed was quite
annoying for us fans (not to mention Jose).

And even though the White Sox were willing to take a chance on him last
year, Jose ended up being a part time player like he was with the Yankees,
even though he was producing. Jose has said many times that his numbers
will be better when he can play every day and get into his home run
groove. He's also said his legs feel better and he's able to steal more
bases when he plays the outfield instead of DHing. With the Expos, I think
he's going to have the chance to prove both statements.

I know it's early and this is very optimistic thinking, but can you imagine
if Jose is able to do 30-30 this year? You might think there's no chance,
but think back to the last time Jose was playing OF regularly. It was 1998
with the Blue Jays. He hit a career high 46 homers and stole 29 bases that
year. I think he had 22 steals at the All Star break, and then slowed down
because of a couple minor injuries later in the year.

My point is, given the chance, a 30-30 year isn't that far fetched for #33
(CF Peter Bergeron offered to give up his number for Jose, so he's ok in my
book).

Jose's power numbers have dropped a bit in the past couple of years, but
I'm hoping that's because he hasn't played enough to get into a
groove. The last time he was healthy and playing every day was the first
half of the 1999 season with the Devil Rays. You'll remember Jose had 31
homers at the All Star break, leading the AL and only one behind Sammy Sosa
for the major league lead (don't quote me on this, by the way - this is all
from memory). Even with a slow finish that year after he came back from
surgery (a pinky injury limited his power numbers), he managed to finish
the year with a .563 slugging percentage. The only seasons he ever beat
that were 1988 (.569, MVP) and 1996 (.589 in Boston).

Jose also has a couple of things to play for this year. He's 38 homers shy
of the magical 500, and he needs 123 hits to reach 2000. He's also 93 RBIs
short of 1500 and 94 walks shy of 1000. I won't mention the 58 strikeouts
he needs to get to 2000 :)

So, what's the moral of the story? Am I predicting Jose will have a great
year in Montreal and silence his critics? Absolutely not. All I'm saying
is that this is his chance. Opportunity, also known as the Montreal Expos
team, is knocking. Let's hope Jose answers and shows the NL pitchers what
the AL has feared for the past 17 seasons.

I've rambled enough.
-Mark

P.S. I added three new photos of Jose the Expo to the Canseconet.com photo
galleries tonight.

==========
Want to talk up Jose with some Expo fans? Go here:
http://www.forums.mlb.com/ml-expos

==========
From CNN/SI:
Expos invite Canseco to spring training

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- Jose Canseco, needing 38 home runs to reach 500 for
his career, signed a minor league contract with the Montreal Expos on
Tuesday and was invited to spring training.

Canseco, 37, is expected to join the Expos for their first full-squad
workout Thursday. Primarily a designated hitter in recent years, the
outfielder will try to make his first NL team.

Canseco signed last June with the Chicago White Sox and hit .258 with 16
home runs and 49 RBIs in 256 at-bats. He played 76 games, almost all of
them as a DH.

"He was a free agent and was available, so I thought he was worth trying,"
Expos general manager Omar Minaya said. "He is a veteran player, a power
hitter who still has incentive since he is trying to reach the 500-home run
mark."

In the last three seasons, Canseco has played just 13 games in the field.
He made two appearances last season.

Canseco is a six-time All-Star and ranks 22nd on the career home run list
with 462, three behind Dave Winfield. He is second among active players,
trailing only Barry Bonds (567).

Canseco has played for Oakland, Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, the
Yankees and the White Sox.

The AL Rookie of the Year in 1986, Canseco was the AL MVP in 1988, the year
he became the first player in major league history to hit 40 home runs and
steal 40 bases in the same season.

Canseco and Fred McGriff are the only players ever to hit 30 home runs in a
season for four different teams.

==========
From MLB.com:
Bash at the beach
By J.S. Trzcienski

MONTREAL -- The perception may have been that the Expos lost out on a
chance at improving their outfield depth Tuesday morning when the Marlins
announced the signing of Tim Raines, yet it didn't take long for the club
to name an attractive alternative.

Hello, Jose Canseco.

In a move that may have been more than a year in the making (Montreal
reportedly had interest in Canseco as early as last spring), the team
announced late Tuesday afternoon that it had signed the one-time Bash
Brother to a minor league free agent contract with an invitation to Spring
Training. The move was revealed by Expos' Vice President and General
Manager Omar Minaya, who continues to work quickly in assembling both a
new-look staff and player roster.

Canseco, the colorful outfielder who once dated Madonna and saw a ball
bounce off his head for a home run, is still best known for his exploits as
a prolific power hitter. He became the first 40-40 (home runs/stolen bases)
Major Leaguer in history in 1988, and hit 30 or more home runs in a season
eight times in his 17-year career. After beginning 2001 out of baseball, he
eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox in June, and went on to hit
.258 (66-for-256) with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs in 76 games. He also scored
46 runs.

Though his career has been hampered by back problems over the course of the
past decade, Canseco remains a dangerous hitter when healthy, as evidenced
by his numbers from both 1998 (46 home runs and 107 RBIs in 151 games for
Toronto) and 1999 (a .279 batting average, 34 homers, 95 RBIs, and a .563
slugging percentage with Tampa Bay, ninth-best in the AL). He also has the
ability to get on base; his career OBP is .353 -- a notch below Vladimir
Guerrero's .378, yet comparable to Jose Vidro's .355.

The 37-year-old unquestionably brings a wealth of experience to the Expos'
clubhouse. He won a World Series with Oakland in 1989 and with the Yankees
in 2000. He was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1986, and won
the AL Most Valuable Player award in 1988 after his historic 40-40 season.
He is a six-time All-Star and sits 22nd all-time for career home runs
(462), second among active players behind only Barry Bonds (567). Overall,
he has played for seven American League teams, including Oakland (1985-92,
1997), Texas (1992-94), Boston (1995-96), Toronto (1998), Tampa Bay
(1999-2000) and the New York Yankees (2000). Montreal will mark Canseco's
indoctrination to the NL.

The native of Havana, Cuba, is one of nine players to hit 400 home runs and
steal 200 bases, having joined the elite club last season. He has hit more
home runs than any other player born outside the United States, and is one
of two players to hit 30 home runs with four different teams (Oakland,
Texas, Toronto and Tampa Bay), a feat shared with Fred McGriff.

Canseco is expected to join the Expos for the team's first full-squad
workout, which will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. at Roger Dean Stadium.

==========
From Fox Sports:

MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Jose Canseco will have a chance to pursue his dream of
500 home runs but to do it he will have to show he can play the field.

The 37-year-old Canseco, who spent last season with the Chicago White Sox,
on Tuesday signed a minor league contract with the Montreal Expos.

Canseco batted .258 with 16 homers and 49 RBI in 76 games last season. But
Canseco has been relgated to designated hitter for most of the last decade
and will have to play the field in the National League.

Canseco, who may fit into Montreal's left field plans, is a 17-year veteran
who will be playing full-time in the NL for the first time. He broke in
with Oakland in 1985 and has spent time with Texas, Boston, Toronto, Tampa
Bay and the New York Yankees.

The AL Rookie of the Year in 1985, Canseco was the Most Valuable Player in
1986 when he became the first player ever to hit 40 homers and steal 40
bases in the same season.

A six-time All-Star, Canseco is 22nd all-time on the home run list with
462. Among active players, only Barry Bonds (567) has more.

Canseco has set 500 homers as a goal with the hopes that all eligible
members of the 500-homer club have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He
already is one of just nine players with 400 homers and 200 stolen bases
and has hit more home runs than any other player born outside the United
States.

The move was the first player move for new Expos general manager Omar Minaya.

==========
From the Ottawa Sun:
Canseco joins Expos
By DON BRENNAN

It might be a moonshot, but there is now at least a chance baseballs will
be exploding off the bat -- and bouncing off the head -- of Jose Canseo at
JetForm Park this summer.

The Montreal Expos signed the veteran slugger to a minor-league contract
with an invitation to spring training yesterday.

Canseco, who was last with the Chicago White Sox, has spent 17 seasons in
the majors. The 37-year-old outfielder/DH is joining his eighth team, with
the previous seven being in the American League.

He sits 22nd on the all-time home runs list with 462.

"If he makes the team he'll be in Montreal, but if he doesn't there's a
possibility he'll be playing here," said Barre Campbell, the Ottawa Lynx
director of media/public relations.

"Obviously, with a player of his stature, there could be a clause in his
contract that states if he doesn't stick with the Expos, he's under no
obligation to stay with the organization. But all we know is he has been
signed by Montreal."

Canseco is a six-time all-star who is second on the list of active home-run
leaders behind Barry Bonds. He has been on two World Series winners, in
1999 and 2000, and won the AL rookie of the year award in 1986.

But his most impressive claim to fame was in 1988, when he was named the
AL's MVP for becoming the first player in major-league history to hit 40
homers and steal 40 bases in the same season.

Canseco is expected to join the Expos for the team's first full-squad
workout tomorrow in Jupiter, Fla.

==========
From the Montreal Gazette:
Canseco has some ifs attached
Expos gamble on veteran slugger to play in outfield and beef up their
anemic offence
By STEPHANIE MYLES
Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Former Bash Brother Canseco had 16 homers last season in limited playing
time with the Chicago White Sox.

The Expos added a cup of power and two cups of star power to their lineup
mix yesterday.

And in a season where building for the future is no longer the priority,
Jose Canseco could be the answer to the club's seemingly eternal power
vacuum in left field - if, if, and if.

-If the 37-year-old slugger makes the team - and from the way general
manager Omar Minaya was talking last night, that seems almost a given.

-If he can play defence after only 13 big-league games in the outfield in
three years.

Canseco thinks he can. "I played 40 straight games in the outfield (with
the independent Atlantic League Newark Bears), the last six or seven in
centre field, without an error," he said last night in a conference call.

-If he can stay healthy. Canseco said the back problems which plagued him
for several years are gone; he began taking potassium and magnesium
supplements to supplement a deficiency in his system, and his back has been
spasm-free ever since.

"He brings experience. He brings power," said Minaya, who added that his
former team, the New York Mets, had been considering Canseco for a
potential platoon situation during the winter after seeing him play the
outfield capably in nearby Newark.

"He's a force ... and I think we are a better team today than we were
yesterday."

The Expos will be Canseco's seventh team in the last seven seasons, and his
first National League stop.

Canseco, who signed a minor-league deal, won't get rich if he makes the
team. At most, he could make $700,000 U.S. on an incentive-laden contract.
But it's not about the money; it has never been about the money over the
last two years, when he almost had to beg for a big-league job.

After batting .231 in 39 at-bats with no home runs, and missing 10 straight
games because of lower-back and hamstring injuries and another because of a
twinge in his neck, Canseco was released from training camp by the Anaheim
Angels last March 31.

Canseco held workouts with media and scouts in attendance and said he ran a
4.5-second 40-yard dash. He couldn't buy a job. He played for the Bears to
showcase his talent for general managers perhaps reluctant to take a risk
on a player with his history. He stole 10 bases in 41 games; the Chicago
White Sox signed him in June.

In 76 games and 256 at-bats with the White Sox, Canseco batted .258 with 16
home runs, 49 RBIs and 46 runs.

According to his agent, Alan Nero, the White Sox were very interested in
having Canseco return. But with slugger Frank Thomas coming back to the
designated-hitter role, they couldn't guarantee him much playing time.

Double those numbers. Think 30 homers, 100 RBIs and add 90 to 100 walks. A
major potential impact on an Expos offence that had a lot of trouble
scoring runs last year. The new turf at Olympic Stadium can only help him
stay healthy.

Canseco thinks he can do even better.

"Obviously, last year I only played every two or three days; I wasn't able
to get into the home-run rhythm I wanted to," he said. "I'm looking to play
every day and getting into that power rhythm. I'm definitely capable of
hitting 40 to 50 home runs and stealing 30 to 40 bases again."

Canseco needs 38 homers to reach 500; he needs 123 hits to reach 2,000. He
has plenty of motivation to earn those at-bats.

Minaya even spoke of Canseco spelling Lee Stevens at first base, even
though he has never played the position, other than in a softball game.

Perhaps he can learn by osmosis from twin brother Ozzie, who played first
as Canseco's teammate with the Bears.

"He says (first base is) a lot easier than the outfield," Canseco said.

==========
From ESPN:
Canseco signs on

Will the sole remaining active bash brother draw fans in Montreal?

The Expos have signed Jose Canseco to a minor-league free agent contract
with an invitation to spring training, Vice-President and General Manager
Omar Minaya announced today. Canseco played for the White Sox last year,
signing as a free agent in June. In 76 games, he hit .258 with 16 HR and 49
RBI, scoring 46 runs. Canseco is a six-time All-Star and sits 22nd all-time
for career home runs (462), trailing Dave Winfield by three, while placing
second among active players, behind Barry Bonds (567).

==========
From the Chicago Tribune:

Canseco update: Manuel was happy to hear former Sox DH Jose Canseco signed
a minor-league contract with Montreal. Canseco pleaded with Manuel last
summer to let him play in the outfield, but Manuel only let him do it for a
couple of games in Milwaukee during interleague play. Now Canseco will get
a chance to prove he still can play the outfield without any major mishaps.

"I want you guys to go to Montreal, so you can ask, `Jose, what happened on
that fly ball?'" Manuel said.

==========
From the San Francisco Gate:
By Scott Ostler

Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco are back for one last hurrah, even if
they have to hurrah themselves. Rickey and Jose both want to break some
important all-time baseball records, though they've forgotten which ones.

Canseco says he wants to play the outfield, but he's a team guy, so he'll
also be available for spot relief.

"If I get into the lineup every day," Canseco said, "there's no reason I
can't hit 40 or 50 home runs, drive in 120 runs or steal 40 bases."

So apparently the self-hypnosis thing is working out well.

If Jose gets into the lineup every day for even the first week of the
season, he'll make the cover of the Journal of the American Medical
Association. The Las Vegas over-unders on Canseco's injuries this season is 15.

==========
From the Chicago Sun Times:

BEST WISHES: Manuel was glad to see Jose Canseco hook up with the Montreal
Expos this week.

Canseco was signed by the Sox last June to help pick up the slack for the
injured Thomas. Used primarily as a designated hitter, he batted .258 with
16 home runs and 49 RBI in 76 games with the Sox.

''Jose was a complete professional when he was here,'' Manuel said. ''I
anticipated him to be different, but he was really a professional.''

Canseco is 38 home runs shy of 500 in his career.

''I hope he does well,'' Manuel said. ''I hope he hits many home runs to
get to the [500] mark. He really helped us out a lot last year, and I
appreciated his professionalism.''

==========
From the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
Lukewarm on Jose

Sources said the the Marlins had slight interest in Jose Canseco before he
signed with Montreal. The Marlins probably would have waited for other
options to dry up before offering a low salary-plus-incentives deal to
Canseco. They signed outfielders Tim Raines and Mark Smith this week. ...

==========
From the Montreal Gazette:
The new Bash Brothers
Canseco, Guerrero swinging for fences
By STEPHANIE MYLES
Thursday, February 21, 2002

Jose Canseco, the 17-year veteran, went at it systematically. A dozen or so
backhand swings of the bat with his left arm. A dozen forehands with his
right arm. Then he put the two together and got to work.

Vladimir Guerrero, who once again arrived in camp looking bigger and
stronger than the previous year, wasted no such effort. Taking turns with
Dominican teammates Tomas De La Rosa, Henry Mateo and Wilson Valdez, he
swung out of his batting helmet from the first pitch on.

De La Rosa, who was feeding Guerrero baseballs, would lob the ball, close
his eyes, turn his back and duck for cover behind the screen after every pitch.

'He Swings Hard'

"Hello? I watch the ball come back and think I'm going to kill myself," De
La Rosa said. "He swings hard."

The Expos' potential Bash Brothers were in adjoining stalls in the batting
cages yesterday. And their arrival energized the camp, which really kicks
off today with the first full-squad workout.

"You have a whole new appreciation for the human form when a guy like
(Canseco) walks in," third-baseman Geoff Blum said.

"It was one thing having the Demon (former manager Jeff Torborg's wrestler
son Dale) in the weight room, but he couldn't go out on the field and do
the things this guy can do. ... It's just fun to watch a guy who has that
much bat speed also, outside of the fact that he's huge."

On the last day of the 2001 season, second-baseman Jose Vidro said the team
needed a left-fielder with pop. They've got him, although the questions
will understandably start coming the first time the 6-foot-4, 250-pound
Canseco hits the trainer's room.

"We'll put him through the paces tomorrow and see what he can do for us,"
manager Frank Robinson said. "If he can give us what we feel like he can
give us, that would certainly give a big boost to our ball club."

Skills Diminished

Robinson said he thought Canseco, who showed off a strong arm on the
practice field yesterday, can get his outfield skills back.

"When (you don't play much), your skills have a tendency to diminish," the
manager said. "Just like anything else, if you go out and work on it a
little bit, it's not that hard to catch on again. (Outfielders coach) Jerry
Morales will be working with him every day. We'll see what the bat has, but
over-all we have to see if he can play defence for us."

Vidro said Canseco's defence won't be a concern.

"I think he'll be OK in the outfield," Vidro said. "All we need is his bat,
the way he can hit. The thing is that we have to put it together. We're not
going to win only with hitting - look at Texas last year. We have to put it
all together."

Canseco said he hoped he still commanded the kind of presence at the plate
that would give Guerrero better pitches to hit ahead of him.

"As a power hitter, I would tell him not to lose his aggressiveness in the
strike zone, because once you start losing that, you're going to lose your
power completely," Canseco said. "He just needs to swing at strikes, just
like I need to stay in a certain zone and be aggressive.

"I wouldn't tell him to change anything. He's one of the great young
hitters in the game."

Robinson hopes Canseco's relative patience rubs off.

"He's not just a wild swinger, although he swings hard, and he has a good
eye at the plate," Robinson said. "He will take the walk if you're not
going to throw the ball over the plate."

"He can show (the young players) that if you're patient at the plate and
take your walks and the next guy does his job getting a base hit, you can
still score runs that way," Robinson said.

Canseco, who admitted he was "really nervous," was pleased to find out the
roof at Olympic Stadium was permanent and that new artificial turf was
being installed.

"That's beautiful," he said. "It's going to be a definite plus. For myself
playing the outfield, I'm not going to have to deal with those swirling
winds, rain, any type of sun hitting me in the face.

"Then again, I can't make any excuses. It's going to be fun."

NOTES - By winning their arbitration case against shortstop Orlando Cabrera
on Tuesday, the Expos saved enough money to pay Canseco's potential salary
for 2002. Cabrera, who batted .276 with 14 home runs and 96 RBIs in 2001
and won the National League Gold Glove at his position, had been asking for
$3.1 million U.S. The Expos countered with, and will pay, $2.4 million this
year.