Hey everyone,

Good news - Jose had his first two hits of the spring yesterday - a double
and a homer to center field. He says his ankle isn't 100% yet, but it's
getting better every day... and he knows he still needs to prove himself in
order to make the team.

All the latest news is below...
-Mark

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From the San Francisco Gate:
Canseco insists he still has a field for the game
By John Shea
Sunday, March 10, 2002

Jose Canseco stepped into the batter's box and hit the first pitch off the
fence in left-center. The next three pitches, he cleared the fence. Then he
short-hopped the fence.

This wasn't batting practice in 1988. This was batting practice early this
spring at the Expos' training facility in Jupiter, Fla.

Two young players, waiting to take their turns in the cage, lowered their
bats in awe to watch the display.

"You want to go next?" one asked.

"I don't want to follow that," the other said.

Say this for Canseco: He can still hit, and not just in BP. Last year with
the White Sox, he hit 16 homers in 256 at-bats, improving his career total
to 462, good for 22nd on the all-time list and eighth all-time among
American Leaguers.

Now he's a National League wannabe, signed off the free-agent scrap heap
and determined to hit 500 homers to improve his chances for the Hall of Fame.

The problem is, he's required to play defense. It's a problem because
gloves are foreign, perhaps even frightening, to Canseco.

"I usually have one glove every three years," he said, "and I usually give
it away to kids."

This spring, he has four gloves and is considering getting a first
baseman's mitt, just in case.

He seems serious. So do the Expos, who signed Canseco to a minor-league
contract. After Omar Minaya became the GM last month, he contacted
Canseco's agent and quickly cut a deal, fully aware that Canseco hasn't
played much defense for eight years and is remembered partly for that
home-run ball that bounced off his head and over the wall.

"I think he can play the outfield, and we're going to find out," Minaya
said. "It's not going to cost us because it's just a minor-league contract.
But with his home-run ratio last year, why not take a chance?"

Since 1994, about the time Canseco turned into a designated hitter, he has
started only 137 games in the outfield -- 12 in the last three years, two
last year.

Yet he seems confident he can make a defensive comeback and points to last
year's experience with the independent Newark Bears, for whom he played 41
games before joining the White Sox in June. Canseco made 27 starts in left
and five in center and wasn't charged with any errors.

"Everything came back to me," Canseco said. "I actually felt most
comfortable in center."

The last time Canseco played for the A's, in 1997, he was mostly a DH, but
got 42 starts in the outfield.

"Jose wanted to play more in the field, but his back problems limited his
playing time," A's manager Art Howe said. "If he's healthy, I don't see why
he can't do it now. He's a very good athlete who was one of the better
right fielders when he was young. He can still run and throw."

In his youth, Canseco was impressive enough defensively that then-Oakland
manager Tony La Russa considered moving him to center. But somewhere along
the line -- some say when he signed a five-year contract in 1990 -- Canseco
stopped taking defense seriously.

Nevertheless, La Russa said his Cardinals considered signing Canseco over
the winter.

"He's very motivated. He wants to play," La Russa said. "I think he'd be an
outstanding guy to bring to your team. The question is, can he stay healthy."

Well, well. Canseco strained his right heel and has played only two
exhibition games so far, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

"Look at my ratio of home runs to at-bats," he said. "If I wasn't hurt, or
if I was able to play more when healthy, I easily could have 700 home runs.
I just want to show everyone I can still play the outfield and run a 4.5 (-
second) 40 and steal 30 or 40 bases. I never doubt my ability, ever. All I
need is an opportunity."

He's got it with Montreal. If he doesn't make it work, it might be his last.

==========
From the Sporting News
Recent additions make for crowded roster
March 8, 2002

...Outfielder Jose Canseco was to get his first start in a week Saturday in
the day game of a day-night doubleheader. Canseco slightly turned his ankle
during pitchers fielding drills, and the club has been cautious with him at
this early stage of camp. . . .

==========
From the Montreal Gazette:
Outfield becomes a battleground
Wilkerson and Bergeron will have to fight to earn spot with Guerrero in
Opening Day lineup
By STEPHANIE MYLES
Sunday, March 10, 2002

There's a good chance Vladimir Guerrero (left) will be joined by Jose
Canseco in the Opening Day lineup.

Before the new regime took over three weeks ago, it was easy to predict the
Expos' Opening Day outfielders. Almost by default, you would have had Brad
Wilkerson in left, Peter Bergeron in centre and, of course, Vladimir
Guerrero in right.

The signings began. Now it's a race for the left- and centre-field jobs.

"I can't say I was surprised, because looking at the roster I knew there
weren't any outfielders from last year," Bergeron said. "With Curtis
(Pride) and Terry (Jones) gone and Mark Smith leaving, I knew that was a
position where we were short. It didn't surprise me at all they were going
out and signing people."

Canseco a Good Bet
Put the stud Guerrero down for one spot right now. If Jose Canseco gets
through March without being put in traction, put him down as well.

The remaining 12 outfielders are fighting for what will probably be three jobs.

Norm Hutchins, Endy Chavez, Valentino Pascucci, Wilkin Ruan and Matt
Cepicky will end up in minor-league camp. That leaves seven.

"I've just been taking it in stride, seeing new faces every day," said
Wilkerson, who pinch-hit in the first game yesterday and pinch-hit and saw
his first action in left field in the nightcap. "It's kind of exciting that
they're going after trying to win this year."

Wilkerson will get his first start of the spring as the designated hitter
in this afternoon's game in Fort Lauderdale against the Baltimore Orioles.
He has a lot of catching up to do.

"If I go on the field and perform, I think (left field) is my job," he
said. "But the main thing is to get back on the field, because you can't try to
win a job coming off the bench or pinch-hitting."

...But as it stands now, put down Guerrero, Canseco, Johnson and perhaps
Bergeron. Barker will stick until Wilkerson gets a few weeks of consistent
at-bats in Ottawa. José will be the pinch-hitter.

But if Bergeron doesn't pick it up, look forward to Calloway - sooner
rather than later.

==========
From the Montreal Gazette:

JOSE HEALTH UPDATE: Jose Canseco, who hadn't played in eight days while
nursing a sore heel/lower ankle, was originally scheduled to start in left
field yesterday. He was switched with Brad Wilkerson, who was to be the
designated hitter, before game time. Canseco went 0-for-2 with a walk and
was replaced by pinch-runner Endy Chavez after the walk.

==========
From MLB.com:
Expos back on winning track, beat Red Sox
By J.S. Trzcienski

JUPITER, Fla. -- Jose Canseco collected his first two hits of the spring --
a double and a home run to straightaway center field -- as the Expos
snapped their six-game winless string, edging the Red Sox, 6-5. Montreal is
now 7-6-2, while Boston drops to 5-8-2....

==========
From the Montreal Gazette.
Red Sox Nation Invades

The Nation loved Jose Canseco as one of their own yesterday, probably
because they love players who are larger than life - especially those who
don't turn on them after they leave.

Boston was the last place Canseco spent more than a season; he arguably had
two of his three best statistical years there, in 1995-96. He obliged the
Nation with a double and a sky-high fly ball that turned into a 450-foot
homer - his first two hits of the spring....

...But in his blue Red Sox Jersey, after giving up seven hits and five runs
in 31/3 innings, Hermanson looked vulnerable.

His 2-0 fastball to Canseco was right down the middle. Canseco crushed it.
He gave up a first-pitch opposite-field double to Felix José, a single to
Joe Vitiello, and a double off the wall to Michael Barrett before he was
pulled.

==========
From MLB.com:
Canseco breaks out
By Jon Trzcienski

JUPITER, Fla. -- For the first time of this spring, Expos fans may have had
a glimpse at the real Jose Canseco.

At least they would hope so.

In what ultimately finished as Montreal's first win in seven tries, the
team's potential left fielder connected for his first two hits of the
spring, a line-shot double down the left field line in the first inning,
then a towering home run to straightaway center field to lead off the
fourth. Canseco finished the afternoon 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs
scored, breaking the 0-for-7 skid he had been on through his first three
games of action. Despite the achievement, however, he sniffed at the
suggestion the effort itself was in any way satisfying.

"I'm just trying to have some quality at-bats up there," Canseco said after
the game. "It's satisfying to play with a team -- a Major League team,
number one -- and have a chance to make the team."

Yes, it will take more than two hits in a Grapefruit League contest to
impress the man who set a new standard for speed and power when he became
the founding member of the 40-40 (home runs-steals) club in 1990. Still
nursing a bothersome right heel, Canseco hardly looked like a burner on the
basepaths on Wednesday, which may be part of the reason he remains
unwilling to get too caught up in his early performances, be they
successful or not.

"In the position that I'm in, I can't even afford a little ankle sprain,"
he pointed out. "People may view that the wrong way and think I can get
released because of that, but I'm doing the best I can. It's getting better
every day. Hopefully in a week or so I can be 100 percent. Right now, we're
watching it, taking it easy, making it sure it doesn't get any worse."

Canseco's position was clarified by Expos' manager Frank Robinson following
Wednesday's game. Despite suggestions to the contrary, there is no
guarantee Canseco will be in Montreal for the team's season opener on April 2.

"Canseco is battling for a position, so he has to perform," noted the
skipper. "A guy like [pitcher Carl] Pavano, if he's healthy, he'll be in our
rotation. With Canseco, it's a bit different."

Indeed, Canseco has to prove himself like any of the other new faces in the
Montreal camp this spring. The fact he did what he did on Wednesday,
however, certainly helped his cause.

"It was just a matter of time," said Robinson. "He's swinging the bat a
little bit better; all he needs to do is get some at-bats and get into a
nice little rhythm, and we hopefully will get him some at-bats between now
and the end of the spring. It's good to get your hits now, because it
builds up your confidence, and you'll get sharper as you go along. The more
you hit, no matter where it is, the more your confidence [builds], and the
more at-ease you are at the plate."

When asked whether he felt he might be seeing fewer quality pitches in
Grapefruit League play due to the fact he was, more often than not, only
one of two or at most three projected regulars who would be in the lineup
at any one time, Canseco shook his head.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Baseball's baseball. I couldn't really tell
you. You're still going to see your fastballs, your breaking balls. I think
pitchers nowadays go one batter at a time. I remember in '87, when I hit in
front of Mark McGwire, I was hitting 3-1, 3-2 breaking balls in the dirt.
When you have strong power hitters up there, most pitchers aren't going to
give you that cookie to hit in any situation."

Cookie or not, the offering Canseco launched out of Roger Dean Stadium on
Wednesday was a treat for Expos fans who had been starving for one of the
big man's trademark blows. If things work out over the balance of Spring
Training, more are sure to follow in Olympic Stadium.