Hey everyone,

Even though he hasn't been playing every day, Jose has hit three homers
this spring, which ties him for the Expos lead with Vladimir Guerrero. And
Guerrero has far more ABs as Jose. After 29 ABs in spring training games,
Jose has 6 hits, including 3 homers and 2 doubles. That works out to a
.207 batting average and a .586 slugging percentage.

There has been talk recently that Jose may not be the regular left fielder
for the Expo once he team finalizes their regular season
roster. Apparently, manager Frank Robinson would prefers Brad Wilkerson
over Jose. I guess we'll know soon enough. Keep your fingers crossed.

All the latest is below - including a nice article that sums up pretty much
Jose's entire career, on and off the field...

-Mark

==========
From www.billy-ball.com:
(Billy Ball is a great email list for all baseball fans. You should check
it out)
March 15, 2002

...Top of the 6th
20-20 VISION?
Chief Canseco-ite Mark Petrillo (www.canseconet.com) is very excited about
Jose’s first two hits of the spring, a homer and a double, earlier this
week. Mark predicts that it is very possible that Canseco will have a 30-30
season for Les Expos. Billy-Ball presumes he’s referring to 30 games/30
injuries....

==========
From the AP:
Montreal bests Braves, 5-1
By Mark Bowman

...Jose Canseco's two-run homer off Braves starter Albie Lopez in the first
inning got things started for the Expos. Lopez, who was making his fourth
start of the spring, allowed one more run in his four inning-stint....

...Expos Notes: Canseco's homer was his second of the spring and second in
his last four games....

==========
From ESPN:
Montreal 5, Atlanta 1

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) _ Jose Canseco homered for the second time this
spring, a two-run shot in the first inning, and the Montreal Expos went on
to a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday....

...Loser Albie Lopez wasn't so good. Working on a new slide step from the
stretch, he hung a curve to Canseco and watched it sail over the left-field
fence....

==========
From the Sporting News:
Expos season preview
March 15, 2002

WHAT TO LIKE

Everything about this team is better than it was a year ago, ironic since
major league baseball now owns it.

New general manager Omar Minaya was unafraid to bring in experienced
veterans to show the youngsters how it's done and create competition. He
seemingly was the only one willing to take a chance on Jose Canseco, which
would appear a no-brainer with nothing but upside if Canseco stays healthy....

WHAT NOT TO LIKE

...If Canseco can't stay healthy playing in the field, Fernando Tatis'
power bat will be missed even more....

STARTING LINEUP
CF Peter Bergeron: One error in 227 total chances.
2B Jose Vidro: .348 vs. lefthanders.
RF Vladimir Guerrero: 53 stolen base attempts (37 steals).
LF Jose Canseco: 31 games in the outfield with the Newark Bears, zero errors.
SS Orlando Cabrera: Only three errors in 81 games on bad Big O turf.
1B Lee Stevens: 19 walks in 82 at-bats in September.
3B Chris Truby: .327 career hitter vs. lefties.
C Michael Barrett: 2-for-2 as a pinch-hitter.

==========
From the Montreal Expos:
Another familiar face
Rodriguez hopes to see Oh Henry! bars again at Big O
By STEPHANIE MYLES
Thursday, March 21, 2002

Jose Canseco and Andres Galarraga played in the Ottawa Lynx Triple-A game
yesterday, then walked back from the Siberia of the back fields and through
the door of the major-league clubhouse.

The man in left field, wearing dark shades and an Expos uniform with his
favourite No. 40 on the back, was rather more anonymous, if no less
familiar to the team's fans.

But when Henry Rodriguez left after seven innings of his first baseball
game since last June, he went through the minor-league door where the
prospects, has-beens and never-weres fighting for their baseball lives hang
their jerseys.

It's too soon to say where Rodriguez, who is just 34 - "34 here, 34 in the
Dominican, 34 everywhere," he said yesterday - fits into the picture.

But Rodriguez, who arrived four or five days ago, looks in shape. And he
said he's eager after a strained muscle in his back cost him the 2001 season.

"I feel great," said Rodriguez, who made a diving catch yesterday and lived
to tell about it. "I had an MRI (on the back) two days ago, and it was
fine. I'm 100 per cent. I was sitting at home. I wasn't going to come here
unless I was 100 per cent. I feel fine now."

Despite the rather humbling surroundings, Rodriguez still considers himself
a big-leaguer. He said the organization was surprised at the shape he was
in, and expects to play a few minor-league games, then get some at-bats
with the big-league club.

"You always have to prove yourself," he said. "But I have to prove
something to myself, not to anybody else. I feel great, that's the most
important thing. I'm swinging the bat good."

Rodriguez, who had the best season of his 10-year big-league career with
the Expos in 1996 (36 homers, 103 RBIs) and was a favourite with the crowd,
if not with then-manager Felipe Alou, said he had plenty of invitations
over the winter.

"I chose the Expos because I was here before and people love Henry in
Montreal," he said. "That's why I chose Montreal."

It's difficult to see where there is room, even for a healthy Rodriguez.
The Dominican has another veteran on the comeback trail ahead of him at
that position with the big-league club, Jose Canseco. And even if Canseco
weren't in the picture, the left-field playing time would go to a fellow
left-handed hitter, Brad Wilkerson....

==========
From the AP:

...Expos manager Frank Robinson and his coaches prefer Brad Wilkerson to
Jose Canseco in left field, and they're reluctant to keep Canseco solely as
a pinch hitter, knowing he has bristled at being a bench player in the
past. The question is whether the on-field staff can persuade Expos GM Omar
Minaya that Canseco is a poor fit. . .

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

...At most, only two of the group of outfielders, including Jose Canseco,
Felix José, Glen Barker and Lance Johnson, will make the team. It's
unlikely that both Canseco and José, neither of whom can offer much
base-running speed or defensive versatility, will make the cut....

==========
From the AP:

...Shawn Green snapped his spring-long power slump with a wind-blown
two-run homer, his first of the spring. Jose Canseco slugged a towering
two-run homer off Paul Quantrill in the ninth inning...

========================
From the Sporting News:
Story: 'Canseco's Last Fling?'
By Jeff Heatherington

Montreal has always been known as an exciting city with a vibrant
nightlife. Jose Canseco has long been known as an electrifying ballplayer
who lives life in the fast lane.

They seem like a perfect fit. But is the city of Montreal really ready for
Canseco?

A monster of a man on the field at 6'4, 240 lbs., Canseco has proven to be
one of the best power hitters in the game when healthy.

But injuries and his well-documented off-the-field problems have steered
most big league clubs away from the big bopper.

In fact, the Montreal Expos were the only major league team to offer
Canseco a contract this year, although it was only a minor-league free
agent contract with an invitation to spring training.

There's still no guarantee that the 37-year-old outfielder will catch-on
with the big club. Although he's only hitting .200 in 20 at-bats through
March 21, popular consensus is that he'll be heading north with the team in
April.

And why not take the chance? A healthy Canseco will definitely supply some
much-needed power to the Expos and take some of the pressure off superstar
Vladimir Guerrero (34 HR last year) and Lee Stevens (25 HR last year).

A six-time All-Star who sits 22nd on the all-time career home runs list
(462), Canseco has definitely proved that he can produce when healthy.
According to him, his chronically injured back has felt, "great for a
couple of years."

So why is every other team out there so reluctant to give him a shot? He is
willing to come cheap (Canseco played with the Chicago White Sox last year
for the league minimum $200,000).

"That's like a million dollar question and I wish someone would answer
that," said a frustrated Canseco. "All I know is that I haven't lost a
step, my bat speed is still there and my arm's coming around now. I've been
injured a few times but when I've been healthy I haven't been given a full
opportunity to play."

If Canseco does in fact make the team and is not limited to a pinch hitting
role, he'll likely play in the outfield, something he hasn't had a chance
to do in the American League over the last few years where he has served
mainly as a designated hitter.

Canseco, who sports a career .971 fielding percentage (average at best),
insists that he can still be an effective defensive player. He played 31
games in the outfield for the Newark Bears (Atlantic League independent
league) last year before signing with the Chicago White Sox, committing no
errors.

"I'm definitely excited to be back out there (in the outfield) again. I
definitely feel comfortable out there," said Canseco.

The Expos say they signed Canseco not with gate revenues in mind, but
because he's the active career home run leader outside of Barry Bonds who
can bring some power numbers to their lineup.

Ask Canseco why he's still playing and he'll admit that the lure of
reaching 500 home runs (believed to be the magic number to get into the
Hall of Fame for power hitters) is what's kept him in the game.

"I'm not considering hitting 500 home runs and then retiring. I'd love to
reach that on my way to playing two to three more years," said Canseco.
"I'm still relatively young, I stay in great shape and I'd like to play in
the outfield everyday. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, a former teammate of Canseco's with the
Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, hopes that Canseco reaches the
500-barrier and thinks that he deserves the chance to get there.

"He's been a very exciting player for baseball and he brings a lot of
presence to the clubhouse. Anybody that knows Jose will be pulling for him
to get to that number," he said.

It's been a roller-coaster 17-year career for Canseco. A Havana, Cuba
native who grew up in Miami, Canseco was drafted out of his Miami high
school by Oakland in the 15th round in 1982.

In 1986, Canseco took the baseball world by storm in his rookie season when
he tore up American League hitting 33 home runs and 117 RBI, and won the AL
Rookie of the Year award, a year after his teammate and "Bash Brother",
Mark McGwire.

Canseco's success on the field matched with his macho good looks made him
an instant crowd favourite.

After posting almost identical numbers in his sophomore season, the Bash
Brothers led the A's to an all-California World Series in 1988 against the
Los Angeles Dodgers.

At age 23, Canseco became the first ever player that year to hit 40 home
runs and steal 40 bases in a season and won the AL MVP award in a
landslide, the first unanimous MVP winner since Reggie Jackson in 1973. He
finished the year with a league-leading 42 HR, while hitting for a .307
average and stealing 40 bases.

Canseco then hit his first ever grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series
against the Dodgers, becoming the first player to hit a grand slam in his
first World Series at-bat.

Although heavily favoured to win, the A's were beaten easily by the
inspired Dodgers in five games.

Canseco then suffered the first of his many injuries in 1989 when he broke
a bone in his hand. That kept him out of action for the first half of the
season. However, a series of speeding tickets - one of which had him
clocked at 125 mph in a Jaguar - and a citation he was given for carrying a
loaded handgun in a car, kept him in the news.

Unfazed by the distractions, Canseco came back to hit 17 home runs in the
second half of the season, leading the A's back to the playoffs.

In Game 4 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, Canseco showed his
power when he became the first player to hit a home run into the fifth deck
in the Skydome, a bomb estimated at over 500 feet.

The A's would go on to win the World Series that year - their fourth
championship since moving to Oakland and first since 1974 - sweeping the
San Francisco Giants in four games thanks in part to Canseco's .357 series
average and one home run.

On June 27, 1990, Canseco signed the most lucrative contract in baseball to
that date, a five-year $23.5 million deal, which would be considered a
bargain nowadays.

Canseco's reputation of being cocky and arrogant was now hitting full
speed, as was his Lamborghini whose plates read "40-40".

Nevertheless, he continued to produce racking up 37 HR and 101 RBI in 1990
as the A's made their third consecutive World Series appearance. This time,
they were swept in four games by the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1991, Canseco added a Porsche to his car collection and was nailed for
another speeding ticket, this one for going 104 mph. Three months later,
Canseco was photographed leaving the New York Upper West Side house of pop
music super-diva Madonna, sparking speculation of a possible romance.

Mounting heckles from the crowd worsened Canseco's attitude, which he took
out on the media saying he would only talk to reporters he knew. Despite
these distractions Canseco still banged out 44 home runs (tied for the
league-lead with Cecil Fielder) and drove in 122 RBI.

By mid 1992, even though he had 22 home runs on the board, Canseco had
become a villain even at home where he was booed during many of his at-bats
at the Oakland Coliseum. His lackadaisical attitude prompted the A's to
trade him to the Texas Rangers for Ruben Sierra, Bobby Witt, Jeff Russell
and cash.

That year, Canseco's off-the-field problems continued to flare up when he
was charged with aggravated assault for ramming his car into the new car of
his first wife, Esther. He agreed to community service and weekly
counseling in return for the charges being dropped.

Things didn't get any better for Canseco in 1993, which would prove to be a
very humbling year for the slugger.

On May 23, 1993, while playing the outfield in a game against the Cleveland
Indians, Canseco jumped in the air to try to catch a ball hit by Carlos
Martinez. He missed the ball with his glove only to have it bounce off his
head and over the wall for a home run.

The embarrassment didn't stop there. Just three days later, as the Rangers
were getting pounded 15-1 by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Canseco
convinced manager Kevin Kennedy to let him pitch the eighth inning.

Canseco allowed three earned runs on three walks and a pair of singles in
the inning, but did manage to retire the side in what proved to be a very
comical inning.

That laughter would be short-lived however, when a month later it was
revealed that the strain Canseco had put on his arm by pitching had caused
a complete ligament tear in his right elbow. It would require so-called
"Tommy John surgery" and sideline Canseco for over a year.

A weakened arm forced Canseco to settle into a DH role in 1994, and while
he still produced his typical power numbers at the plate (31 HR, 90 RBI),
the Rangers weren't happy with their damaged goods and dealt him to Boston
for Otis Nixon and Luis Ortiz.

Expected to rack up some big offensive numbers with the Green Monster in
left field only a mere 324 feet away, Canseco's two years in Boston proved
to be more of frustration as several trips to the disabled list limited him
to less than 400 at bats each season. Nevertheless, he still produced 52 HR
and 163 RBI combined.

Canseco did reach a milestone in 1995 when he became the third fastest
player at the time (now fourth since McGwire) to hit 300 home runs (in
1,235 games) behind Ralph Kiner and Babe Ruth.

In 1997 Canseco was briefly reunited with his Bash Brother when he was
traded back to Oakland for John Wasdin and cash, but midway through that
year, McGwire was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and Canseco was put on
the disabled list a day later with a back injury.

The injury forced Canseco to miss the rest of the 1997 season, but he
resurfaced in the news when he was charged with battery for allegedly
grabbing and pulling his wife's hair and hitting her in the head while
returning in a car from their child's birthday party.

Canseco pleaded no contest and served a year of probation. He was also
ordered to undergo battery counseling.

After three consecutive injury-riddled seasons, the Blue Jays decided to
give Canseco a chance and signed him to a one-year $500,000 contract in the
spring of 1998.

Things finally took a turn for the better for Canseco as he enjoyed his
first healthy season since 1991. With Toronto, Canseco played in 150 games,
set a career high in home runs with 46, racked up 107 RBI and stole 29
bases as the Jays DH.

Being reunited with his former teammate Clemens ironically had an indirect
effect on Canseco's success that year.

"The guy that I brought to Toronto who trains me really got to Jose and
gave him an unbelievable year," said Clemens. "Forty-something home runs in
1998 - he was unbelievable."

While happy on the field, Canseco was also settled off the field with his
new marriage to a former Hooters' waitress and fitness champion.

But even though things were looking up for him after that year, Canseco had
trouble finding any suitors to sign him to a contract until the
power-starved Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed him in the spring of 1999.

While his back flared up again for a month, Canseco was still able to bang
out 34 HR and 95 RBI in 430 at bats with the Devils Rays, which included
his 400th career home run, the third fastest to reach that milestone behind
McGwire and Ruth.

Midway through the 2000 campaign, mired in another injury-riddle season,
Canseco was put on waivers by the Devil Rays, and even to the surprise of
Yankees manager Joe Torre, was picked up by New York. It was no secret that
the Yankees merely grabbed the slugger to prevent other teams in contention
from picking him up.

Much to his chagrin, Canseco was limited to a platoon DH role and the
occasional pinch-hit. Canseco hit .243 with 6 HR and 19 RBI in 111 at-bats
during regular season play with the Yanks, was left off the roster for the
Divisional and League Championship Series', then activated for the World
Series, where he had just one at-bat, a strikeout.

"It was probably the first time in my career where I was completely healthy
and sat down," said Canseco of his time in New York. "It was a very hectic
time for me to say the least. Being completely healthy and not being able
to play was one of the worst times in my life."

Canseco was able to sign-on with the Anaheim Angels the following spring
(2001), but his stay was short-lived as he was released halfway through
spring training. The Angels claimed Canseco was injured.

Baffled by his release, Canseco was out of options and decided to join his
twin brother Ozzie who was playing for the Newark Bears in the independent
Atlantic League. Ozzie had a brief major league career as an outfielder
with the A's (1990) and Cardinals (1992) before becoming Jose's agent.

After two months of playing with second-tier ball players, Canseco was
finally given another shot in the big leagues, signing with the Chicago
White Sox.

Canseco racked up an impressive 16 home runs and 49 RBI in just 256 at bats
with the White Sox last year, a year that showed both sides of his
colourful personality.

While visiting cancer patients at a local hospital last summer, Canseco
told a group of children that he would do his best to go out and hit a home
run for them that night.

Just like "The Babe" who became famous for calling his own home run,
Canseco delivered that evening by hitting two home runs against the Kansas
City Royals.

"I said hopefully I can hit a couple home runs for you guys tonight. But I
also said, if I don't, watch batting practice because I'll probably hit a
couple out in batting practice," said Canseco in an interview last year.

"Whether it was coincidental, whether it was luck or not, who knows? But
like I said, I'm glad and happy for them it actually happened."

With the season long over, Canseco surfaced in the news again in November
when he and his twin brother were involved in a brawl at a Miami Beach
nightclub.

The dispute between the two Canseco's and two California men resulted in
one of the California men suffering a broken nose and the other a split lip
that required 20 stitches.

Jose was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery while Ozzie
was charged with one count, although the two maintained they were
protecting themselves in the Halloween night scuffle.

"A gentleman lifted up my date's skirt and grabbed her butt from behind,
very deep and very hard - very aggressively sexually assaulted her," Jose
told reporters outside the police station. "We are the victims here. We
just defended ourselves."

Canseco later passed a polygraph lie-detector test he took to prove his
innocence and is still awaiting a court hearing.

Now in the Montreal camp, Canseco is hoping to grab a roster spot with the
Expos and experience the same success that he did in Canada with the Blue
Jays in 1998.

A season of full health and regular playing time should be enough to get
Canseco over the 500 home run barrier and into the Hall of Fame, as well as
generate some gate revenue in what appears to be the Expos final season.

Sounds like a perfect ending for both.