Hey Canseco fans...

First things first - due to popular demand, I'd like to organize a Jose
Canseco chat so we can all discuss Jose's current situation. I'd be
interested to hear what other people's thoughts are on the subject, and
what you all think his options are for the future. Let's plan the chat for
tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 9:00 PM ET:
http://www.canseconet.com/josechat.htm

Apparently, some fans in Kansas City are making a push to get the Royals to
sign Jose. KC wouldn't be my first choice for the big guy, but I'm not
going to be picky. I just want to see him back in a big league
uniform. He needs to play if he's going to get to 500. Here's a post from
a Royals Message Board:

-----
I have made a survey of friends, fans from this board and at the ball park
and contacted 2 baseball experts I have access to; 95% think we should get
Canseco to bat behind Mike. It is time for faxes to Mr. Biard, (816)
924-0347. Faxes are the most effective. If you can not fax, send an
e-mail to allard.baird@... and send a copy to Mr. Glass
dan.glass@... If you are faxing they use the same number. I have
already sent a fax to Mr. Baird. Then I sent it thru again with a note,
"copy for Mr. Glass". All of you Canseco fans, get your faxes and e-mails
going! Point out in your faxes that since he is only 38 homers from 500
the race to 500 will be an attendance draw and mean additional $$$ coming
in. Also state that everyone you know thinks it's a good idea. Include
what you think the line up should look like.

Paula Marie
-----

I think you should all go ahead and follow Paula's advice. It certainly
can't hurt, and I'd have to think 1000+ emails/faxes might actually get a
team to seriously consider signing him. Be sure to mention how they can
probably sign him to a very inexpensive contract and that he's definitely
going to be an attendance draw for them. Not only will Jose help the
Royals win, but it's a smart financial decision for the team too.

All the latest news (there isn't much) is below. Eric LeBlanc is (a
subscriber to this list) wrote a very good article, which analyzes Jose's
options. Enjoy...

-Mark

==========
From www.billy-ball.com:

...Top of the 9th
PLEASE RELEASE ME
Jose Canseco was released yesterday by the Montreal Expos. How can they do
that? C’mon, I know that Jose is injury-prone, muscle-bound, not
particularly motivated, a poor fielder, has trouble getting around on
fastballs, not a good role model, is not particularly fast…I’m not making a
good argument here, am I? The point is Jose is a drawing card and was bound
to hit a few homers into the empty seats of Olympic Stadium....

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

...It is hard to know whether it would have made any difference in the
decision to release Jose Canseco, although the decision had come down to
Canseco or Jose.

Both manager Frank Robinson and general manager Omar Minaya said they would
not revisit that decision; it has become fairly clear that Robinson is
stretching pitching and defense, making contact and creating runs -- he has
to, in the absence of a powerful lineup -- and his concerns about Canseco's
defense and strikeouts.

Minaya merely said that, despite the change in circumstances, the club
could still not guarantee Canseco the playing time the 37-year-old felt he
needed to be productive. . . .

==========
From the St. Charles Herald-Guide (Louisiana):
In the Batter's Box with Eric LeBlanc
Jose can you sign?

Well, it seems as if it has become a tradition the past two years. Spring
training comes to a close and a team desperately needing a power bat in the
lineup releases Jose Canseco. I guess by now you can tell that I am a fan
of the gargantuan slugger, but that does not effect my opinion of how
unceremoniously and thoroughly he has been banished from Major League Baseball.

To refresh everyone’s memory, let’s go back to last March when Jose was in
training camp with the Anaheim Angels as their designated hitter. Now
Jose’s back was nagging at him and he was attempting to play through the
pain. But the Angles management told him to sit out and save himself for
the regular season. So that Jose did. And what happens at the end of spring
training? The Angels released him saying that he did not put up good enough
numbers in enough games. Uh, you guys told him to sit out. So with most
teams’ rosters set already, Jose had to play with the independent Newark
Bears to convince teams that they could use him.

And who do the Angles in their infinite wisdom replace Jose with? Glenallen
Hill. No offense to Mr. Hill, but he’s no Jose Canseco. And he
proved that very quickly last year, batting .136 with one home run and two
RBIs in 16 games before the Angels released him.

Now let’s see. For the rest of last season, how did Angels designated
hitters fare? They batted .204 with eight home runs, 54 RBIs and 38 runs
scored in 550 at-bats. Well, when Jose finally was redeemed from his exile
by the Chicago White Sox in the middle of the season, he went on to hit
.258 with 16 home runs, 49 RBIs and 46 runs scored in just 256 at-bats. And
if you project that out to 550 at-bats you get 34 home runs, 105 RBIs and
99 runs scored. Wow, how smart were the Angels for passing on that?

And this year, with the left field job almost certainly in his hands, Jose
was told that he was not going to start. The young Brad Wilkerson would be
the starter in left field. The proud owner of one career home run and five
career RBIs evidently looked better to manager Frank Robinson than Jose.
Robinson cited fielding reasons as well that Jose was not going to start.
Jose made one error in all of the games he played this spring, and he made
zero errors in the 30 or 40 games he played with the Bears last season.

But alas, Jose was told that he could play everyday in the minors. That did
not go over well with him, so he decided to be released. And now he has to
search for a team at the beginning of the season once again. Wasn’t it just
in 1999 when he was on pace to break Mark McGwire’s home run record at the
All-Star break. This is not a man who is past his prime. His projected
stats from last year do not show a player who is washed up. Why is he not
able to find a job when each major league team has one or two guys that you
wonder how they ever made it into the minor leagues.

What is wrong here? Everywhere Jose goes, his teammates say that he is a
great clubhouse guy. So that can’t be it. He has been injured often in the
past, but when he is healthy he is a huge producer for his team. And he’s
willing to play for a miniscule amount of money, so that can’t be it. Some
people have a theory that Major League Baseball does not want him to get to
500 home runs, virtually assuring him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Well, I
used to think that was absurd, until we found out just how corrupt baseball
is during this past off-season. I wouldn’t doubt if Bud Selig has it in for
Canseco.

But anyway, will Jose be able to find a team before the All-Star break this
year? Well let’s take a look.

Teams will most likely be looking at him as a DH, so that limits us to the
American League. Let’s eliminate Cleveland and Seattle right off of the bat
because they already have established DHs in Ellis Burks and Edgar Martinez.

Anaheim has Brad Fullmer and will not likely admit that they were wrong in
releasing Jose.

The White Sox let him go as a free agent at the end of last season because
of the return of Frank Thomas, so they won’t sign him unless Thomas goes
down again.

Minnesota has David Ortiz and the only other position he can play is first
base, and I don’t see Doug Mientkiewicz going anywhere anytime soon.

Detroit needs somewhere to put Dean Palmer when he returns, so their DH
spot is taken.

The Yankees’ Joe Torre made it clear that he did want Jose on his team when
the Yanks acquired him in 2000, so I don’t think GM Brian Cashman will make
that mistake again.

Toronto is using its DH spot as a platoon for its crowded outfield of
Shannon Stewart, Jose Cruz, Raul Mondesi and Vernon Wells.

And Texas has so many good hitters that two or three of them are already
sitting on the bench every day.

So that leaves us with five teams: Baltimore, Boston, Kansas City, Oakland
and Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay and Baltimore have no intention of winning anything this year, so
it would be highly unlikely that they would bring in somebody who would
just get in the way of their young players. Although, Tampa Bay loved
Canseco when he was there, and it would increase ticket sales.

Kansas City does not have a chance to win a division or a wild card but
they have brought in some veterans during the off-season. But Royals
management seems intent on bringing in veterans who don’t help the team, so
getting Jose would be counterproductive to that strategy. But beyond Mike
Sweeney and Carlos Beltran, the Royals offense is very anemic. So this is
one possibility.

Next, we have the Boston Red Sox. Their Opening Day DH was Jose Awfulman,
sorry Offerman, so that tells you something right there. If Manny Ramirez
is healthy enough to play outfield this year, the Sox will need a
productive DH to compete against the Yankees. And they are not going to get
that from Offerman. Besides, Jose was adored by the Boston fans the two
years that he spent with the club. And Jose was lethal in Fenway Park,
ranking in the top five in RBIs at the time he was injured in both seasons.
Also, the Sox are under new management, which means that the owners will
want to make some acquisitions that will let the fans know that they are
committed to winning. So this seems like the best situation, but....

Why not the A’s! Jose began his career with the A’s. Wouldn’t it be great
for him to hit his 500th home run in an Oakland uniform. And since Jermaine
Dye is out for who knows how long, the A’s need a DH. Scott Hatteberg has
been starting at DH for goodness sakes. The same Scott Hatteberg that has
only hit 34 home runs in his entire career of eight seasons. Jose could put
up 34 home runs this season if the A’s were willing to take a chance on
him. I know that A’s are experiencing a youth movement, and they don’t want
anything to disturb their run at the playoffs this year. But give me a
break. GM Billy Beane, with his great baseball savvy (and I’m not being
sarcastic this time) should be able to figure out that Jose is a minimal
gamble. And he could take that roster spot that is currently being stunk up
by Olmedo Seanz.

But that’s just my opinion.

Jose should land with a team sometime this year. It would be a shame to see
one of the greatest sluggers baseball has ever seen to be shunned from the
game when he still has a lot to offer it.

Here’s to you Jose. May you hit your 500th home run against the Angels and
show them what they missed out on.

Eric LeBlanc invites anyone with ideas on how Charlie Hayes has managed to
stay around so long or other theories as to how Jeff Kent broke his wrist
to contact him at EricL@... or at (985) 758-2795, ext. 219.