Hi everyone,

Jose made his debut with the Charlotte Knights last night, going 0-4 with 3
strikeouts. Youch. Of course, it was his first game, so cut him some
slack. Hopefully he'll be tearing things up in a week or two and a major
league team will have some interest.

All the latest news is below...

-Mark

P.S. This is a bit old now, but go vote for Jose anyway:
http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=ml-whitesox&msg=7871.1&ctx=0

==========
From www.billy-ball.com:
April 19, 2002

Bottom of the 7th
OH WHAT A KNIGHT
Billy-Ball is thanking the baseball gods. I must lead a charmed life. I
love writing baseball. I have wonderful readers and Jose Canseco signed a
contract with the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to the AAA, Charlotte
Knights. He joined the Knights in Louisville yesterday, and will be
activated Tuesday, when the Knights host Norfolk at 7:15 p.m.

Now Billy-Ball wants you to be happy Jose so here are the top restaurants
in Center City (that's Uptown Charlotte, Canseco-man):
Bravo! Ristorante ($$$$ - Italian)
Adam's Mark Hotel
555 South McDowell Street
(704) 372-5440 (phone)...

...See how life evens out? The poor people of Charlotte lose their NBA team
(now there's a loss) and now they've gained Jose.

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

...Jose Canseco, who signed a minor league contract with the White Sox, is
already an attraction for Triple A Charlotte. The team plans to open the
gates at Knights Stadium 90 minutes earlier than normal to allow fans to
see Canseco, who has 462 career home runs. Said Charlotte general manager
Bill Blackwell: "We may have to get a full-time employee just to change the
lights in the scoreboard with Jose here."

==========
From the Charlotte Observer:
Canseco in the house, uh, dugout
STAN OLSON
By Staff Writer

FORT MILL - Jose Canseco didn't play after all Tuesday night.

The famed slugger was there at Knights Stadium, but he didn't arrive in
Charlotte until 3 in the afternoon, and the Knights couldn't get his signed
contract to the commissioner's office in time to have him activated. He's
expected to start his Charlotte career tonight instead.

Without him, the Knights still managed to snap their three-game losing
streak, knocking off Norfolk 6-2 in the International League. A
hoping-for-Jose crowd of 3,556 showed up, well above the usual weeknight
crowd of just over 2,000.

Canseco, in uniform and wearing No. 33 as always, watched from the dugout.

Knights manager Nick Capra believes Canseco will be able to contribute to a
team off to a .239 start at the plate.

"I think it's going to add a presence to the team, and hopefully, he'll add
a little spark that we've been missing," Capra said. "It's obvious we've
been struggling and we need somebody to come in and spark our offense, and
this is the guy we got to do that."

Canseco, of course, thinks he can still spark an offense in the major
leagues, and the powerfully built possessor of 462 big-league homers talked
about that in a pre-game news conference.

"Basically, with my ability, if I can play every day in the big leagues, I
can hit 40 or 45 home runs," he said. "My own goals, if I get 500 or 600
at-bats in the big leagues and I don't hit more than 30 or 40 home runs,
I'll probably retire."

Capra said Canseco would be a designated hitter initially, but would play
outfield once he's in game condition. If he hits well and gets another
big-league chance, it is likely to be with some team other than the Chicago
White Sox, who gave him this opportunity. The Sox are solid at DH with
Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko.

"I'm sure if some team sees some positive things come out of him, they
wouldn't be afraid to jump all over the situation," Capra said.

Canseco, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, should have an impact, given Knights
Stadium's 347-foot power alleys.

"The ballpark suits me, it's very conducive to power hitting," he said. "So
hopefully I can use that to my advantage."

Although he hit just one batting practice homer before the game, Canseco
still made an impression on his young teammates.

After hitting, he stood alone in left fielding balls, an oak in a grove of
saplings.

"I'm still a little in awe," said Knights DH Darron Ingram. "I walked in
the clubhouse today and there's Jose Canseco standing right there. I'm
like, `wow.' It was kind of low-key in the clubhouse. Not too many people
wanted to say too much because they didn't know what his mind-set was.

"I'm sure as the day goes on, the ice will break and everybody will start
getting to know him."

Knights fans, though, must wait one more day.

==========
From the Charlotte Observer:
Canseco looking to prove skills still sharp enough
By STAN OLSON

We first heard of Jose Canseco in 1985, when he was not yet 21 and was
tearing up the Southern League for Huntsville. He was the Class AA league's
next great slugger, people were saying, maybe even as good as Steve
"Bye-Bye" Balboni.

Canseco -- the newest Charlotte Knight -- was much better than that. In 58
games with Huntsville, he hit 25 homers and had 80 RBIs. By the end of the
season he was in Oakland, looking very much like the next Mickey Mantle.

That's who Canseco, with his rare combination of speed and power, was
usually compared to in those days, and at first he lived up to that
standard. Rookie of the Year in '86. American League Most Valuable Player
in '88, when he became the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases
in the same season.

Canseco, who was 0-for-4 in Charlotte's 12-0 loss to Norfolk on Wednesday,
turned 24 that summer. Little did we know it would never really get any
better than that.

Major injuries and minor brushes with the law followed, and while Mark
McGwire, his fellow Bash Brother in Oakland, went on to become the slugging
symbol of the game, Canseco became a baseball gypsy. He played for seven
teams, hurting himself while trying to pitch for Boston, and having a ball
bounce off his head for a home run while with Texas.

He was on the disabled list 11 times, and people stopped thinking of him as
one of the game's great sluggers but rather as a one-dimensional designated
hitter, good for a few homers and a whole bunch of strikeouts.

Finally, baseball seemed to write Canseco off altogether.

"It's very unusual; I'm having difficulty dealing with the fact that no
teams can use a DH that can hit 40-plus home runs and play DH or the
outfield," he said Tuesday after joining the Charlotte Knights. "I'm 37
going on 38. ... The way I've kept myself in shape, 38's still young."

You look at him and have to agree. Massive shoulders still taper to a
narrow waist, and Canseco says he is stronger and faster than he was early
in his career.

But he is now typecast as a DH, and more importantly to some people, as
washed up.

That's why he's here.

Asked about the perception that he can no longer play in the field, he
said, "That could be what the issue is right now. I'm going to try and play
outfield as much as possible, and maybe there will be some opportunities
not just in a DH role."

Canseco played for Charlotte's parent Chicago White Sox last season when
Frank Thomas was hurt. Now Thomas is back and the Sox don't really have an
opening. Charlotte manager Nick Capra figures Canseco can showcase his
talents for other teams while he helps the Knights.

"We signed him to come in and help, and for him it'll be an opportunity for
people to see him and see his abilities and skills at this level at this
stage of his career," Capra said.

So now Canseco, 22 days older than Barry Bonds, gets to prove that he too
can still play. That reaching 500 home runs (he has 462) is simple if only
he gets one more chance. And if that doesn't come quickly?

"That's completely out of my control," he said.

"If I've got to be here all year, I'll be here."

The Knights wouldn't mind. He arrived Tuesday and didn't play, but that
didn't stop the crowd from occasionally chanting, "Jose, Jose!"

And his newest baseball team looks considerably more imposing with
"Canseco-DH" in the middle its lineup.

==========
From the Charlotte Observer:
Norfolk breaks open tight game
By STAN OLSON

FORT MILL - Jose Canseco looked great at the plate in his Charlotte Knights
uniform Wednesday night, huge and intimidating. Just wait until he starts
making contact.

Actually Canseco, who struck out three times in his 0-for-4 first game for
Charlotte, can be excused, since Wednesday brought his first game action
since spring training.

The same can't be said for the rest of the Knights, who flailed their way
to a 12-0 International League loss to Norfolk at Stadium.

Canseco finally hit the ball in his final at-bat, lining out hard to right
field.

His first game in the park left him shaking his head.

"Either those pitchers were throwing 100 mph, or there's a shadow out there
somewhere," he said.

"The guys were telling me about it, but until I saw it myself ... it's dark
out there. Major league lighting's definitely a lot better than this here.

"You can't see the spin at all on breaking balls. It's dark; it's
definitely dark. I couldn't attack; it was tough to see the ball. Even when
I was
taking, it was tough to see the ball. And you've got to see what you're
hitting. I've never played in a ballpark where the lighting is as poor as
it is here."