Cansecoites,

Jose's back, and he's playing pretty well... He missed Sunday's game
because of a migraine headache, but was back in the lineup last night - he
had 2 singles and knocked in both of the runs the Rays scored.

Let's just hope he starts hitting the longball again soon!

Mark

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:
Canseco: Return is 'no big deal'
By Bruce Lowitt, John Romano
August 21, 1999

ST. PETERSBURG -- At 5:19 p.m. Friday, Jose Canseco stepped into the
batting cage and, on his first swing, sent the ball over the 370-foot sign
in left-centerfield and about half a dozen rows deep into Section 147.

At 7:19 p.m., he faced his first pitch in 39 games, since being sidelined
July 10 with back surgery to repair a herniated disc. The crowd cheered.
Royals pitcher Jeff Suppan promptly hit him on the left arm. The crowd booed.

Manager Larry Rothschild said he decided Thursday night, after watching a
workout and talking with general manager Chuck LaMar, to play Canseco.
"Actually, he's been telling me for three weeks he was going to play
(Friday night)," Rothschild said. "The last time he came back (while with
Oakland in 1996), it was after 48 days. This is his 42nd. This surgery was
a lot less intrusive. This is not a reach compared to what he's done in the
past."

Mentally, Canseco said, this time was much easier than three years ago.

"I'd been through it before. This time it was no big deal to me. It was
like, "Okay, the back went bad, go into surgery, okay, let's play.' Like my
30,000-mile checkup -- cut me open, check me out, put me back together. ...
Now I don't even think about my lower back."

When he trotted to centerfield about 3 1/2 hours before the game to join
the Rays in stretching exercises, he received a playful ovation from them.

"These guys, they don't miss a beat," he said. "It was like a fun,
welcome-back kind of harassment. But it doesn't feel like I've been away
that long."

Rothschild said he doesn't plan to play Canseco every day just yet.

"I might give him days off just to keep him healthy. The object is to keep
him feeling good, not to play him until he feels bad," he said.

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:
Flaherty takes it for team as Rays top K.C. in ninth
Canseco quiet in return, but catcher drives in winning run when he's hit by
a pitch.
By John Romano
August 21, 1999

...Jose Canseco's return generated a few moments of excitement, but little
actual impact.

Following his July 11 back surgery, Canseco had spent weeks preparing for
this moment and was greeted with a loud ovation when he walked to the plate
in the first inning.

He was promptly beaned in the elbow by Jeff Suppan's first pitch.

As it turned out, that was the highlight of Canseco's night. He walked and
grounded out in his next two at-bats before striking out in the seventh
with one out and the tying run on third base. He walked again in the ninth.

While Canseco failed in the seventh, his teammates did not. Aaron Ledesma
had started the inning with an infield single and Miguel Cairo followed
with a double. Dave Martinez drove in Ledesma and moved Cairo to third with
a sacrifice fly.

Canseco could not get the runner home, but Fred McGriff delivered with a
two-out single to tie the game....

==========
From the Tampa Tribune:
Canseco has plenty of time to hit homers
By Joey Johnston

Friday afternoon, the first sign came at 4:24. Yes, Jose Canseco officially
had returned. He was late.

The Devil Rays already were stretching in the outfield, preparing for their
game with the Kansas City Royals. When Canseco finally sauntered up,
teammates greeted him with sarcastic applause. Thanks for coming, big guy.

``We just had to give him some grief,'' right fielder Dave Martinez said.
``He was just rolling his eyes at us. Really, we're so glad to have him
back.''

Slight understatement.

Wade Boggs has bagged his 3,000th hit. It's almost certain the Devil Rays
will not join the Arizona Diamondbacks in the playoffs. During the long
journey to Closing Day (Oct. 3, Yankees, tickets still available), 40 games
worth actually, what can we do for excitement around Tropicana Field?

THAT'S JOSE'S CUE. Whether it's a tape-measure homer, a strikeout or merely
digging in at the plate, he's worth watching.

Now he's swaggering again, talking about a serious charge at the American
League home-run title. Even after missing 35 games, after his surprisingly
quick recovery from back surgery, his 31 homers are just six behind Ken
Griffey Jr., who's an outdoor hitter now. Seems do-able.

Canseco didn't make up ground against Kansas City, going 0-for-2 against
the changing speeds of Jeff Suppan. Give him time, though. At least the
thrill returned to batting practice. Granted, it was against Orlando Gomez,
who does not change speeds, but Canseco put four balls in the bleachers.
Another deep one soared foul. Still another careened off the C-ring catwalk.

``He can do that,'' Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. ``It wasn't
unusual. Obviously, it's nice to have him back. He was a big part of our
team.''

The biggest and the best part, actually. Six weeks ago, Canseco was
flirting with a 60-homer season. He was elected to the AL All-Star Team,
and everyone was loving the possibility of a Green Monster home-run derby
with Canseco, McGwire and Sosa.

Two days short of that, Canseco's back gave out again. He needed surgery to
repair a disc. The All-Star Game was gone. Bitterly discouraged, Canseco
talked about retirement. Knee-jerk reaction. He soon flung himself into
rehabilitation and was confident about a 1999 return.

This soon?

``I've been through this before,'' he said. ``It's like a 30,000-mile
checkup. Cut me open. Fix me up. Put me back together. OK, it's time to go
again.''

When Canseco took his first indoor batting practice, he felt perfect. The
lower back wasn't a thought. Now it's as if he never left.

ROTHSCHILD DIDN'T profess optimism about Canseco's recovery. Three weeks
ago, Canseco insisted he'd be playing on Aug. 22. For everyone else, it was
wait-and-see. Rothschild relied on Canseco's word and put him in the
lineup. ``Jose's a different kind of athlete,'' Rothschild said.

Maybe a return-game homer was too unlikely. Canseco had a chance for drama
in the seventh inning, with the tying run on third base. He struck out
swinging. In the ninth, with Martinez representing the winning run on
second, he drew a walk from reliever Scott Service. Not Friday night. Maybe
tonight.

``He's going to win some games for us,'' Martinez said. ``With the kind of
year he was having, who knows what his final numbers could have been?''

Forget about the hypothetical situations. His numbers will be plenty good.
An AL home-run crown? Others would be too late. You look at Canseco and
think about this: He still has time.

==========
From the AP:
Canseco back in Devil Rays' lineup
By Fred Goodall

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- When Jose Canseco trotted on the field for
pregame warmups, his teammates applauded.

Less than six weeks after undergoing back surgery for the second time in
his career, the All-Star designated hitter rejoined the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays on Friday.

The speedy recovery surprised some people, but not the 35-year-old slugger.

"I really didn't know what to expect, so I didn't put a time limitation on
myself. I think your body does that for you," Canseco said.

"After the surgery I felt great. I had no pain. And that's a good
indication. The other indication is: `Fine, the back feels great. But can
you do what you were doing in the past, swinging a 37- or 38-ounce bat with
the velocity and torque that I swing at."'

Canseco went 0-for-2 with two walks in a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City
Royals. He also was hit by a pitch in the first inning by Jeff Suppan, who
struck him out with a runner at third with Tampa Bay trailing 4-3 in the
seventh.

"I basically didn't get too many pitches to hit. But I felt pretty
comfortable," Canseco said, adding that his back felt fine after the game.

Doctors originally thought the earliest he could come off the disabled list
would be Sept. 1.

But Canseco's rehabilitation went so smoothly that even a cautious Devil
Rays front office couldn't make a convincing argument for holding him back.

"I'm going a lot by what he's telling me, as well as the program he's been
on," said manager Larry Rothschild, who made the decision to activate
Canseco after throwing batting practice to him on Thursday.

"It doesn't mean he's going to play every day right now. I may give him
days off, just to keep him healthy. The object is to keep feeling good, not
to have him feel good and play him until he feels bad."

Canseco has made it through only three of the past 10 seasons without going
on the disabled list, including 1998 when he hit a career-high 46 homers in
151 games for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The other years he was able to stay healthy were 1991, when he had 44
homers and 122 RBIs for Oakland, and 1994 when he hit 31 homers and drove
in 90 runs in 111 games of a strike-shortened season with Texas.

Canseco, who has 428 career homers, said he has been injured so often that
surgery no longer fazes him. That doesn't reduce the frustration, though.

Earlier this month he vowed that he won't let injuries keep him from
reaching a goal of hitting 500 home runs, joking that he'll play until he's
45 if necessary.

The Devil Rays hold an option on his contract for next year, although it
automatically renews if Canseco makes 500 plate appearances this season --
a goal he'd likely reach by playing regularly the next six weeks.

Canseco led the AL with 31 homers when he was injured and hasn't given up
on the idea of catching the current leader, Ken Griffey, Jr., and winning
this year's title.

Despite not playing since July 9, two days before he had surgery to repair
a herniated disc, he only trails Griffey by six.

"This is not a far reach as far as what he's done in the past," Rothschild
said of the quick recovery.

"The last time he came back from this, it was 48 days. This is his 42nd
day. And this surgery was a lot less intrusive than the last time he had it
done. The scar is a lot smaller."

Despite swinging the bat well in workouts, Canseco said it will take a
while to regain his timing under game conditions.

"It could take a couple of days. It could be a week," he said. "It's
impossible to tell."

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:

...Jose Canseco is 2-for-6 with three walks and a hit-by-pitch in his first
two games off the disabled list. Canseco might sit today to give his back a
rest.

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:

SICK DAY: The Rays were planning to give Jose Canseco the day off Sunday to
rest his back, but the point became moot because he remained home with a
migraine headache. "Baseball-wise, he was fine from what I understand,"
Rothschild said. "It's just the matter of the migraine."

==========
From the Sporting News:
See A Different Game

There were plenty of tangible ways to illustrate how much the Rays missed
Canseco during his six-week absence because of back surgery. Their winning
percentage was .442 with him and .400 in he 35 games he was out. Their run
production dropped from 4.97 a game to 4.65. They went from 1.03 homers a
game to just 0.83.

There was a residual effect of having Canseco in the lineup -- the other
hitters in the batting order got better pitches because opponents were
cognizant of not putting men on in front of Canseco. But the intangible
differences may have been even more significant. Canseco brought a
confidence and a swagger to the Rays that was not replaced during his
absence.

He also brought some excitement and that, too, is back now that he has
returned.

Canseco didn't homer in his first two games back. He didn't even come
close, but there still is a tremendous sense of anticipation each time he
comes to the plate. And that alone is worth something to the Rays.


==========
Mark Petrillo
mark@...
Canseconet.com - The Jose Canseco Site
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