Hey everyone...

I had a fun weekend in Florida, but I'm sorry to say I don't have any
exciting Canseco stories to share this time. I only went to one spring
training game (on Saturday), and it was 0-0 until the bottom of the ninth
inning. We got there a little late, but I got to see Jose hit a
single. And that's about it. He was looking big as ever. Let's hope his
body can hold up this year and he can play in 150+ games...

Jose had a big game today, going 3 for 4 with a homer. You'll find the
latest Jose news below, including a great Jose "Quote of the Week."

Vote for Jose for in the Florida Sports Awards for Fan Favorite of the
Year. Make sure you ONLY vote for Jose though - you are allowed to vote
for one player total, not one per box. We can make a
difference!!! http://www.jaspers.com/first_union_vote.html

Zak Wilson has created a one of a kind Jose Canseco silk screen (4' by 4')
that he would like to sell. If you would like to see what it looks like,
you can view it at http://home.earthlink.net/~zakw/wsn9B7C.html - Zak's
asking price is $250, inclusing shipping. Email him at zakw@...
if you are interested.

For those of you who follow college basketball or if you just like filling
in the brackets this time of year like me, I added a banner link (below the
HR contest on the main page of Canseconet.com) that goes to a online game
where you can win $10,000,000. And it's free to play. Like usual, I have
created a Canseconet group for us to join for a little friendly
competition. You'll need to following information to join the Canseconet
group:

Group Name: Canseconet
Group ID: 32515
Group Password: jose

Take it easy,
Mark

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From the St. Petersburg Times:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We can do it if we have a little luck on our side -- or
if the Yankees move to another division." -- JOSE CANSECO on the Rays'
chances of winning the AL East

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:
Rays put their murderers in a row
After weighing several options, Larry Rothschild goes with the lineup that
makes his players most comfortable.
By Marc Topkin
March 9, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The quartet of sluggers in the middle of the Devil Rays
lineup should cause headaches for opposing managers throughout the season.
Settling on the order in which the four will come to the plate has resulted
only in some furrowed brows and worn-down erasers for Tampa Bay manager
Larry Rothschild.

Not that it's a bad problem to have, but Rothschild had to weigh myriad
factors in deciding whom to bat where. Initially he plans to hit Jose
Canseco third, Fred McGriff fourth, Greg Vaughn fifth and Vinny Castilla
sixth, though he says it is subject to change.

Although Rothschild considered everything from on-base percentage to
potential late-game lefty-righty matchups to personal preference, his main
objective actually was the most simple.

"To put guys in spots where they're comfortable," Rothschild said. "Put
guys in spots where it's best for the team and where ultimately we have the
best chance to score runs."

The Rays are confident the four will produce as well as, or better than,
they have in the past. Rothschild's charge is to maximize that production.

With McGriff being the only left-hander, it makes sense to put him in the
middle. Pitchers will face a different look as they go through the lineup
each time, and opposing managers will have to be creative in trying to
match up relievers against specific hitters. Plus, McGriff has batted
cleanup for most of his career and seems to take pride in the
responsibility. "In my career, all the guys that have been in front of me
have done pretty decent: Gary Sheffield (in San Diego), Chipper Jones (in
Atlanta) and Canseco last year," McGriff said.

Although Castilla has the highest career batting average (.298), strikes
out the least and might be closest to the prototypical No. 3 hitter of the
other three, he says he is more comfortable hitting lower in the lineup. "I
don't mind hitting sixth," he said, with a smile. "It's the RBI spot."

That leaves Canseco and Vaughn for the third and fifth slots. Both have
plenty of power and some speed (Vaughn stole 15 bases last season; Canseco
had 29 in 1998), though neither is the classic No. 3 hitter, mainly because
they don't hit for a high average and strike out too much.

Canseco hit third for the Rays much of last season, putting some punch into
their first-inning attack, and wants to do it again. "I definitely like it
at No. 3," Canseco said. "I'm probably a little faster than the other guys,
and I can make some things happen on the bases as the third hitter. I think
third is perfect for me."

Vaughn, true to his reputation as a team-first player, says that's fine
with him. He has hit third, fourth and fifth and says that outside of knowing
you'll get up in the first inning and the few extra at-bats you collect,
being No. 3 isn't a big deal. As a tradeoff, he should get some additional
RBI opportunities because Canseco and McGriff had two of the top on-base
percentages on the team last season.

"My man Jose said he likes hitting third, so wherever the skip wants me to
hit, I'll hit," Vaughn said. "I'm easygoing. Whatever they want me to do,
I'll do."

After months of thinking and doodling and scratching out lineups,
Rothschild unveiled his plan Tuesday. He says he'll use it through today's
game against Cincinnati and then re-evaluate, but it seems to be the most
likely order.

But even as standard operating procedure, there will be some variations.
Against at least the tough left-handers, he could drop McGriff to fifth and
use Vaughn fourth. Castilla could move up on occasion, and so could Vaughn.

Rothschild considered multiple combinations, even the radical idea of
moving the whole group up into the Nos. 2-5 slots. "You'd really be taking
a guy out of a spot where he's more comfortable and putting him in a spot
where he might possibly have to take a pitch to let the leadoff hitter
steal a base," Rothschild said. "If you're going to do it, the American
League would be the place to do it. But I'm not of that mind-set. I thought
about it a lot this winter, and I don't think I'll do it that way."

The importance of the batting order can be debated for hours, with players
and coaches analyzing everything from who will get better pitches to hit to
who provides the most protection to what's best for the team. But the
best-laid plans can be negated if one slugger is hurt, slumping or just off
his game.

At the least, Rothschild wants to keep them comfortable, mentally as much
as physically. "You can't discount that because that's a big part of the
game. You want to put guys in a position where they feel the best," he
said. "If you do, you get a more confident player and a different player. I
think that's important."

And that's true in any order.

==========
From the AP:
Devil Rays (ss) 2, Reds (ss) 1
By Fred Goodall
03/09/00

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The race for the fifth spot in Tampa Bay's
pitching rotation is much too close to call.

Dan Wheeler, the youngest player to reach the majors in the Devil Rays'
brief history, continued to make his case for the job Thursday when he
pitched four scoreless innings in a 2-1 split-squad victory over the
Cincinnati Reds.

Jose Canseco homered for the Devil Rays, who won on Alex Sanchez's two-out,
ninth-inning RBI single off John Riedling. Hal Morris hit a solo homer off
Marc Valdes for Cincinnati's only run....

...Canseco's homer off Heath Murray broke a scoreless tie in the sixth
inning. It was the first of the spring from Tampa Bay's Big Four of
Canseco, Greg Vaughn, Vinny Castilla and Fred McGriff.

Thursday was the third straight day the sluggers played together, but
they've gone 4-for-29 with two RBIs. Canseco, who has both of the RBIs,
said there's no cause for alarm.

"Stats in spring training mean nothing to me. Health does," he said. "These
guys are proven stars. ... On offense there are no concerns."...

==========
From the Tampa Tribune:
Switch to NL could help Rays
By Bill Chastain

Big news for the Devil Rays could come from the April 18 owners meeting in
Houston as your hometown team could arrive as an American League club and
leave as a member of the National. In most of the speculation it's a
forgone conclusion the Rays and Diamondbacks will trade leagues - even if
Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo will do so kicking and screaming.

Given that scenario, several plans are alive. One of the more popular
scenarios would have the NL realign to four divisions, putting the Rays in a
Southeast division with St. Louis, Atlanta and Florida.

Of course, it remains to be seen if baseball is smart enough to recognize
that separating the Cubs and Cardinals would be a bad thing.

Nevertheless, time is running out for changes to be made for the 2001
season since the owners must give the player's association a draft schedule
by July 1, making the Houston meeting appear the most likely forum for the
owners to hammer out changes.

Looking at how changing leagues would affect the Rays, Jose Canseco's name
immediately comes to mind.

Canseco is a designated hitter and would not be a position player if the
Rays went to the National League, which does not employ the DH. Fortunately
for the Rays, Canseco's contract would facilitate such a move. The club has
an option to either pay Canseco $4 million in 2001, plus incentives, or
they could exercise a $500,000 buyout.

Losing one of the team's premier drawing cards would be a small price to
pay for changing leagues. Any lost attendance from not having Canseco would
be more than recouped by having a NL schedule.

Looking at the evidence, the Rays currently play in a league with several
major deadbeats when it comes to attractiveness at the gate.

Anaheim, Oakland, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Texas, Toronto
and probably Seattle minus Ken Griffey Jr., all are poor draws.

Even having the Yankees can't offset the lack of interest generated by
those teams.

An NL schedule would include the Cardinals, Cubs and Reds of Mark McGwire,
Sammy Sosa and Griffey.

The Cardinals, Reds, Pirates and Mets have ties to the area forged from
years of conducting spring training in this locale. And having the Dodgers
and Giants on the schedule is a no-brainer given their team histories.

Finally, the Marlins and Braves bring geographical rivalries into the
picture. Don't think the Rays wouldn't like to have a weighted schedule
under that format that would bring the Braves to town more often than teams
outside the division. Thus far in their short history, the Braves have been
the best draw for the Rays.

Stay tuned.

Canseco in awe: Nobody holds court like Canseco and this week he spoke
about one of his favorite subjects, McGwire, his former Oakland teammate.

``Mark McGwire, if had had stayed healthy, he'd hit 1,000 [home runs],''
Canseco said. ``I truly believe he'd blow right by [Henry] Aaron.''

Canseco did some thinking out loud.

``If you stay healthy, what did Aaron play, 26 years?'' he asked. ``What
does that average out to, 30 something home runs a year. Imagine if McGwire
hit 50 or 60 home runs a year for that amount of time. He'd have well over
1,000 homers. He'd blow that 755 away, even if he played 20 years.''

Among other things, Canseco admires McGwire's consistency.

``Day in, day out, his swing is technically perfect,'' Canseco said. ``I've
watched him, I've analyzed him. His swing is so perfect. And for a big guy
he's got tremendous technique. He doesn't try to overpower the ball.''

Canseco closed by saying he'd seen McGwire enough to consider him the
``best there's ever been.''...

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

BOMB SQUAD: The Yankees are coming to St. Petersburg today, and the Rays
will have their big guns waiting. Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, Greg Vaughn
and Vinny Castilla are scheduled to start, along with John Flaherty, Bubba
Trammell, Gerald Williams, Miguel Cairo and Kevin Stocker. ... Juan Guzman
will start for the Rays, with Roberto Hernandez among others scheduled to
pitch. ... Reserved seats are sold out; about 200 $4 berm tickets will go
on sale at 10 a.m.

==========
From the AP:
Tampa Bay 8, New York 6

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Jose Canseco hit a two-run homer off Mariano
Rivera during a three-run eighth-inning as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat
the New York Yankees 8-6 Monday.

The game was for bragging rights between Yankees' owner George
Steinbrenner, who lives in nearby Tampa, and his friend Vince Naimoli, the
Devil Rays managing general partner.

``It's a step up from the normal spring training game,'' Devil Rays manager
Larry Rothschild said.

Andy Pettitte allowed five hits in five shutout innings, and Scott Brosius
hit a two-run double for the Yankees.

Trailing 4-0, Tampa Bay got five runs in the seventh inning against Jason
Grimsley. The Devil Rays' first lead came when two runs scored after second
baseman Juan Melo misplayed Gerald Williams' groundball. Herbert Perry
drove in the first run on a groundout, Steve Cox scored on a wild pitch and
Tony Graffanino hit a run-scoring single.

Melo walked with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, tying it at 5.

Canseco, who went 3 for 4, hit his second homer of the spring, and Pat
Borders added an RBI double off Rivera. The runs were the first allowed by
Rivera, the 1999 World Series MVP, since last July....

==========
From the Sporting News:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Team Report
By Chris Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

...Manager Larry Rothschild spent considerable time in the off-season
pondering where the power fits in the lineup. Rothschild's main concern was
to put players into spots they are comfortable in, and to score runs.
Designated hitter Jose Canseco will hit third, first baseman Fred McGriff
cleanup, left fielder Greg Vaughn fifth and third baseman Vinny Castilla
sixth in the order. The order has been used this spring by Rothschild, and
it will likely remain the same once the season starts, though it could vary
in certain situations.

McGriff is the logical cleanup hitter because he is the only lefthanded bat
among the four players. McGriff has hit cleanup for most of his career.
McGriff had 520 at-bats in the cleanup spot last year and hit .313 with 31
homers and 103 RBI. McGriff could be dropped to fifth when the Devil Rays
face a particularly tough lefthanded pitcher. Canseco is not the
prototypical No. 3 hitter, but is comfortable in the spot and brings a
little speed to the table. Canseco had 410 at-bats in the third slot last
year and hit .285 with 33 homers and 92 RBI. In 19 at-bats in the cleanup
spot, Canseco hit .158....

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