Hey everyone,

Jose is still not back in the lineup, and it now sounds like he won't be
playing again until after the All Star break. This injury sure is dragging
on. Hopefully he can come back 100% and have a good second half.

While Jose is having one of the worst years he's had in a while, his twin
brother Ozzie is having his best. Ozzie is leading the independent
Atlantic League with 26 home runs. Go Ozzie!

-Mark

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From USA Today Baseball Weekly:
6/28-7/5

...Mark McGwire says it's ridiculous that Jose Canseco is now considered a
long shot to make the Hall of Fame.

"He definitely should be considered if he gets to the 500-home run mark,"
McGwire says. "He won MVPs. He's won world championships. He's just had
bad luck with injuries. And still, with all that adversity, he's still
hitting home runs."

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From the St. Petersburg Times:

HOO-RAYS: Ozzie Canseco, Jose's twin, leads the independent Atlantic League
with 25 home runs....

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Ozzie belts 26th homer
Monday, July 3, 2000

Atlantic League home run leader Ozzie Canseco celebrated his 36th birthday
Sunday with his 26th blast as the Bears completed a four-game sweep of the
Somerset Patriots with a 7-4 victory in Newark.

Canseco, who has two hits and an RBI, is two homers shy of the Bears'
single-season record shared by Keith Thomas and Craig Worthington....

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From the Sporting News:
7/2

...DH Jose Canseco will face a similar battle. Canseco's been on the DL
with a sore left heel. He's been making steady progress but may not return
until after the All-Star break.

Once he does come back, Canseco also needs to find his swing again. At the
time of his injury, Canseco had just seven homers and 20 RBIs. At the break
last season, Canseco was leading the majors with 31 homers. . . .

Canseco remains on the DL with a sore left heel. It's possible he won't be
activated until after the All-Star break, but Rothschild would like to have
him back this week for the Florida series so Canseco can get back into the
routine of playing again before the break.

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From the Tampa Tribune:

Canseco on hold: DH Jose Canseco (strained left heel) continued to
rehabilitate, taking batting practice and running, and there's a chance he
could return to action before the All-Star break.

``Jose's gotten better,'' Rothschild said. ``I don't know if we're looking
for right before the break or after it, but he's certainly close. He's had
a lot of cuts and he's run more on it. It's not where you can say he's
completely pain-free. Until he is, he will not be activated, because this
thing could go again at any time and we're back to square one.''

Rothschild said that even though the Rays are at a National League park
[against the Marlins] this weekend, Canseco may be activated and used as a
pinch hitter.

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From the St. Petersburg Times:

NO WAY, JOSE: Designated hitter Jose Canseco will be with the team in South
Florida this weekend but is not expecting to play until next week.
Rothschild had mentioned the possibility of using Canseco, out more than
six weeks with a sore left heel, against the Marlins. "I think the
smart thing to do is wait until the All-Star break is over, just to make
sure," Canseco said.