Hey everyone,

Don't get excited. It's the same news as it has been for weeks
now. Jose's foot still hurts. He could be activated any day now, but he's
still not 100%. He's been taking BP and running sprints every day, but
he's still not playing.

All the news from the last week or so is below...

-Mark

P.S. Did you know you can use your PC to make FREE long distance phone
calls? No kidding - this is pretty cool stuff. They even have video
calling. Check it out:
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=7DBNEIiXDlg&offerid=18926&type=3&sub\
id=0

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

MEDICAL REPORT: The Rays plan on having Jose Canseco in the lineup when
they open the second half of the season Thursday, but that is not a sure
thing. Canseco, out since late May, still has pain in his left heel and has
developed soreness in his shoulders. "I've learned not to expect things,
but I expect (to have him back)," Rothschild said. ...

==========
From the Tampa Tribune:

Odds and ends: No guarantees, but Rothschild seemed reasonably sure that DH
Jose Canseco, on the DL because of a left heel injury, would be ready for
activation when play resumes Thursday against Montreal.

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

HEEL OF THE WEEK: Jose Canseco took batting practice against Rothschild and
crushed several pitches but is still not a lock to be activated from the
disabled list this week.

In a best-cast scenario, Canseco will run the bases at Tropicana Field
Thursday and, if he has no problems, could be activated for Friday's
game against Montreal.

It was one year ago today that Canseco was sidelined with a back injury
that eventually led to surgery and kept him out for almost two months last
season.

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

CANSECO UPDATE: Jose Canseco probably won't be back in the lineup just yet.
Canseco, out since late May with a sore left heel, showed improvement
during workouts last weekend but will probably need a few more days. "We
hope he's back sometime during the first series," Rothschild said.

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

CANSECO NOT READY: It's becoming a daily routine at Tropicana Field. Call
it the Jose Canseco Early Show.

It goes like this: Canseco shows up early, takes batting practice while his
teammates are dressing and then jogs to first base.

Then the drama begins.

First comes the sprint from first to second. Then another. Then another.
Next, the trek is lengthened as Canseco adds a turn and heads to third.
After about 10 minutes of rounding the bases, he calls it quits.

Canseco, on the disabled list since May 25 with a strained left heel, picks
up his array of bats and heads into the clubhouse, unactivated for another
game. Thursday was the 42nd consecutive game he sat on the bench.

Manager Larry Rothschild has said Canseco might be activated in this
series, which runs through Saturday, but that appears to be a unlikely.

Canseco said he is running at "70-80 percent," and Rothschild wants to make
sure those numbers only improve.

"First, we want him to be able to play on a given day, but then we want him
to be better after that," Rothschild said. "He ran today and felt good, but
I want it to cool down a little bit and see how he feels."

Canseco will continue to work out early, do his sprints and wait to get
back into the lineup.

==========
From the Tampa Tribune:

Canseco update: DH Jose Canseco, stuck on the disabled list since late May,
ran on his strained left heel Thursday. Rothschild said he doesn't know if
the injury will keep the 36-year- old slugger out through the weekend.

``He was a little better, but still we'll wait and see how he is [today],''
Rothschild said. ``There's still some soreness there.

``We'll keep trying to work him out and hopefully that soreness goes away
to the point we know he can play on a given day and be all right after that.''