Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I was on vacation (rafting
in the Grand Canyon for a week and a half) and I've been extremely busy
ever since. I've made time to keep the Cansecometer updated, but that's
about it. I have a whole bunch of photos to add to the galleries - I'll
try to get them out there in the next couple of days.

Jose had a big night tonight, going 3-3 with a homer, a walk, 3 runs scored
and 3 RBIs. He's actually been playing very well the past few games that
he's started. Hopefully tonight's performance will earn him a few more
starts...

All the latest (and old) news is below...

-Mark

==========
From the Daily News:
Jose Making Pitch for Left
By THOMAS HILL

Jose Canseco could not help recalling an unpleasant memory yesterday when
he learned that both Derek Bell and Brent Mayne had joined him Tuesday
night as position players who have pitched. Canseco made clear that he
would not be seen again on the mound anytime soon, but acknowledged that he
might not be far away from playing the outfield for the first time in more
than a year.

"It's a scary thought," Canseco said with a laugh. "Actually I'm surprised
how strong my arm is coming back. It feels pretty accurate right now. I
think people will be surprised."

Canseco's outfield debut in pinstripes could come sooner than even he
anticipated. Because of injuries to Bernie Williams (pulled ribcage
muscle), David Justice (stiff neck) and Paul O'Neill (sore right hip),
manager Joe Torre acknowledged last night that Canseco could be the
Yankees' left fielder today.

Canseco told Torre on Tuesday night that he was ready to play the outfield
for the first time since he played six games there early last season and
before he underwent major back surgery. Torre called Canseco's proposal was
"more of an emotional offer to me because he sees where we are and he wants
to take that extra step." But O'Neill's injury last night might have made
it a necessity.

Before last night's game, Canseco said his once-sore heel is fine, and that
his major obstacle to navigating left field would be his weight, now about
250 pounds.

"I definitely want to do it," Canseco said. "But it's scary. I don't want
to embarrass the organization, especially in front of New York fans."

One place Canseco won't have a chance to embarrass himself or anyone else
is on the mound. He made his only major league pitching appearance on May
29, 1993 for the Rangers against the Red Sox, allowing three runs and
blowing out his right elbow. Canseco once harbored fantasies of being like
"Charlie Hough with a 98 mph fastball," because of his fastball-knuckleball
repertoire in the bullpen, but those days are gone.

"Are you crazy?" Canseco replied when someone asked if he would pitch
again. "I don't even want to be near that mound. Every time I go near it, I
break out in hives."

==========
From Newsday:
By David Lennon

Derek Bell said Jose Canseco's notorious turn as a relief pitcher came to
mind when he took the mound Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. For
Canseco, it is a memory he would rather forget.

On May 29, 1993, Canseco pitched one inning for the Texas Rangers in a game
against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and just about destroyed his
right elbow in the process. He suffered a complete tear of the ulnar
collateral ligament, and needed Tommy John surgery to repair the injury,
which cost him the remainder of the season. Canseco threw 33 pitches that
day, but said he felt it rip after only the second one, a fastball.

"I tried to throw the ball 100 mph and snapped my arm," Canseco said.

"Once you feel the adrenaline on the mound, you try to overthrow it. I
tried to throw the ball too hard and felt a rip in my arm."

Canseco anxiously had awaited a chance to pitch in the majors, and bragged
yesterday about his three-pitch repertoire of fastball, knuckleball and
changeup. He had even worked out in the bullpen during spring training with
the hope that he would get the call during the regular season. When he
finally did, it was a disaster, and it is safe to say he has lost his
enthusiasm for pitching.

A reporter asked Canseco yesterday if he would consider taking the ball
again if asked, and the response left no room for interpretation.

"Are you crazy?" Canseco said. "I don't want to get near the mound. Every
time I get near there, I break out in hives."

==========
From the Daily News:
Jose Can You See Hall of Fame?
By ANTHONY McCARRON

After playing a total of nine seasons in two stints with the A's, Jose
Canseco always wants to give a little something back to Oakland fans when
he returns - witness his long solo homer to center field in yesterday's
10-6 Yankees win.

"I like to make it exciting for fans so they won't forget about me," said
Canseco, who also started in the outfield for the first time as a Yankee,
playing left field.

Canseco blasting a homer in the third inning of yesterday's game in
Oakland. His homer was greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers yesterday.
It was the 443rd homer of his career, moving him past Dave Kingman into
sole possession of 23rd place on the all-time list. He's nine homers behind
No. 22 Carl Yastrzemski.

Canseco was asked what he thought of chances of reaching 500 dingers.

"If you can't stay healthy, you can't do it," he said. "Five hundred would
mean a lot because hopefully I'd be considered for the Hall of Fame, though
it doesn't guarantee anything. And 500 would be a lot with all the time
I've missed - three and a half years already with injuries."

As for playing the field, Canseco said that when the Yanks picked him up on
waivers, he started to get his arm and legs ready to play the outfield. "I
wanted to give Joe Torre options," Canseco said. Torre said Canseco
stretched and worked out for four or five days to get ready for yesterday.
Canseco caught the only ball hit to him, an over-the-shoulder grab.

==========
From the NY Post:
Torre Shows Jose the Way to LF
By GEORGE KING

OAKLAND - When Yankee center fielder Bernie Williams returned from a
seven-game absence yesterday, he had Jose Canseco next to him in left
field. It's a situation Williams may see more of.

"I guess I am getting there," Canseco said on whether he can play left
field on a semi-regular basis.

Canseco's start in left was his first at that position since July 9, 1999
for the Devil Rays, for whom he made six starts in left a year ago. Since
joining the Yankees, Canseco has been working in the outfield to strengthen
his arm and legs as well as taking off about eight pounds.

Wary of overextending Glenallen Hill's right knee, manager Joe Torre
switched Canseco and Hill prior to yesterday's 10-6 win against the A's,
inserting Canseco in left and Hill as the DH.

Canseco responded by hitting a line-drive homer to center and catching the
only ball hit to him. With the Yankees leading, 9-2, after they hit in the
fifth, Torre hooked Canseco.

"He hasn't been playing a lot because Glenallen Hill has been hot but he
was ready to play today," Torre said of Canseco. "I asked him to play the
outfield, which is something we really don't want to do. He came in the
other day and said he was ready to do that when I needed him and today was
that day." (Canseco) hasn't been playing a lot because Glenallen Hill has
been hot," Torre said. "But I'm happy he was able to get in and do
something on both sides. He had a nice catch and he got a home run."

Said Canseco: "I've lost about eight pounds since I have gotten here - I
was just too big. I went to spring training 260 and lost 10 pounds while I
was on the DL."

==========
From the NY Times:

...Of the six position players the Yankees picked up, five were hitting
better than .300 entering the weekend: Hill, .429; David Justice, .331;
Luis Polonia, .344; Jose Canseco, .333; and Luis Sojo, .310....

==========
From the San Francisco Examiner:
Bash Brother's a blasé Bomber
By MARK FAINARU-WADA
Aug. 26, 2000

OAKLAND - Jose Canseco pulled the jersey out of his locker, donned the most
famous uniform in baseball and, asked what was new, said simply, "Same old
story, different team."

A Yankee at last, finally livin' large in New York as seemed befitting his
stature back in his Bash Brother days, Canseco sounds nonplused by the
whole experience.

"Maybe early in my career, my persona fit very well in New York," the
36-year-old Canseco said. "Now I'm just an older guy."

An older guy who's not playing very much, at that. Canseco's arrival in New
York has been anything but a showcase kind of deal. He wound up with the
Yankees almost by accident when the team claimed him on waivers, presumably
to prevent somebody else from getting him. Then they were stuck with him.

When he reported to a New York team loaded with designated-hitter
candidates, not only did Canseco not know why he was there, his new
manager, Joe Torre, seemed baffled, too.

"I came over in a bad situation," Canseco said, adding that he's just
trying to make the best of it at this point and happy, at least, to be part
of a first-place team.

As for the future, he will be a free agent next season and hopes to find a
new home with a team that will put him back into the everyday lifestyle.
With that, he could make a run at one of his stated goals: 500 home runs.

When asked if he would want to return to Oakland, Canseco said, "I'd just
like to play anywhere that I'm wanted."

==========
From Newsday:
Rocket's Booster
Canseco's HR propels Clemens to 7th in row
By Lawrence Rocca

If any one person is responsible for Roger Clemens being a Yankee, it is
Jose Canseco. When the Blue Jays didn't re-sign the slugger following the
1998 season, Clemens viewed that as a sign the organization was not fully
committed to winning a World Series, the only excuse he needed to force a
trade to the team that has won more World Series than any other.

Together again, Clemens and Canseco are doing everything in their power to
make sure the Yankees have the chance to win another World Series. Clemens
won his seventh consecutive decision last night, pitching into the eighth
inning, and Canseco drove in three runs, two of them on a majestic
first-inning homer, as the Yankees beat the Mariners, 9-1, at Safeco Field.

It was the third consecutive victory for the Yankees, who are a season-high
18 games over .500 and have gained a game in the standings each of the past
two days. The Yankees lead the Red Sox by five games in the American League
East with 34 games remaining, four against Boston, and once they are
finished with their next two games here, their travel schedule will be very
light.

Clemens (11-6) allowed just five hits, lowered his ERA to 3.64 and struck
out seven, giving him 150 for the season and, at 38, becoming the oldest
Yankees pitcher to accomplish the feat. The home run for Canseco was his
fourth in 41 at-bats for the Yankees....

...Justice's first at-bat since that hit resulted in a double play, scoring
Polonia but providing a big break for Abbott. He then got to 2-and-2 on
Canseco and threw a fastball that appeared to catch the inside corner of
the plate.

Canseco stood tall and reached out his arms, to act like the pitch was
closer to him that it was, and maybe plate umpire Scott Packard was fooled.

Packard called the pitch a ball, the second favorable call of the inning
for the Yankees, and Canseco hammered Abbott's next pitch, a high fastball,
over the fence in left-center, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

==========
From NJ Online:

SEATTLE (AP) -- When the New York Yankees took a three-run lead in the
first inning, Jose Canseco knew the game was over.

After all, Roger Clemens was pitching.

"Roger rarely gives up three runs in a game," Canseco said Monday night
after New York's 9-1 victory over the slumping Seattle Mariners. "And when
you score three runs for Roger that early, he can make a mistake or two."

Canseco hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Clemens won his
seventh straight decision, pitching shutout ball before abruptly leaving in
the eighth with a cramp.

Canseco, who homered for the fourth time in 16 games since being picked up
on waivers from Tampa Bay on Aug. 7, and David Justice each drove in three
runs for the Yankees.

Polonia scored when Justice hit into a double play. On a 3-2 count, Canseco
hit a 397-foot shot that hit the roof of the Mariners' bullpen in left
field, a two-run homer and the 444th of his career.

"Roger tells me all the time I never hit home runs for him," Canseco said.
"So take that, Roger."

==========
From the NY Times:
Clemens and Canseco Golden Again
By BUSTER OLNEY

SEATTLE, Aug. 29 -- After overpowering the Seattle Mariners in a 9-1
victory on Monday night, Roger Clemens was about to say something nice
about his teammate Jose Canseco, who had hit a titanic home run. But
Clemens saw Canseco limping into the room, typically dragging a bag of ice
on his right foot, and Clemens raised his voiced -- so Canseco could hear
-- and expressed mock shock over the fact that Canseco had actually managed
to get a hit in one of the games in which Clemens had pitched.

Canseco retorted loudly, and Clemens laughed heartily, the way he probably
laughs when he is surrounded by close friends, like Canseco, rather than
reporters.

Clemens and Canseco played together in Boston, with the Toronto Blue Jays
in 1998, and they are together again with the Yankees, under similar
circumstances.

Both established themselves as superstars long before they came to the
Yankees, both were acquired in controversial deals.

And now both have fully established their roles as the Yankees try to
become the first team since the Oakland Athletics of 1972-74 to win three
consecutive championships.

Canseco was not supposed to be here; when the Yankees placed a waiver claim
on the slugger, to block him from going to another team, club officials
believed Tampa Bay would ultimately decide to keep Canseco. But the Devil
Rays let him go, at a time when the Yankees seemed to have no need for him.

But the Yankees have had a rash of small but nagging injuries since then,
to Paul O'Neill and David Justice and Bernie Williams.

Joe Torre, who initially balked at the acquisition of Canseco, has found
ways to use the slugger frequently -- playing Glenallen Hill in left field
and Canseco at designated hitter, and even starting Canseco in left field
one game.

Canseco has produced, feeling that in the middle of the Yankees' deep
lineup, he can wait for good pitches to hit, rather than feeling the
pressure to propel the offense.

He is batting .318 with 3 homers and 9 runs batted in, in 45 at-bats, with
12 walks, for an on-base percentage of .464.

"I think Joe has a very tough job," Canseco said. "We've got so many
quality power hitters. We've got Glenallen. We've got Justice. We've got
Polonia. We've got myself, and he's trying to mold us and trying to get us
all in the lineup day in and day out.

"I know tomorrow, I may not be playing; I know the next day, I may not be
playing; I know I may sit out four or five straight days. But when I am
called to play, I just have to be ready."

Batting in the first inning Monday, Canseco took a close pitch with a
2-ball and 2-strike count with two outs and Derek Jeter on first base.

And Scott Packard, the rookie home-plate umpire, called a ball, infuriating
the Seattle pitcher, Paul Abbott.

After Abbott attempted to calm himself, he tried to blow a shoulder-high
fastball past Canseco, who, like many aging home run hitters, cannot always
catch up to a pitch like this. But Canseco destroyed this fastball,
launching it 420 feet or so beyond the left-center field fence.

"He just jumped on that pitch," Clemens said....

...Clemens has long complained good-naturedly to Canseco that he does not
hit home runs in games Clemens pitches, a discourse of steady agitation
between friends.

On Monday, Canseco's early blast allowed Clemens to be aggressive with his
fastball, on a night when the strike zone was relatively small.

Clemens left the game after pitching to one batter in the eighth inning
with cramping in his hamstring, and when he returned to the bench, the
outcome well in hand, he pointed to the sky and told Canseco that the moon
and stars must be aligned -- Canseco hitting a home run in a victory
pitched by Clemens.

And in Yankees uniforms, too, which seem to fit the two of them better and
better.

==========
From Newsday:
Pals in Pinstripes
Clemens, Canseco glad to be together and Yanks
By Lawrence Rocca

Pitchers have always loved being Jose Canseco's teammate because it meant
they wouldn't have to face the slugger with the game on the line.

Roger Clemens has been especially close to Canseco over the years, even
before they were teammates, but their friendship transcends run support.
After Canseco bashed a first-inning home run to help Clemens on his way to
a 9-1 rout of the Mariners here Monday night, Clemens laughed while
explaining why that is so.

"I teased him all the time when we were teammates because he rarely hit
when I pitched," Clemens said. "When he hit that home run, I almost fell
off the training table. I walked up to him in the dugout and said, 'The
moon and the stars must be aligned.'" The Yankees, particularly George
Steinbrenner, must feel the same way.

Steinbrenner would have given anything to have Clemens and Canseco in
pinstripes 10 years ago, when each was among the very best in baseball at
his craft. But even after all these years and under the unusual
circumstances by which they have been reunited as Yankees, Clemens and
Canseco are demonstrating that they're still extremely good at what they do.

Clemens (11-6) won his seventh consecutive decision Monday, pitching
scoreless ball before a left hamstring cramp forced him from the game in
the eighth inning, and Canseco hit that home run for two of his three RBI
as the Yankees increased their AL East lead over the Red Sox to five games....

..."I think it's great condition, dedication to the game, a lot of work,"
Canseco said, offering validation.

When they were teammates in Boston and Toronto, Canseco witnessed those
workouts firsthand. The muscle-bound mammoth shared with Clemens a love of
physical conditioning as well as a favorite strength and conditioning coach
in Toronto, Brian McNamee, whom the Yankees hired this year at Clemens' behest.

Two weeks working with McNamee has enabled Canseco to trim more than 10
pounds from his massive frame, getting him in good enough shape to be an
outfield option for Joe Torre. But one year removed from career-threatening
back surgery and with a left heel that landed him on the disabled list and
still bothers him, Canseco is still not exactly where he wants to be.

Canseco's homer Monday was his fourth in 41 Yankees at-bats, but he said
the scoring fly ball he hit to left in the sixth was more telling.

"If my timing is on," Canseco said, "that ball has got to be hit 500 feet."
Clemens said it's obvious Canseco has been energized by landing with the
Yankees after playing for lowly Tampa Bay.

"He's already talking about how he wants to come back at a certain weight
and be able to steal and do certain things," Clemens said.

"I feel like I'm part of the ballclub, I'm contributing, I'm driving in
runs," said Canseco, who had wanted to join the Yankees since spring
training and is glad he did. "Who doesn't want to play for the New York
Yankees and a winning team? You've got to be crazy." Clemens' admiration
for Canseco is unabashed. "He's an electric type player," Clemens said. "He
still has presence. When he walks to the plate, he makes you be a little
cautious, makes you try to throw the ball harder and do things you don't
want to do. It causes mistakes."

==========
From the Daily News:

...As a result of Neagle's pitches crossing the plate much higher than he
wanted them, nine of the 16 outs he recorded came on fly balls - not at all
what the Yankees wanted, particularly with Jose Canseco playing left field.
Canseco made four putouts, including one spectacular running catch in the
fourth....

=======================
From the Daily News:
Jose Catches On In Left Field
By THOMAS HILL

Jose Canseco was not anticipating as much work as he got yesterday in left
field. Joe Torre was not expecting Canseco to perform as well as he did in
a difficult spot, either.

Canseco, playing the outfield for just the second time this season, caught
all four balls hit to him during the Yankees' 13-4 victory over the Twins
at the Stadium. One catch Canseco made was anything but routine.

Corey Koskie hit a drive to left leading off the third. Canseco ran hard
toward the warning track, extended his glove and made an over-the-shoulder
grab.

"I thought he hit it really well," Canseco said. "I thought it was going to
go over my head or over the wall, but the wind held it up."

Torre praised Canseco's catch, and joked that among his defensively
challenged left fielders, Canseco and Glenallen Hill "both limp pretty
good." Canseco, though, indicated that his legs felt fine after the game,
which Torre removed him from in the sixth, and said he would be able to
play back-to-back games in the field.

"I'm feeling pretty comfortable out there day in and day out," Canseco
said. "My legs are getting healthier. I'm just glad I'm able to make the
simple plays."

==========
From the NY Post:
Jose Enjoys Excellent Adventure in Left
By URSULA REEL

Joe Torre decided to throw Jose Canseco out in left field yesterday
figuring he wouldn't get much work with ground-ball specialist Denny Neagle
on the mound.

"We certainly had a little more action than we wanted in left field," Torre
said after the Yanks' 13-4 win.

But the hobbled Canseco got the job done, even if he had a flair for the
dramatic.

Canseco made four of the first seven put outs behind Neagle and two were a
little dicey. On one, a shallow looper in the second inning, he charged in,
stumbled a bit, but came up with the catch. For the first out of the third,
Canseco charged back on a long fly hit by Cordel Koskie and made an
over-the-shoulder, receiver-type grab at the warning track.

The fans roared in approval of Canseco, who has been hobbled by numerous
injuries, most recently a strained heel.

"I didn't want to mess up," admitted Canseco. "The fans were pretty
positive. Thank goodness."

But Canseco wouldn't accept all the kudos, and said he was helped by the
wind, which kept the balls up in the air - and inside the park. Canseco
expected some work out in left, "but I got it real quick."

I feel pretty comfortable out there," he said. "I was glad I was able to
make the simple plays. My instincts are still there."

Canseco, who led a colorful life early in his career, enjoyed catching up
with some Old Timers before the game. Is it any surprise his favorite was
Joe Pepitone?

"He's an interesting character," Canseco said.

==========
From Fox Sports:

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It takes technique, it takes bat speed, it takes timing, it
takes strength and it takes luck. There's only this much difference between
a line drive and fly ball." -- DH Jose Canseco, holding his thumb and
forefinger a quarter-inch apart, as he described what it takes to hit a
home run.

==========
From the NJ Record:

...So Torre elected to have Jose Canseco pinch-hit for Bellinger. But
Canseco, who is hitless in his last 14 at-bats, took a called third strike
and Bernie Williams flied to center on a 2-0 pitch, as LaTroy Hawkins
earned his 10th save....

==========
From the Daily News:
Magnificant 7 for Yanks
Use error in ninth to start outburst
By ANTHONY McCARRON

The winning rally had an odd beginning - Jose Canseco, leading off the
ninth inning, swung at and missed a pitch that wound up hitting him in the
right arm.

But Canseco worked out a walk against Kansas City closer Ricky Bottalico
and that started an improbable seven-run rally that catapulted the Yankees
to a 7-3 victory last night over the Royals.

"I guess," Canseco said, "I have a history of doing some strange things in
this game."

An understatement, coming from the man who once had a ball bounce off his
head and over a wall for a home run.

Joe Torre suggested that the strange play may have freaked out Bottalico.
"It was weird," Torre said, "but it was a key play for us. He didn't throw
another strike after that and we got started."...

==========
From the NJ Record:

After Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth, thanks in
part to a gaffe by defensive replacement Ryan Thompson, Royals manager Tony
Muser inserted his mediocre closer Ricky Bottalico. That got the Bombers
rolling. Leadoff hitter Jose Canseco missed a pitch that hit his left
shoulder, causing head trainer Gene Monahan and Torre to come out to the field.

Torre thought that threw off Bottalico, who proceeded to walk Canseco, and
Scott Brosius drilled a single to left field. Muser removed Bottalico, who
drew a hurricane of boos as he trudged to the dugout.

==========
From the NY Post:

...Armed with a 3-1 advantage, Pettitte retired six of the final seven
batters he faced. Thanks to Jose Canseco's 439-foot two-run homer off Tim
Wakefield in the ninth, the lead swelled to 5-1. No matter, Torre wasn't
taking any chances, especially in the hitter-friendly Fenway.

==========
From the Daily News:

Arrojo (5-2) made barely any mistakes in outdueling his fellow Cuban. The
righthander, whom Boston acquired from the Rockies near the trading
deadline, allowed five hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and
walked two.

"He killed us," Jose Canseco said. "His slider was like a wiffle ball,
sliding away from you. When he's on, he's got a lot of movement. You're
almost always in-between with him."

==========
From the NY Post:
Rolando Out-Duques Orlando
By URSULA REEL

Jose Canseco was so baffled he had to come into the clubhouse to look at
tape during the game. When, exactly, was Rolando Arrojo's ball moving?

Canseco was a teammate of Arrojo's in Tampa Bay last year but this was not
the pitcher he remembered.

"He told me he was hurt the whole time," Canseco said of Arrojo's time with
the Devil Rays. "Tonight, he was easily throwing four, five miles an hour
faster than when I played with him. And he also had real late movement. It
was like a whiffle ball the way it slid away at the last second. He fools
you up there."

The Yankees looked utterly lost against Arrojo in a 4-0 defeat to the Red
Sox last night. Boston's Cuban-born hurler beat the Yanks' Cuban, Orlando
Hernandez, who was done in after allowing all four runs in the first two
innings.

The Bombers managed just five hits, scattered over five different innings,
and two walks against Arrojo (4-2, 4.02 ERA).

"I don't know if it was my best outing, but, most importantly, I did my
best," said Arrojo, who came to Boston from the Rockies on July 27. "We had
a meeting with Jimy [Williams] and we had to do everything we can to get
the win tonight."

The Boston win saved the Red Sox some face after losing three straight to
the Yanks in Fenway. But the Yanks have all but sewn up the division with
an eight-game lead over both Boston and Toronto. The Blue Jays come to town
tonight for a three-game series.

"We just ran into a hot pitcher," said Canseco. "And we aren't going to be
explosive all the time, but with 20 games left, if we play .500 ball we
should be all right."...