Hey Cansecoites,

Jose had an interesting day in the outfield last Sunday (9 days ago). It
was ugly. He made two errors, and the Yankees got blown out 15-4. Jose
has played very little since, and hasn't been hitting very well since that
three hit game of his two weeks ago. The good news is, it sounds like Jose
was able to shake off his poor performance that day and was even able to
joke about it a little. He even encouraged reporters to bother him and to
leave Danny Neagle (the starting pitcher who got crushed) alone, saying:
"OK, enough already, leave him alone. It's my turn. I got 'em, Neags." Yet
more clubhouse leadership by a man who's experienced it all throughout his
career.

The bad news is it's looking more and more like Jose won't be a starter in
the playoffs. He hasn't been starting much recently, and Joe Torre even
suggested Chuck Knoblauch might be DH in the post season. Sadly, I think
it may be time for us to accept our favorite player's role on the baseball
field has changed, and he's no longer an every day player. Will this still
be the case next year? It's far too soon to say, but for now, that's the
way it is.

All the latest news, and the official ad for Jose's house (got an extra $7
million lying around?) are below...

-Mark

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From Newsday:

....Torre said yesterday he considers having two lefthanders in the
postseason a necessity, seemingly guaranteeing rookie Randy Choate a spot.

Jose, DH; Glenallen, LF-PH Jose Canseco's good at-bats, Glenallen Hill's
cold streak and the familiarity of each man with the role has led Joe Torre
to make Canseco the everyday DH and use Hill as a part-time leftfielder and
nearly a full-time pinch hitter, an arrangement he is likely to continue in
the postseason.

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From the Daily News:

For manager Joe Torre, the seeds of Hill's offensive outburst were sown in
Friday night's 11-1 loss. The Yanks mustered only four hits, but Hill had
two of them, including a home run in the ninth inning. Before Friday, Hill
had only one hit in 13 at-bats and hadn't hit a homer since Aug. 24.

"I was hoping that we could get something going, and it looks like he's
seeing the ball better," Torre said.

And as a result, Torre will give Hill another start - his fourth in a row -
today. He will probably DH again, while Jose Canseco will be in left field.

Speaking of Canseco, the supposed battle between him and Hill for a
postseason roster spot may not be a battle at all. Torre intimated that
both players would likely make the cut.

As for Hill, he said he doesn't even think about whether he'll play in the
postseason. And despite not being the most graceful of outfielders, Hill
said he wouldn't have a problem playing left field, either.

"I love to play the outfield, it's just a matter of not letting my knee get
too sore," Hill said. "But I like DH-ing too. I can concentrate more on
hitting when I DH."

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From the Post:

While Hill may have been disappointed to lose some playing time to Canseco,
he didn't let the lay-off affect his attitude or his hitting. He has a
balky knee and is not used to every-day playing, but says he'll go all out
for as long as he can.

"I have never worried about my body," he insisted. "That just gives you an
out. If you go 0-for-5 or 0-for-6 and you worry about being sore and tired,
then you will be sore and tired."

Hill played left field in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Toronto while Canseco
stayed in the lineup as DH. Canseco, however, went 0-for-5 that night and
has now sat for two consecutive days. Joe Torre said both Hill and Canseco
would play today with Hill likely playing left field.

Both sluggers should make the postseason roster despite their similar
right-handed pop. While Hill has been an able, power-hitting DH, he was
acquired from the Cubs to be a pinch-hitter. That's the role he'll likely
have for the Yanks in the postseason.

Canseco, as is well known, was acquired as an unexpected - and initially
unwanted - surprise off the waiver wires, but he's made the most of his
time working an impressive 18 walks in 84 at-bats. Torre also likes to have
a player of Canseco's reputation on the bench in close, meaningful games.
Since Canseco has been a DH for much of his recent career, he may have a
slight edge over Hill for that role in the postseason.

Both players have shown a willingness to contribute a single here and
there. They do not take home run swings at every ball that crosses the
plate. Yesterday, for example, on the first pitch he saw in the third
inning, Hill reached out and flicked a single over the head of Cleveland
shortstop Omar Vizquel. In the fifth, he grounded a single into left field.

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From the Sporting News:

...While Jose Canseco has settled in as the everyday DH, OF/DH Glenallen
Hill will be a valuable pinch-hitting force off the bench. That leaves a
pair of veteran outfielders in Luis Polonia and Ryan Thompson. Polonia can
get on base and run, while Thompson can play some defense. Thompson will
get the spot due to lingering health questions about outfielders Paul
O'Neill (right hip pointer) and David Justice (strained right groin)....

It's laughable, now, to think the waiver claim of Canseco was treated such
as a horrible thing by both team officials and reporters. For crying out
loud, the guy has almost 450 career homers. He knows a thing or two about
hitting. And he has an undeniable presence in the lineup, one that the
Yankees haven't had since Darryl Strawberry was suspended from baseball. He
impacts how opponents pitch the batters in front and behind him. Canseco
will be a valuable key to the lineup in postseason play.

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From the Daily News:
Right's All Wrong for Jose
Canseco shows why he's a DH
By DARREN EVERSON

The ironic part about Jose Canseco's awful day in right field yesterday was
that he asked for it. He told Joe Torre after joining the Yankees this
season that he'd be willing to play the outfield.

Torre appreciated that. After yesterday, however, Canseco may have to
reconsider.

"I may not volunteer anymore," he said with a smile.

If you had begun to think that Canseco could play a competent outfield for
the Yankees - as Canseco himself thought momentarily yesterday - you now
know the truth. Canseco made two errors, one a fumbled pickup and the other
a misplayed fly ball, in Cleveland's 15-4 rout of the Yankees at the Stadium.

He was booed. He was cheered - for getting out of Bernie Williams' way when
the Gold Glove center fielder waved him away from a fly ball in the fifth
inning one batter after the botched fly ball. The afternoon was a course in
baseball humility.

Canseco has had tougher moments in the field, though. This is a man who had
a ball bounce off his head for a home run in 1993. Knowing that, Canseco's
post-game mood wasn't totally illogical.

The one-time 40-40 outfielder dressed, walked to Denny Neagle's locker,
told reporters to stop interviewing the Yankee losing pitcher and to come
to his locker. There, Canseco was funny and self-deprecating.

"After the first inning, I thought I made a pretty good play," Canseco
said, referring to his running catch on a Kenny Lofton fly ball to start
the game. "I was thinking to myself, 'God, maybe I am a decent outfielder.'
And then reality set in."

Manny Ramirez hit a double off the right field wall in the third that
Canseco booted as he tried to pick the ball up. Ramirez went to third,
Lofton and Roberto Alomar scored, but they probably would have scored
without the error anyway.

The same could not be said of Lofton's run in the fifth. He scored on what
should have been an inning-ending flyout by Ramirez.

"All of a sudden, the wind grabbed it and knocked it straight to my right,"
Canseco said. "I didn't realize the wind was that strong up there."

The ball landed; the run scored.

"He owes me dinner for all those RBI I gave him," Canseco said.

Torre seemed to feel he owed Canseco acknowledgment for recognizing the
Yankees' need for outfield help and volunteering to play there. Canseco
hadn't played right field at all this season. He was a good outfielder a
decade ago, but age and injuries have reduced the 36-year-old to mainly a
designated hitter's role.

"He's not an outfielder," Torre said. "We put him in right field thinking
that with a lefthanded pitcher, there wouldn't be much activity, and the
ball found him today. He tried. He's played right field before, but he's a
DH. I appreciate that he volunteered to do this."

The Indians seemed to, too. On a day when the Yankees wanted the ball to go
anywhere but right field, seven of Cleveland's nine starters hit at least
one ball that way.

"I thought they were picking on me out there, to tell you the truth,"
Canseco said. "A lot of guys were just trying to hit the ball that way.
Right off the bat, it was just an ugly day."

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Denny's Not Daunted
By URSULA REEL

...Neagle did hear it from the crowd when he was lifted for Randy Keisler
in the third, but the Bomber boosters saved their most belittling noises
for substitute right fielder Jose Canseco, who misplayed two balls.

Yet Canseco has learned to handle failures with aplomb at this stage of his
career, and charitably turned his goat-ness into an assist for Neagle. As
Neagle glumly talked about his performance, Canseco urged the media away
from the pitcher's locker.

"OK, enough already, leave him alone," Canseco said. "It's my turn. I got
'em, Neags."

With that, Canseco trudged over to the opposite corner of the clubhouse
with a trail of media members behind him and promptly did a stand-up
routine about his two gaffes, which were, indeed, painful to watch.

But Canseco has some ready-made excuses. For starters, he was a last-second
outfield plug-in. Late yesterday morning, manager Joe Torre decided to sit
Scott Brosius along with fellow regulars Tino Martinez, David Justice and
Paul O'Neill. That caused a reshuffling of the lineup and Canseco, who was
scheduled to be the designated hitter, was moved to right. He could not
remember the last time he played the position.

"It bothers me when he gets booed, because he's doing it for the team,"
said Torre. "He didn't have to volunteer early on to be an outfielder. I
appreciate that and I don't forget things like that."

Canseco's two flubs were costly, but essentially meaningless; Crisp defense
would not have spared Neagle.

Both Torre and Canseco thought right field might be a safe place to hide
the burly slugger with the southpaw Neagle, usually a ground ball pitcher,
on the hill. It was not the case. The first ball of the game was hit to
Canseco, who admitted to some early, misguided confidence after making a
nifty, backhanded grab going toward the wall. He received a rousing
ovation. It was his last.

Manny Ramirez gave the Indians two runs in the first inning on a towering,
powerful, two-run blast of a 3-0 Neagle fastball that hit the facing of the
upper deck in left field. Ramirez (2-for-3, three RBI) admired his shot
before rounding the bases.

"I was actually trying to walk him there," Neagle admitted. "But the ball
caught too much of the plate."

In the third, Cleveland ravaged Neagle for five more runs. Ramirez was at
the heart of that slugfest as well. He belted an RBI-double to right, but
Canseco bobbled the rebound off the wall. Ramirez made it to third and a
second run scored on that error for a 5-0 Indian lead. In the fifth, with
the game already out of hand at 14-0, Ramirez's high fly ball shifted
dramatically with the wind and Canseco quickly stumbled toward center, only
to miss the ball completely. It allowed the Indians' 15th run to score.

"Manny owes me dinner with all the RBIs I gave him," Canseco said.

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From the Daily News:
Chuck Still Second to None With Joe
By DARREN EVERSON

Chuck Knoblauch was back at second base last night against Detroit. Don't
be surprised, though, if he's often the DH in the playoffs.

Yankees manager Joe Torre said before last night's game that Knoblauch may
be used in that role vs. righthanded pitchers. Knoblauch started at second
last night because Torre wanted to use Jose Canseco against the Tigers'
knuckleball starter, Steve Sparks. Canseco has had success against
knucklers, Torre said.

But the Yankees also fared well over the weekend with Knoblauch at DH and
Luis Sojo or Jose Vizcaino starting at second. Before Friday, the Yankees
had scored 10 runs in five games; on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they
scored 25.

Yesterday, Torre said he may alter his lineup in the playoffs depending on
matchups.

"The big decision I'm going to make, if I have to face a lefthander in the
postseason, is what am I going to do?" Torre said.

"I like what we saw here the last two days," Torre said of Knoblauch
starting at DH. "He can do a lot of things we're more used to doing than
waiting around for the home run."