Fire Jose Canseco as Minor League Player/Manager

Jose is over-matched in Yuma.

The HR Department fired Jose Canseco in April when it was announced that he would be player/manager of the Yuma Scorpions, an independent minor league baseball team in Arizona. Since the season was more than one month away at that point, it could be said that the HR Department rushed to judgment so we decided to check up on Canseco and see how things are going. Turns out our prejudice was justified and Canseco should still be fired.

As the North American Baseball League nears its halfway point the Scorpions are 11-25, which puts them dead last in an 11-team league. The 46-year-old Canseco is clearly over-matched as a manager. He's also been flailing at the plate and, oddly enough, on the mound. Canseco's team is batting .298 as of July 6, but Canseco is hitting just .250 (third worst on the team among players with 40+ at-bats) with two home runs. Of his 19 hits, only four are for extra bases. About the only positive thing he has going is a 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Yet, Canseco remains delusional about his abilities. He recently told ESPN that he might be able to play productively in the majors as a DH right now. Sure, the Nationals are willing to let 43-year-old Matt Stairs pinch hit despite his .148 average, but Stairs didn't take a 10-year hiatus from MLB (Canseco last played in 2001) and he didn't get himself blacklisted by accusing half the league of taking steroids. 

For unknown reasons, Canseco has allowed himself to pitch 7.2 innings. He's 0-1 with a 12.91 ERA (worst among pitchers currently on his roster) and a WHIP of 2.74, though he has somehow managed to get four Ks. Jose also brought in his brother Ozzie to serve as bench coach/player, and Ozzie hasn't done much better than his big bro. He's batting .258 with no homers, one walk and 10 strikeouts in 12 games.

There's no way Jose should be player/manager of anything at this point, and unless the Scorpions management is enjoying the publicity he brings (like this blog post!), Canseco should be let go.