On Taking Jose Canseco’s Hotel Room

I’ll take a single room, thank you.

I’m sitting in a room in a Quebec hotel that’s supposed to belong to Jose Canseco this week. The Tornadoes are in Quebec City to take on the three-time defending champion Capitales, but their usual cleanup hitter is missing.

Before I boarded the bus from the hotel, I was stuck on a cot in a room with three people, including Tuesday’s starter Phil Negus (who pitched a heck of a game, but had a no decision in seven innings of work). Now, I have a room to myself, with only a wall separating me from where I would have been sleeping anyway. I have a much larger and more comfortable setup now.

When Tornadoes manager Chip Plante initially offered me Jose’s room, I thought of giving it to the starting pitchers for the next couple of games on a rotating basis, so they’d have a room to themselves the day that matters most. Zach Zuercher and Ryan Bicondoa, the guys we have going, are the two oldest vets on the staff. Normally I’d cough this room up for Zuerch Tuesday night (before his Wednesday start) and Bic Wednesday (for a Thursday tilt in the final game of the series), but in this specific instance, I couldn’t pass it up. For the record, I already hooked one pitcher up with a room to himself the day of his start earlier this season (Kevin Cooper), so I’m here guilt-free.

That’s way neater than I usually have it: breakfast, my scorecard, my computer and some reading.

It’s amazing what random things come up that you’d never even think of if you weren’t traveling with a sports team. I’ll probably share the reason Jose isn’t around in a future post, with plenty more material about him coming regardless. Although it may not be as scandalous as you’d think, it’s still a great story…