WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK : Canseco Says He Doesn’t Carry A’s, Win or Lose

Whether the Oakland Athletics win or lose the World Series, Jose Canseco isn’t going to let what others say get to him.

Last season, the A’s won the West division by 13 games and then swept the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant.

Canseco led the way, becoming the first major leaguer to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in one season. Canseco and the A’s seemed invincible.

In Game 1 of the World Series, Canseco hit a grand slam in the second inning at Dodger Stadium to give the A’s a 4-2 lead but Oakland went on to lose that game and the Series in five.

And after his slam, Canseco went 0 for 19.

“Anybody who says I lost that World Series doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” he said.

Canseco says it’s important for him to play better in this Series against San Francisco but that it’s not a life-or-death situation.

“I don’t pay attention to what people say anymore,” Canseco said. “That’s one thing I have learned.

“Baseball is nothing. What’s baseball when compared to death? What’s baseball when compared to starvation? It’s a game. I could go 20 for 20 or zero for 100. It’s still a game.”

Canseco is heading for the $4-million season category soon.

He has the ability to turn a crowd on, and turn the opposition off with one swing.

The focus in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants will be the matchup of Canseco and Mark McGwire against Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell.

“He’s hot,” Canseco said of Clark. “Everything he hits is falling in. If we stop Clark and Mitchell, we have a pretty good chance.”

Rickey Henderson said he would go back to the New York Yankees for the right money, but his preference is to remain with Oakland.

Henderson, the most valuable player in the American League playoffs, will become a free agent after the Series.

After spending 3 1/2 seasons with New York, Henderson was traded back to Oakland on June 20 for pitchers Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk and outfielder Luis Polonia.

Henderson hit .247 with the Yankees with 25 steals. With the A’s, he hit .294 with 52 steals in 58 attempts.

“I got off to a bad start,” Henderson said. “The weather was bad and we had a different second-place hitter.”

Henderson said he did not request the trade and was disappointed when it happened.

“It was, ‘Let’s blame Rickey’ if things didn’t fall into place,” Henderson said. “I had a great time in New York. I would consider going back, but I hope I’m back here.”

Kevin Mitchell showed up at the Giants’ workout in San Francisco, admitting that he deserved a fine for missing Wednesday’s practice.

“I was wrong--I missed practice,” Mitchell said. “It’s no big deal. “I’ve got to pay a fine, and the case is closed.”

The Giants’ left fielder, who led the major leagues with 47 home runs, was upset by the publicity his absence created.

“It’s too big of a deal--this, all this,” he said, gesturing to the crowd of about 100 reporters and photographers surrounding him at Candlestick Park.

The annual debate over whether the designated-hitter rule will play a role in the Series is raging again. When the Series opens in the Oakland Coliseum, teams will use a designated hitter. When the Series switches back to San Francisco for Games 3, 4 and 5, the Oakland pitchers will be forced to bat.

“It gives us another bat in the lineup,” San Francisco’s Will Clark said. “I think it will hurt Oakland more because their pitchers aren’t used to batting. Hopefully they’ll be an automatic out.”

Which brings up an interesting problem. Does Giant Manager Roger Craig take pitcher Don Robinson out of the order? Robinson hit three homers this season while Ernest Riles, Craig’s choice for DH, hit seven.