AMERICAN LEAGUE: AROUND THE HORN CANSECO DEAL PROVES IT'S BOSS' TEAM.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

NEW YORK - The New York Yankees are loaded with part-time outfielder/designated hitters. Already with David Justice, Luis Polonia and Glenallen Hill, the Yankees' recent acquisition of Jose Canseco surprised even manager Joe Torre.

The Yankees claimed Canseco, 36, off waivers Aug. 7 from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays not because they needed another DH, but because they didn't want Boston or Toronto to get him. The Devil Rays had the option of pulling back Canseco after the Yankees claimed him but decided to let him go.

One day after Torre expressed his surprise at the move, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner offered his own thoughts: ``I support the decisions made by (general manager) Brian Cashman 100 percent. And I'm surprised that anyone would be surprised by his aggressiveness.''

Now burdened with a roster loaded with players who either can't play defense or play terrible defense, Torre could do nothing but bow to The Boss: ``I respect the fact that he's the boss. He can do whatever he wants.''

--You want him, you got him: Chicago White Sox general manager Ron Schueler was criticized for failing to obtain a veteran starting pitcher before the trade deadline, instead getting a veteran catcher (Charles Johnson) and a veteran DH (Harold Baines).

With six rookies on a 12-man pitching staff, some of the veteran pitchers were feeling pressure.

``Jim (Parque), J.B. (James Baldwin) and I basically aren't allowed to have a bad game,'' Mike Sirotka said. ``It's totally not an option. It's unusual to have that many (rookies), but from what I've heard, every team was asking too much from us (in a possible trade).''

Well, the White Sox got their veteran. They signed ex-Angel Ken Hill to a minor-league contract. Memo to Sirotka: Be careful what you ask for . . .

--Kapler streaks: The Texas Rangers' Gabe Kapler recently set a club record with a 28-game hitting streak. But Kapler downplayed the significance of the streak, other than what each hit means for the team.

``The streak is just a novelty,'' Kapler said. ``The important thing is coming up in a situation when a pitcher is throwing around Rafael (Palmeiro) and getting a hit and getting the job done. That is much more important to me than any streak.''

--Bottenfield better: The Angels traded pitcher Kent Bottenfield to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30 for outfielder/DH Ron Gant not only because they needed a bat, but because Bottenfield didn't pitch like he did last season, when he won 18 games. Bottenfield was 7-8 with a 5.71 ERA for the Angels.

But after Bottenfield arrived in Philadelphia, the trainers made a discovery.

``The training staff couldn't believe how tight the capsule in my shoulder was,'' Bottenfield said after giving up just one run and three hits in seven innings against the Padres recently. ``I wasn't able to extend the way I need to. This was the best I've felt all year.''

--A sticky situation: The runway between the Cleveland Indians clubhouse and their dugout at Jacobs Field has an unusual feature - four baseballs stuck to the ceiling. But it wasn't part of the design of the ballpark.

Somebody threw the baseballs with such force they stuck to the exposed tips of nails in the roof. So who did it?

``That would be Bartolo Colon,'' said Indians reliever Paul Shuey, who added that it would take someone throwing about 100 mph to make a ball stick.

--Fond memories: Thursday was Angels manager Mike Scioscia's first visit to Yankee Stadium since winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 1981. But the 1981 visit wasn't his first. As a high school senior in 1976, he was among a group of prospects invited by the Yankees to work out at Yankee Stadium.

``I met Billy Martin, and I used one of Graig Nettles' bats in batting practice,'' Scioscia said. ``And five years later we win the World Series with the Dodgers.''