Hey Canseco fans...

There are some rumors that the New York Mets might be interested in picking
up Jose for their upcoming interleague play games, which start
Friday. They are saying they would use him as a DH in the AL parks and
primarily as a pinch hitter in NL parks. If they do sign him, I hope they
give him a chance to play regularly in the outfield. Jose's played error
free in LF for the Bears this season.

In other news, the Angels finally released Glenallen Hill. Looks like that
little move of theirs backfired in the worst of ways, as he ended his
season batting .136 with 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 0 walks, and 20 strikeouts for
the Angels. Yeah, that's much better than Jose would have done. Sure it is.

In 29 games for the Bears, Jose is batting .297 with 6 doubles, 4 homers,
21 RBIs, and a league leading 26 walks. He also has 8 SBs and one CS.

I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else about Jose and the Mets...
-Mark

P.S. When the NY Post mentioned the Mets possible interest in Jose, the
article was filled with errors. I've included my Letter to the Editor below.

==========
My Letter to the NY Post Editor:
From: mark@...
To: sports@...
Subject: Comment for Andrew Marchand...

Hi Andrew,

My name is Mark Petrillo, and I run Canseconet.com. I just wanted to drop
you a line to urge you to get your facts straight before printing them in
the future. You recently wrote these error filled paragraphs:

-----
The Mets have scouted the Newark Bears' Jose Canseco, but it is unlikely
they will sign the former 40/40 man, who is now close to 40 years old.

Canseco, who will be 38 next month, doesn't play a position and could only
help the Mets as a pinch-hitter and a DH against AL teams. He is hitting
.265 with four homers and 19 RBIs in the Independent Atlantic League.
Ex-Met Carlos Baerga is batting .339.

Valentine said he would only want to consider Canseco if the Mets scout
reported back that he could be a National League player. . .
-----

The corrections:

-Jose is 36 now, so by my math, I think that would make him 37 next month,
not 38. How "close to 40 years old" 37 is is a matter of opinion, but it's
actually closer to 35. Barry Bonds is as close to 40 as Jose is, you know.

-You also said Jose "doesn't play a position and could only help the Mets
as a pinch-hitter and a DH against AL teams." This is also far from true,
as Jose has played nearly every game for Newark in LF.

-I don't fault you for this next one (I'm sure it was a timing issue), but
just so you know, Jose is now batting .287.

Thanks...
Mark

=========
From the Indianopolis Star:
Mets showing interest in Canseco

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - New York Mets general manager Steve
Phillips confirmed on Sunday that the club is showing interest in
outfielder Jose Canseco to hopefully come in and jump start a stagnant
offense for interleague play.

Canseco is currently playing in the independent Atlantic League for the
Newark Bears. He is hitting only .287 with four homers and 19 RBI, but he
hasn't seen many good pitches and leads the league in walks.

Canseco says he hasn't heard personally from the Mets, but Phillips says
that he has talked to Canseco's agent Jeff Boris.

The 37-year-old Canseco played last season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
and New York Yankees. He was signed in the off-season by the Anaheim Angels
and was then released prior to the start of the season. The Angels cited
concerns with Canseco's back as to why they released him. Canseco denies
that there is anything wrong with his back and is playing the outfield with
Newark to prove he is healthy.

The Mets, who are second to last in nearly every major offensive category,
begin interleague play on June 8 against the Baltimore Orioles. Phillips
believes that Canseco would fill the designated hitter role when the Mets
play at American League parks and then be used as a pinch-hitter the rest
of the time.

New York is hitting only .245 with 49 homers and 215 RBI this season as a
team. The Mets have also scored only 224 runs through 57 games for only a
three run per game average. All four statistics place the Mets in 15th
place out of 16 teams in the National League.

Canseco has 446 career homers, but hasn't played the field on a regular
basis since 1998 when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.

==========
From the AP:
Angels release Hill
June 2, 2001

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Glenallen Hill, a disappointment as the Anaheim Angels'
designated hitter, was waived after batting just .136 with one home run and
two RBI in 16 games.

Hill, acquired from the New York Yankees on March 28, was on the disabled
list from April 21 to May 29 because of a strained muscle in his rib cage.

Hill, 36, went just 9-for-66, struck out 20 times and did not drew a walk
during his time with Anaheim.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia pinch-hit for Hill in the 12th inning of
Thursday night's 5-4 victory over Minnesota, with Scott Spiezio coming
through with a game-winning RBI single.

"Glen is struggling a bit. I wanted to give him every opportunity to hit
early on," Scioscia said. "The situation at the end set up nicely for
Spiezio. He puts a good at-bat in a tough situation."

Anaheim traded minor league outfielder Darren Blakely to the Yankees for
Hill after the Angels had released Jose Canseco.

To replace Hill on their roster, the Angels called up outfielder Jeff
DaVanon from Triple-A Salt Lake. DaVanon, 27, was hitting .335, with nine
homers and 40 RBI in 45 games at Salt Lake.