Hey Canseco fans...

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about some photos I picked up at the
Newark Bears game I went to. I'm finally ready to sell them! The photos
measure approximately 10"x13" and show Jose and Ozzie on the front in their
Bears uniforms and have the Bears schedule on the back. If you'd like to
order one, go to http://www.canseconet.com/forsale.htm. First come, first
served.

In other news, I just found out I'm going to be working in Brooklyn for the
next month and a half or so (maybe longer), so there's a decent chance I
will get to a few more Bears games.

No team has picked Jose up yet, and I haven't even heard any recent rumors
about anyone being interested. Through 40 games, Jose is batting .282 with
7 homers, 27 RBIs, and 10 SB. The latest news is below...

-Mark

==========
From the NJ Record:
Canseco rips fifth homer
Friday, June 8, 2001

Jose Canseco had two hits, including his fifth home run of the season, as
the Newark Bears beat the Somerset Patriots, 4-3, Thursday in Bridgewater.

Canseco has reached base 10 consecutive times in the Atlantic League with
two home runs, two singles, and six walks.

Second baseman Steve Hine drove in two runs for the Bears.

Newark starter Jaime Navarro improved to 5-1. He allowed three hits in 8
1/3 innings, striking out three. Navarro held the Patriots scoreless until
the bottom of the ninth when Michael Warner nailed a three-run home run.

==========
From the Contra Costa Times:

Jose Canseco update: Through 32 games with the Newark Bears, Canseco is
hitting .320 with six home runs, nine stolen bases, no errors and, as best
can be determined, no traffic tickets.

==========
From the LA Times:
(Letter to the Editor)
Are Angels Better Off With Canseco in Jersey?

Give me a break! Jose Canseco's "minor stint in Newark hasn't stirred any
big-time interest" [May 31].

And you think the Angels are stirring any big-time interest? Giving Canseco
a chance might have helped. They didn't really try.

Judy Gunderson
Buena Park

==========
From the AP:
Canseco brothers hope to get out of Newark
By Seth Livingstone, Baseball Weekly

NEWARK, N.J. - The big time isn't that far away.

In the fading daylight, the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center
loom beyond Riverfront Stadium's center field fence as the Newark Bears of
the independent Atlantic League conclude pregame drills.

Jose Canseco, the league's marquee attraction, warms up by tossing with
twin brother, Ozzie. He runs sprints on the outfield grass, then signs
about 30 autographs along the right field line.

Simultaneously, the world's most famous groundskeeper, George Toma - the
"Doctor of Dirt" as team owner Rick Cerone calls him - wets down the
infield and puts fresh bases in place. Adding to the tapestry, the voice of
venerable Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard makes the player introductions.

For Cerone, the former Yankees catcher who grew up in Newark, this
year-old, 6,200-seat stadium nestled between the commuter rail to New York
and the Passaic River, just off the New Jersey Turnpike, is truly a field
of dreams.

"This is my home," Cerone says as he sits on a stool in his office
overlooking the corner of Broad and Division streets. "This stadium has
already achieved what it set out to do. This area was an eyesore of
dilapidated buildings and empty parking lots. Now, it's a jewel in the
middle of a city that's struggled for 30 years to overcome its image."

Jose Canseco has his own image to overcome - that of an injury-prone
slugger past his prime.

"Having a chance at 500 home runs is a big deal for me," says Canseco, who
tucks away his cell phone and takes a seat in the dugout. "I've been in
professional baseball so long. Even though I've had quite a few injuries,
I'm real close to 500 home runs."

Canseco, who homered 15 times in 98 games last year for the Devil Rays and
Yankees, is stuck on 446. He was released out of spring training by the
Angels after hitting .231.

But Canseco, 36, knows there are no guarantees - not even for baseball's
first 40-homer/40-steals man, a former AL Rookie of the Year and league
MVP. He saw what happened - or didn't happen - with his brother, despite
the exceptional numbers Ozzie Canseco posted for Newark last year.

"It's frustrating," Jose says. "He hits .300 (.299), 48 homers, 130 (129)
RBI, a .644 slugging percentage and he didn't get a call. It's a shame that
no one has even given him a look."

What makes Jose Canseco think playing in Newark gives him more of an
opportunity?

"I don't," he says. "I don't think anything. I'm just going to play
outfield every day. If I have to play the whole year, it'll be the whole
year and we'll see what happens."

His brother is hoping for another chance.

"Life is not fair," concludes Ozzie Canseco.

"There are a lot of cruel people out there who don't want to see certain
people fulfill their dreams, no matter how hard they've worked. The last
time I had the opportunity to play in the big leagues was 1993 (St. Louis)
and I led the club in homers and RBI in spring training and was demoted to
Triple-A. You figure it out.

"I wish I knew why a team like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays doesn't bring the
Canseco brothers in and pay us the major league minimum? Pennies on the
dollar for two bona fide power hitters. We're a natural draw."

Through 28 games, however, Jose Canseco was hitting .287 with four homers
and 23 strikeouts, Ozzie Canseco .191 with 26 strikeouts.

And although the Bears drew 6,601 for their home opener, the spotlight has
not translated into ticket sales in Newark. Blue Jays special assistant Jim
Fanning was the only person in the first six rows of box seats behind home
plate for a recent game at which the announced attendance was 2,896.

==========
From the Bears' Official Site:
Newark Beats Nashua 11-4
Bears extend North Division Lead

Newark, NJ - Friday, June 15, 2001 - The First Place Newark Bears' bats
awoke from their recent hibernation last night to give the newest Bear,
Fausto Macey (1-0) his first win of the season as they defeated the Nashua
Pride 11-4.

...Highlighting the Bears 11 run effort was a three run homerun by
leftfielder Eduardo Reyes, his first of the season, and a solo shot by Jose
Canseco, his seventh of the season, over the centerfield wall. Alonzo
Powell was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI....