Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know Jose will be on ESPN's Up Close, Friday
at 5:30 PM ET. The show will be rebroadcast at 2:30 AM ET on ESPN2:
http://espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/programs/upclose.html

Since I first mentioned USA Today's current Player of the Week poll to you,
Jose's lead has increased from 42% to almost 53%. Let's make sure he
wins. If you haven't voted yet, go vote now:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/quick/2001-08-06-pow.htm

Jose ended up going 1 for 12 against the Angels this week with 1 RBI, 2
walks, and 4 Ks, dropping his batting average 20 points from .311 to
.291. The Sox are headed to Seattle this weekend to face the best team in
the majors.

One of the articles below mentions an Angels fan holding up a "Canseco's
Revenge: Now playing in Anaheim" sign at Tuesday night's game. Ok, fess up
- who was it? I know it was one of you guys. Good job! For that story,
plus yet more negative comments from the Angels' Tim Salmon, see below...

-Mark

==========
From the Chicago Tribune:
Canseco remains puzzled
Still bitter over release by Angels
By Paul Sullivan
August 7, 2001

ANAHEIM - A couple of hours before playing the team that released him in
spring training, Jose Canseco asked a rhetorical question.

"If Barry Bonds doesn't hit a home run in 10 games [in spring training],
does he get released?" Canseco said.

Canseco still isn't over the hurt of last March when the Angels let him go
only a few months after signing him for the 2001 season.

Since signing for a pro-rated share of the major league minimum in late
June, Canseco has hit 10 home runs and driven in 24 runs in 35 games with
the White Sox, averaging one home run for every 12 at-bats.

The Angels have used 15 designated hitters this season, and none has worked
out. They've combined to hit .223 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs in 112
games.

"Jose was a little banged up at the time," Angels manager Mike Scioscia
said. "It was a decision we had to make because Glenallen Hill was
available. I don't think it was a mistake."

The injury-plagued Hill hit .141 in 26 games with one home run and two RBIs
before being released, ending his career.

Canseco said Angels general manager Bill Stoneman told him the reason he
was let go was because he didn't hit a home run in 39 at-bats during spring
training.

"It was tough to even acknowledge that statement," Canseco said. "How do
you react when he says you're released because you didn't hit a home run in
39 at-bats. I was in shock. ... I just sat there for a second. In my mind,
I was thinking, 'This is not happening. This is not real.' I still don't
understand how a guy with 450 home runs can be released like that. I
haven't gotten any answers or apologies."

No team picked Canseco up after the move by the Angels, fearing that he was
either injured or acting up. Canseco wasn't blackballed, but with so many
lingering doubts, he was forced to join the independent Class A Newark Bears.

"I thought, 'Is my career over because of these statements that were made
[by Stoneman]?'" he said. "It was completely unjust and unfair."

==========
From the AP:

...Sox designated hitter Jose Canseco, facing the Angels for the first time
since they released him in spring training was greeted with boos that grew
louder with each at-bat. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts and did not get
the ball out of the infield.

==========
From the Orange County Register:
Canseco still feels wronged
Angels notes: He thinks he has proved Anaheim should not have released him.
August 8, 2001
By BILL PLUNKETT

Jose Canseco finally made it to Edison Field. Why it took so long remains
an unsolved mystery to him.

"It's kind of like - unbelievable," said Canseco, the Chicago White Sox's
designated hitter Tuesday night against the Angels. "To be told in spring
training that I was going to be released after 39 at-bats is the most
unusual thing that has ever happened in my career. I was basically in shock.

"I still don't understand how someone can tell a power hitter with 450
career at-bats that you didn't hit a home run in 39 (spring exhibition)
at-bats so you're going to be released."

The small number of spring at-bats he had with the Angels bothers Canseco
now, just as they did for the Angels then. Concerned by the nagging
injuries to his hamstring, neck and back that kept that number down, the
Angels released Canseco on March 28, five days before opening day. It sent
the 23rd-leading home run hitter in baseball history on a summer-long odyssey.

Unable to find work in the majors (for which Canseco blamed the Angels,
saying their comments had labeled him as damaged goods), he signed with the
Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League where he hit .284 with
seven home runs, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 41 games.

The White Sox, deprived of a potent right-handed bat when Frank Thomas went
down with a season-ending injury, came calling and signed Canseco for the
major-league minimum of $200,000 on June 20.

"Obviously, what I went through ... was very stressful, thinking in the
back of my mind, 'Is my career over because of statements that were made?'"
Canseco, 37, said Tuesday.

But Canseco would admit to no extra motivation in playing against the
Angels for the first time since his release.

"I don't think I have to show them anything," he said. "Should I have to
show them anything?"

Since joining the White Sox, Canseco has shown that he still has some life
in his bat. He came into the series in Anaheim having hit .311 (38 for 122)
with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 35 games. By contrast, Angels designated
hitters hit a combined .223 average with seven homers and 46 RBIs in 112
games -numbers that have improved since Glenallen Hill (acquired from the
New York Yankees on the day Canseco was released) was released on June 1
and Angels manager Mike Scioscia went to a tag-team approach at DH.

"I didn't really keep track but people keep mentioning (the Angels' DH
statistics) to me," said Canseco, who went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts
Tuesday. "My agent told me, 'If you had those at-bats, you'd have 30
homers, 80-plus RBIs by now.'

"I don't want to get into that. That's their deal. I'm not part of the
Angels. I'm part of the White Sox."

The Angels' deal at the time of Canseco's release, Scioscia said, was that
they could get "better at-bats" from Hill at DH or a combination of players.

That has been a positive, he said, providing extra at-bats for Benji Gil
and Shawn Wooten, who have provided unexpected offensive production.

But Tuesday night it meant Orlando Palmeiro, hitless in his previous 15
at-bats, batting ninth as the DH while Canseco hit cleanup for the White Sox.

"We're happy for Jose. I'm happy for Jose," Scioscia said. "I know what
it's like when a guy goes back, someone with his credentials goes to an
independent league and tries to reestablish himself at the major-league level.

"He's certainly done that."

==========
From the Anaheim Press Enterprise:
INSIDE THE ANGELS
Release still stumps Canseco
BY ALIYA SAPERSTEIN

It has been more than four months, but Jose Canseco still sputters when he
recalls the way he was released by the Angels in spring training. Even a
solid performance in 35 games with the White Sox has not taken the bitter
edge from Canseco's voice.

He took no joy in playing his first game against the Angels on Tuesday
since returning to the major leagues, though he clearly has supporters
here. One sign in the stands read: "Canseco's Revenge: Now playing in Anaheim."

"I was completely bewildered. I was in shock. I didn't know what to say,"
Canseco said recalling his meeting with Angels manager Mike Scioscia and
general manager Bill Stoneman on March 28. " `Jose, you didn't hit a home
run in 39 at-bats, you're going to be released.' What does that mean,
anybody who doesn't hit a home run in 39 at-bats get released?

"I still don't understand it. I just haven't gotten any answers from them
at all, or any apologies. Somebody could have sat me down in an office and
told me something."

Scioscia simply wished Canseco well. He said the two talked on three
occasions back in March. And just as Canseco continued to insist the Angels
gave false reports of his health, potentially damaging his career, Scioscia
insisted the Angels did no such thing.

"At the time, he was a little banged up, but we knew he would have gotten
healthy," Scioscia said. "It wasn't a question of that. (Glenallen) Hill
was ready. We thought he was going to have the production (we needed)."

Since joining the White Sox June 21, Canseco has batted .311 with 10 home
runs and 24 RBI. In 41 games with the Newark Bears of the independent
Atlantic League, he hit .284 with seven home runs, 27 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

"I didn't expect any less of myself," Canseco said. "I never did."

But Canseco did not subscribe to the idea that this three-game series is
his chance to get revenge, as the fan's sign suggested, to show the Angels
they made a mistake.

"I don't have to show them anything," Canseco said. "Should I have to show
them something?"

Barely missed

For all the emotion Canseco brought into his Edison Field appearance, his
presence barely registered inside the Angels clubhouse.

"He wasn't with us a whole long time, it's not like seeing Chuck Finley or
something," said Angels right fielder Tim Salmon. "We came in one day and
he wasn't there. He was hurt a lot. It wasn't like he had really become
part of our offense yet or anything. . . . When it didn't pan out, it
wasn't that big an issue at the time."

==========
From CNN/SI:

...Findlay, OH: Do you expect Jose Canseco to continue hitting well?

Seth Livingstone: The more Canseco plays, the better he will hit. He's not
the kind of guy who can languish on the bench, then be expected to hit the
ball out of the park.

I think Canseco is one of the very interesting stories in the game. Can he
reach 500 home runs? He only needs 40-somthing more. And with or without
500, is Jose a future Hall of Famer. I think he is. Remember, he was
baseball's first 40/40 man (steals, homers) and certainly a dominant player
early in his career.

==========
From the Sporting News:
August 8th

...When the team signed DH Jose Canseco on June 20, they agreed to pay the
37-year-old slugger only the prorated major-league minimum salary
($200,000), and they kept their hopes to a minimum. Not only has Canseco
been well worth the paltry investment while exceeding all expectations, he
has forced the team to think seriously about bringing him back in 2002.

Over his first 36 games with the team, Canseco injected some much-needed
life into a lethargic offense by hitting 10 homers and supplying 24 RBIs.
While it certainly looks like Canseco has plenty of life left in his bat,
the team probably won't need him next year.

With regular DH Frank Thomas expected to come back strong after missing
most of the season with a torn right triceps, Canseco would have to play a
regular position. Considering the team considers him a full-time DH -- that
presents a serious problem.

The team might think about playing Thomas at first base, but that would
mean either moving, or trading, current first baseman Paul Konerko. On the
bright side for Canseco, his strong showing this year should make him
attractive to other teams. . . .