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Tuesday, December 13, 2005 |
Some Methadone For Maya
It's taken a few days -- maybe the methadone has finally taken affect -- but Maya's finally come to grips with her Jeff DaVanon addiction:
Unfortunately, Jeff didn't really make a strong case for the whole "if he started on another team he'd do really well" argument this year. One that I, truth be told, still secretly believe in. But this belief is like a thirteen year old believing in Santa Clause, you can think it to yourself in the magical and secure darkness of your barbie-lined, frilly, canopied bedroom, but you simply mustn't declare your belief in public. Certainly not in front of boys. Never in front of boys. They won't understand and will mock you. OK? Sometimes I mock myself for believing it. I'm a very self-loathing fangirl.I've poked fun at Maya in the past for the altogether typically female affection for a good bench player (Angels fans with a long memory may recall the Benji Gil shrine that now seems to be offline), but at least she's honest about it. I can kid her, but at the same time, I have a David Eckstein t-shirt....
He just didn't have a good year, and he really needed to have a good year. The Angels needed to make some room on the roster, and Jeff and Josh weren't going to be part of any trades (although there were whispers that JP would be off to Tampa Bay). They were expendable, solid players, both with maybe one or two really good years ahead of them if the stars were aligned, but probably with their best years already behind them. There was also every chance that both of them would clear waivers and could be invited to spring training, but if they didn't, no great catastrophe. Jeff has officially lost his job (what job he had) to Juan, and Josh's days were always going to be limited once B.Mo's reign had come and gone.
Comments:
She writes well, too. More interesting than a VORP analysis, if you ask me.
# posted by 
: 12/13/2005 08:38:00 AM
: 12/13/2005 08:38:00 AM
From the archives (4/28/03):
The Two Jeffs
Pedro Martinez was one strike away from striking out the side. Nobody on, two outs, and with a 1-2 count on Jeff Davanon in the bottom of the second inning in yesterday's (April 27, 2003) Boston @ Anaheim game. Davanon walloped a home run twelve rows deep into the rightfield pavilion. As Davanon circles the bases the Red Sox fan behind me proclaimed that this was Davonon's immaculate conception first major league home run.
"There you go again!" I thought of Red Sox fans as Davanon shared high-fives at the plate. I recalled watching a late September 1990 Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox game on videotape while in Nepal. The two teams were tied for first place in the A.L. East. Jeff Stone hit a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the last and the Boston announcer sang high hosannas that this was an omen that the Red Sox would end the "Curse of the Bambino" and go on to win their first World Series since 1917. The announcer proclaimed that this was Stone's major league debut.
Not so fast. 1990 was actually Stone's 8th partial season in the major leagues. Stone had batted .200 (3-for-15) for the 1989 Red Sox. Stone's best season was 1984 with the Philadelphia Phillies (.362 BA with 1 HR, 15 RBI, and 27 SB). The announcer shortly thereafter corrected his error.
Say it ain't so, Stats. I turned around and told the Boston fan that Jeff Davanon was not a rookie. I said that in 2001 Davanon had hit .185 with 5 home runs and 9 rbi (he actually batted .193 that year). On October 1st, 1999 Davanon hit a walk-off home run off of Texas Ranger pitcher Mike Morgan to win a game for the Angels. That was his first major league home run. I was at that game.
Davanon now has 8 major league home runs. I have seen 4 of those home runs. That was why I was so quick to correct this Bosox fan. That 1990 game winning hit for Jeff Stone capped a .500 (1-for-2) season for Stone. It was also his last major league hit. Hopefully, the future is brighter for Jeff Davanon.
I have seen 4 of the 8 home runs Davannon has hit. The nearest to that mark that I had previously seen was 3 of the first 10 home runs Steve Brye of the Minnesota Twins hit in 1971 and 1974. Brye would finish with 30 career home runs.
Davanon's home run was the first run I had seen Pedro Martinez give up. In 2002 I twice saw Martinez pitch 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball to record wins against the Angels and the Padres. Pedro added one more inning to that to run his total to 17 scoreless innings before Davanon dialed long distance. In 2001-2002 San Diego's Brian Lawrence put together a 23 inning scoreless streak over 3 games (Arizona 8 innings no decision, 9 innings Arizona shutout, and 6 innings NY Yankees no decision). That is the best scoreless streak I have seen a pitcher start with.
12/13/05 postscript: I saw 10 of the 28 home runs Jeff Davanon hit as an Angel. I believe Davanon holds the major league record for most career home runs hit at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Jeff hit 4 home runs at Hiram Bithorn against the Montreal Expos. Jeff hit 2 homers in both the 6/3/2003 and 6/4/2003 games.
Yetijuice
The Two Jeffs
Pedro Martinez was one strike away from striking out the side. Nobody on, two outs, and with a 1-2 count on Jeff Davanon in the bottom of the second inning in yesterday's (April 27, 2003) Boston @ Anaheim game. Davanon walloped a home run twelve rows deep into the rightfield pavilion. As Davanon circles the bases the Red Sox fan behind me proclaimed that this was Davonon's immaculate conception first major league home run.
"There you go again!" I thought of Red Sox fans as Davanon shared high-fives at the plate. I recalled watching a late September 1990 Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox game on videotape while in Nepal. The two teams were tied for first place in the A.L. East. Jeff Stone hit a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the last and the Boston announcer sang high hosannas that this was an omen that the Red Sox would end the "Curse of the Bambino" and go on to win their first World Series since 1917. The announcer proclaimed that this was Stone's major league debut.
Not so fast. 1990 was actually Stone's 8th partial season in the major leagues. Stone had batted .200 (3-for-15) for the 1989 Red Sox. Stone's best season was 1984 with the Philadelphia Phillies (.362 BA with 1 HR, 15 RBI, and 27 SB). The announcer shortly thereafter corrected his error.
Say it ain't so, Stats. I turned around and told the Boston fan that Jeff Davanon was not a rookie. I said that in 2001 Davanon had hit .185 with 5 home runs and 9 rbi (he actually batted .193 that year). On October 1st, 1999 Davanon hit a walk-off home run off of Texas Ranger pitcher Mike Morgan to win a game for the Angels. That was his first major league home run. I was at that game.
Davanon now has 8 major league home runs. I have seen 4 of those home runs. That was why I was so quick to correct this Bosox fan. That 1990 game winning hit for Jeff Stone capped a .500 (1-for-2) season for Stone. It was also his last major league hit. Hopefully, the future is brighter for Jeff Davanon.
I have seen 4 of the 8 home runs Davannon has hit. The nearest to that mark that I had previously seen was 3 of the first 10 home runs Steve Brye of the Minnesota Twins hit in 1971 and 1974. Brye would finish with 30 career home runs.
Davanon's home run was the first run I had seen Pedro Martinez give up. In 2002 I twice saw Martinez pitch 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball to record wins against the Angels and the Padres. Pedro added one more inning to that to run his total to 17 scoreless innings before Davanon dialed long distance. In 2001-2002 San Diego's Brian Lawrence put together a 23 inning scoreless streak over 3 games (Arizona 8 innings no decision, 9 innings Arizona shutout, and 6 innings NY Yankees no decision). That is the best scoreless streak I have seen a pitcher start with.
12/13/05 postscript: I saw 10 of the 28 home runs Jeff Davanon hit as an Angel. I believe Davanon holds the major league record for most career home runs hit at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Jeff hit 4 home runs at Hiram Bithorn against the Montreal Expos. Jeff hit 2 homers in both the 6/3/2003 and 6/4/2003 games.
Yetijuice
# posted by : 12/13/2005 09:15:00 AM
: 12/13/2005 09:15:00 AM
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