Watching Jeff DaVanon

Raul Mondesi, aka the bane of my existence, was released from his contract with the Angels according to reports published this weekend. He took 2 leaves of absence recently to deal with the ongoing "family" issues in the D.R.. One leave was authorized, and one was not. He was supposed to be doing rehab in Orange in the hopes of again becoming a productive player or at least an asset of some variety. He ultimately played with the team for about a week. Although he did make appearances in the dugout when the A-team battled the D-team in the freeway series-- one can only assume he did that in the hopes of reminding his former team of his existence, since anyone with eyes could see that his days with the Angels were going to be anything but long and storied.

Rumour has it that Jeff will come off the DL as scheduled, and without having a rehab assignment.

There were games and stuff this weekend, right? We need to play better than *that* at home against Seattle. Come on! It was gratifying to see Quinlan get some respect and do so well. I think he's the best 3rd base replacement we've had, and I'd like to see Figgins put in at SS or 2nd. If nothing else Q is a massive improvement over Halter as a utility infielder. They should have put him on the roster ages ago.

Say what you will about his playing, there is a reason that Spezio retains a special place in the hearts and minds of Angels fans. He signed and chatted with fans before every game, was kind to absolutely everyone, showed good humor both with the fans and in interviews. No one that has joined the team in the past year really has that same way about them that Scott and Ecks and even Kennedy have. Instead we have Jose "Oh is it photo-op day?" Guillen. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have Guillen. But I can still mourn the loss of Scott.