AMERICAN LEAGUE UPDATE: ERSTAD'S HIT ON ESTRADA REVERBERATES IN ATLANTA.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of - The Angels blew through Atlanta in the first-ever series between the two teams, winning two of three and leaving the Braves questioning the Angels' style of play. Namely, one Angel - Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). . The Angels weren't thrilled when the theme to M*A*S*H started playing over the Turner Field • • [ sound system when outfielder Jeff DaVanon Jeffrey Graham DaVanon (born December 8, 1973 in San Diego, California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the Oakland Athletics. DaVanon came up through the Oakland Athletics system before being traded to the Anaheim Angels as a minor-leaguer in 1999. broke his nose and was led off the field. But then, the Braves might have been a little sensitive about things considering what happened in the first game of the series. That's when Public Enemy No. 1 in Atlanta - Erstad - knocked Braves catcher Johnny Estrada Johnny Pulado Estrada III (born June 27, 1976 in Hayward, California), is a Major League Baseball player. Estrada, a right-handed thrower and switch hitter, plays catcher. Estrada was selected in the 17th round of the June 1997 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. halfway to Macon in a home-plate collision that essentially won the game for the Angels. The Angels, of course, thought it was a clean play. Most unbiased observers agreed. The Braves, not so surprisingly, questioned whether it was a clean play, whether Erstad could have slid instead of taking out Estrada. When Estrada finally returned to the ballpark, he got his say, speaking with a group of reporters. He seemed a little unclear about what he thought about the play, which is understandable because it was only a couple days following the blow that put him in the hospital with a concussion concussion Period of nervous-function impairment that results from relatively mild brain injury, often with no bleeding in the cerebral cortex. It causes brief unconsciousness, followed by mental confusion and physical difficulties. . Was it a clean play? ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ,'' Estrada said. ``I watched about 40 replays on TV. I don't have a problem with contact; this is my job and I expect it and prepare for it. But it just looked like he took a shot at my face when the plate was open, and I don't agree with that. ``I don't know Darin Erstad. I know he called my house and apologized and said he felt bad about it, and I don't doubt him. But the tapes don't lie ... ``I talked to some of the other players who said he felt genuinely bad. I think he's sincere about it. It's just an unfortunate situation. I don't think he meant to come at my face. I hope he didn't - that's not a good baseball play.'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia
Scioscia responded to claims by the Braves that Erstad should have slid by saying Erstad would have been out if he slid. Here's what Estrada said when asked what he thought Erstad should have done: ``From my understanding, if you give a person the part of the plate he should take it unless it's a bang-bang play and he doesn't have time to think about it. That was a bang-bang play. It just didn't look like he was trying to knock the ball loose; it looked like he tried to take my face off ... ``When I went to reach for the ball, the plate was exposed. And I didn't even make it up before he clocked me. He had to go out of his way to hit me. In his defense, you can't think that quick. He made up his mind when he said he was going for the ball.'' Erstad was in the lineup the next day despite a four-inch gash on his left shoulder from Estrada's mask. Erstad still has an ugly purple bruise that covers his entire upper arm. Although Erstad downplays the references to his football career - he was a punter and place-kicker at Nebraska - he was known as a fierce hitter in high school. And Nebraska coach Tom Osborne asked Erstad to play defensive back, but Erstad declined because it would have meant more time in the weight room and less time focusing on his best sport - baseball. Estrada was asked about the hit. ``I felt like I was in a car wreck. ... I don't even remember catching the ball,'' he said. ``I remember being on the ground squirming around and then I remember (trainer Jeff Porter) in my ear, talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to me. I seriously thought I broke my neck. ``When I was laying on the ground, I couldn't move my neck. They wanted to bring the stretcher stretcher /stretch·er/ (strech´er) a contrivance for carrying the sick or wounded. stretch·er n. out, but I said no. ... I'm very lucky. I could easily have broken a bone in my neck. The feeling that set in when they strapped me on the board and put the neck brace on me - my wife was there and saw that and started crying. That wasn't a good feeling.'' --Torre erupts: The New York Post's headline declared ``Joe Blow,'' referring to Yankees manager Joe Torre's tirade after his team looked bad in an 8-1 loss to St. Louis on Friday. Torre took the blame for the team giving what some said was less than full effort. ``It's not the pitching coach's fault, it's not the hitting coach's fault,'' Torre said. ``It's my fault. My job is to motivate and get the guys ready to play. ... It was an embarrassing, embarrassing game.'' After hearing Torre's comments, third-base coach Luis Sojo The Atlanta Journal Constitution contributed to this report. Joe Haakenson, (626) 962-8811 joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com |
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