J to the J-O

At Team Batgirl, we call them like we see them. Or rather, we call them like (a) we would like to see them, or (b) we are able to make it appear as if we see them by using Photoshop. Nonetheless, in the interest of fairness, we must sometimes make a painful call against a player that we like very much. And tonight that player is Jacque Dewayne Jones. This game---a real nail-biter---was a perfect example of why it's so important to actually be able to see the games. Fortunately, two Team Batgirl members/operatives---whose names the White House has been threatening to release to the media all week---were strategically located at the luxurious Batquarters inside the giant Kemps milk carton in right-field, behind the expiration date. They were thus in a perfect position to see the game slip out of our greedy little fingers. With the Angels hitting with two outs in the top of the ninth, runners on first and third, the game scoreless, and Angels uber-closer Troy "Parsifal" Percival warming up in the bullpen, Gardy brought out left-hander Aaron Fultz to pitch to Chone Figgins. Fultz coaxed Figgins to hit something between a pop-up and a Texas-leaguer to right, on which Jacque initially appeared to have a bead. One could, however, sense Jacque's uncertainty: should he lay out for it (and risk another run scoring) or should he play it off the bounce. At the last minute, Jacque chose the latter, and a run---the only run of the game---crossed the plate. Was this the safe call? Absolutely. Was it the smart call? Absolutely not. While Jacque may have only had a fair chance of catching that ball had he laid out for it, our chances of getting a run off of Percival in the bottom of the ninth were considerably worse, as Jacque himself showed with a flailing Luke-with-the-blast-shield-down strikeout to end the game. Now, don't get us wrong---we're big fans of J-Jo. In fact, we're going to miss him like crazy in a couple months when he's traded to Texas for two prospects and a bag of Big League Chew. But for today, he's Goober's Goat of the Day.

Posted by Batgirl at May 1, 2004 10:35 PM