Deals Force DaVanon to Join the Reserves

Jeff DaVanon’s midseason power surge in 2003 was as fleeting as a tropical breeze.

The outfielder hit six home runs in three games in St. Petersburg, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, falling one shy of the major league record and prompting pitcher Jarrod Washburn to crack: “Did they check his bat for cork?”

But after hitting .344 with 10 homers in the first half, DaVanon hit only two homers in the second half and his average dipped to .233 in July, .257 in August and .222 in September.

DaVanon attributed his slide to pitchers laying off the inside fastballs and going with an increased number of breaking balls and fastballs away.

“I don’t have enough power to hit opposite-field home runs, so I think that was one of the major contributors to my power drop-off,” said DaVanon, who finished the season hitting a career-best .282 with 43 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases.

The hope this season, DaVanon said, is that he can hit enough opposite-field line drives to force pitchers to come back inside.

The task will be made more difficult by the Angels’ acquisition of outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen, which has relegated DaVanon to a reserve role. After playing in a career-high 123 games last season, DaVanon may have to sit four or five days between at-bats, making his bid for consistency excruciating, but Manager Mike Scioscia said he is confident DaVanon can make the adjustment.

“He’s shown the ability to sit for a couple of days if he has to and then get back and put on a good at-bat,” Scioscia said. “He came in and got a couple of big hits late in games for us pinch-hitting.”

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Washburn and Brendan Donnelly might have to extend their “three-foot pact,” which calls for them to stay at least three feet apart on the field after a near collision in March 2003 that led to a shoulder injury for Washburn.

Another mishap occurred between the pitchers Tuesday, when Washburn saw Chone Figgins’ fly ball headed for Donnelly during batting practice and yelled, “Heads up!” as Donnelly was picking up another ball in the outfield.

“It’s Washburn’s fault,” Donnelly joked. “I turned right into it and broke my nose.”

The good news for Donnelly, wearing a splint over his nose Wednesday after suffering 20 fractures that required surgery, was that the injury is not expected to hamper his preparations for the season. He is expected to pitch in a game within seven to 10 days.

“We’re a bad combo on the field,” Washburn said. “The only time we should be together on a field is if I hand him the ball toward the end of a game. That seems to work out all right.”

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Location was a problem for John Lackey in his second spring outing, as he gave up six hits and four runs in three innings in the Angels’ 7-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Bret Boone and Edgar Martinez had hits on fastballs over the plate that had been intended to run inside. Former Angel Eric Owens homered, though Lackey was unimpressed. “I could have hit that one,” Lackey said. “It was a 2-0 heater down the middle.” ... Scot Shields gave up one run and two hits in one inning in his spring debut but said he had fully recovered from the tendinitis in his arm that had kept him out for three days.... The Angels are delaying Bengie Molina’s return to monitor his problematic hamstrings, which caused the catcher to miss considerable playing time in 2001 and 2002. Molina is not expected to play for about another week.... Guillen might be an option in center field if Garret Anderson’s biceps tendinitis, which has sidelined him for all seven spring games, keeps him out longer than expected, Scioscia said.