HOUSTON -- Chris Davis knows exactly why you're mad. You see the prodigious homers.

You see the .357 batting average. The 52 RBIs. The ridiculous 1.168 OPS. You see his age. His defense. His athleticism.

The All-Star Game voting totals came out this week, and the 27-year-old Longview, Texas, native is the leader at first base.

More votes than Detroit's Prince Fielder. More than Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels.

Chris Davis has been on an absolute tear for the Baltimore Orioles this season, causing Rangers fans to wonder why he was traded away. "There were times they could've given me a longer leash," Davis said. " But I wasn't ready." AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

And all you can do is bury your head in a pillow and scream like a banshee while wondering how in the hell general manager Jon Daniels traded the guy that the Texas Rangers took in the sixth round of the 2006 draft?

You can't figure out why the Rangers didn't give Davis more time to develop. Or why they didn't find a hitting coach to close the holes in his swing.

He's the guy who should be providing all the power in the middle of the Rangers' lineup without one-hundreth of Josh Hamilton's drama.

Why? Why? Why?

"There were times they could've given me a longer leash, but I had my share of opportunities," Davis said before Tuesday's game against the Houston Astros. "I'll be the first to tell you, I [expletive] the bed. I wasn't ready.

"When Smoaky [Justin Smoak] got traded in the Cliff Lee deal, they brought me back from Triple-A, but I wasn't at a good point to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I'm thankful JD [Daniels] traded me because they could've just held onto me. I know some fans are mad because of the way I've been playing, but there's no guarantee I'd be doing in Texas what I'm doing right now."

The Rangers didn't have time to wait for Davis. The Rangers, irrelevant for so many of their first 38 years in Arlington, were trying to win the World Series after coming so close in 2010.

And Davis couldn't find consistency with Mapquest.

In 2008-09, Davis hit 38 homers in 686 at-bats. He also struck out 238 times. Still, front-office officials had no problem discussing privately whether Hamilton or Davis would hit more homers prior to the 2009 season.