ANAHEIM _ Casey Kotchman won’t get many more chances to make a second impression.
The ex-Angels first-round draft pick is trying to adjust to what appears to be a downward career slide from can’t-miss prospect to everyday player to seldom-used reserve.
Getting a chance to win the World Series could be the silver lining in a disappointing season. So would getting a key hit or two against his former team in the playoffs, but Kotchman said he’s not overly caught up on this week’s opponent.
“I really didn’t give it a whole lot of thought. Just being in the post-season is exciting,” Kotchman said.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona told him when he arrived that he would be a reserve, Kotchman said, and alerts him the day before he’s going to start.
“That way you don’t get caught off-guard,” he said.
You would think the July 31 trade that sent Kotchman from Atlanta to Boston _ in exchange for Adam LaRoche _ must have caught him a bit unawares. The Red Sox already had Kevin Youkilis to play first and were in the process of acquiring Victor Martinez, who would eat up most of the innings there that Youkilis didn’t.
Youkilis and Martinez are two of the Red Sox’s key run producers. The knock on Kotchman has always been a lack of power.
Kotchman has become the 2009 version of Doug Mientkiewicz, a late-inning defensive replacement.
He hasn’t responded well to the role thus far. Kotchman’s at-bats were cut in half going from July to August and he batted .216. He hit .214 in September.
This week, Kotchman makes his first trip to Angel Stadium since the team traded him along with a minor-league pitcher for slugger Mark Teixeira a year ago. His father, Tom, manages in the Angels’ minor-league system, so this has to be a strange series for the Kotchman family.
“It’s different on the other side. It changes things,” Kotchman said.
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Archive for the 'Casey Kotchman' Category
Remember Casey Kotchman?
October 7th, 2009, 8:20 pm by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COMCasey Kotchman traded to Red Sox for Adam LaRoche
July 31st, 2009, 12:35 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writerYahoo! Sports’ Gordon Edes reports the Atlanta 
Braves have traded ex-Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman to the Boston Red Sox for ex-Braves/Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche.
According to the Boston Globe, the Red Sox sent $1 million in cash to the Braves as part of the deal.
There is a considerable difference in the two salaries. Kotchman, who is arbitration-eligible, makes $2.885 million; LaRoche, eligible for free agency after this season, makes $7.05 million — thus the cash involved in the transaction.
LaRoche was traded from Pittsburgh to Boston on July 22. It is the second year in a row Kotchman has been moved at the trade deadline; the Angels sent him to the Braves for Mark Teixeira in 2008.
The Red Sox are in the process of obtaining All-Star catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for right-hander Justin Masterson, Class-A left-hander Nick Hagadone (a 2007 first-rounder) and right-hander Bryan Price.
The blow-by-blow account of these deals is at boston.com.
Saturday is Victor Martinez Bobblehead Day in Cleveland.
It figures.
Other deadline-beating trades Friday:
– The Minnesota Twins acquired former Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics for Class-A shortstop Tyler Ladendorf, a Twins second-round pick in 2008.
–The Detroit Tigers obtained former Angels left-hander Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners for two left-handers, Luke French and Mauricio Robles.
Previewing the draft
June 8th, 2009, 9:13 am by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COMWith the MLB draft just 24 hours away, we’ll have more coverage on the Angels’ plans later in the day.
But it’s worth noting that the Angels’ windfall of high picks this year — five in the first 48 — doesn’t automatically mean they’ll restock the 
cupboard of diminishing organizational talent. Frankly, the club has not been particularly effective drafting and developing position players, especially guys with power. Its success with pitchers is impossible to argue. All you have to do is look at their major-league roster: Saunders, Lackey, Santana, Weaver, Arredondo, Shields.
Between 1986 and 2004, at least one of the Angels’ first round picks would eventually reach the major leagues. Only in 1996 would their top pick (Chuck Abbott) not make it.
The last position player the Angels took in the first round who made the majors and stuck there was Casey Kotchman (right) in 2001. Before that, it was Troy Glaus in 1997.
K-Rod finding greener grass in NY, with a few weeds
May 21st, 2009, 12:44 pm by Al Balderas, staff writerSome Angels’ fans thought their favorite team was making a big mistake by not re-signing closer Francisco Rodriguez to the mega-deal he wanted.
Others figured that out-of-control delivery of his would lead to arm trouble and an eventual bust. Those in that group didn’t seem to mind seeing him walk away.
Interested in knowing how he’s doing with his new team? Read the rest of this entry »
Garret Anderson swings into his Brave new world
March 6th, 2009, 6:38 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Garret Anderson went 0 for 2 in his spring debut for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
He flew out and popped out in an 
exhibition game against Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic team, and then lifted weights.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Carroll Rogers reports Anderson’s new teammates noticed his professionalism, and one old/new teammate, Casey Kotchman, spoke of knowing GA since Kotchman was 10 years old.
Anderson, 36, looks pretty good in an Atlanta uniform, too.
It’s really weird seeing him in anything other than the various Angels uniforms he wore, from California to Anaheim to Los Angeles of Anaheim.
But I think the real fans in Atlanta will figure him out quickly and like what they see, and the ones who are like those who never warmed to him here, they never will in Georgia, either.
Other baseball posts:
The Anaheim connection in Atlanta
February 22nd, 2009, 2:52 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Just Change the uniforms to Atlanta Braves livery, and the people in Tomahawk Chop land will be seeing a lot of this from Casey Kotchman and Garret Anderson during the 2009 season.
I will miss them, but thanks to the magic of DirecTV, I can see them play almost every day.
And that Braves rotation just added two winners in Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez. Bobby Cox might never retire.
Angels math: Still computing
December 24th, 2008, 8:55 am by Earl Bloom, staff writerWe’ve seen how Yankees math works.
How about the Angels? So far they’ve shed a lot of payroll, but they will have to pay a healthy arbitration bill 
in the spring.
A new and well-deserved contract for John Lackey (pictured) is on the horizon, and sometime next year the Angels have to make a long-term decision about Vladimir Guerrero.
This doesn’t take into account any raises due in multiyear contracts. But right off the top, here’s what they’ve deducted from 2008:
Garret Anderson $12.6 million
Jon Garland $12 million
Frankie Rodriguez $10 million
First basemen about $5 million (see below)
TOTAL about $39.6 million
They paid about a third of Mark Teixeira’s $12.5 million, and two-thirds of Casey Kotchman’s $1.45 million. And the Angels paid Anderson a $3 million buyout instead of $14 million due in 2009.
Not too much has been added in salaries for 2009 — yet.
Juan Rivera, who made $2.025 million in 2008, will get $3.25 million in 2009 as part of the three-year, $12.75 million free-agent deal he signed last week.
Darren Oliver, who made $2 million in 2008, accepted the Angels’ offer of salary arbitration and ended his free agency. The left-hander figures to more than double his pay.
Ervin Santana, Chone Figgins, Mike Napoli, Maicer Izturis and Robb Quinlan are also eligible for arbitration.
Santana, who made $420,000 in 2008, will get a huge bump, as will Napoli ($425,000).
There is likely a free-agent signing upcoming, with a lot of talk about closer Brian Fuentes.
But I love columnist Mark Whicker’s subtle hints about Mark Kotsay, a lefty hitter who can still play center field and proved in the playoffs he can play first base, too — just in case the Angels need Kendry Morales insurance.
Related posts:
Living in a post-Teixeira world
December 22nd, 2008, 9:38 am by Earl Bloom, staff writerThere is a lot of youth on the Angels’ 40-man roster, which currently has 39 names. A nice chunk of that 
youth now figures to open the season in Anaheim.
Thankfully for the Angels at least, the season doesn’t open tomorrow — it’s too cold to play night games anyway, and outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Matthews Jr. are coming off surgeries.
Plenty of names are still in play via free agency or trades, and the Angels will likely still make a move or two before reporting to Tempe.
But until another first baseman surfaces, Kendry Morales (at right) is it. He has been the Angels’ fallback position there since the day of the Mark Teixeira acquisition from the Braves. It is pointless for Morales, now tearing up the Dominican winter league, to spend another minute in Triple-A.
The expectation here is, barring a poor spring, Brandon Wood will be across the diamond from Morales at third base. It’s past time for the Angels to run him out there for 150 major-league games and see what they really have. It took the Phillies two full years to figure out Mike Schmidt.
Wood at third would move Chone Figgins to left field. Garret Anderson is a free agent and like Teixeira a Scott Boras client. Juan Rivera, re-signed last week for three years, $12.75 million, figures to be in a right field/DH rotation with Guerrero for the outset. Matthews, who will probably miss the beginning of spring training after knee surgery, figures to get a shot to recapture a fulltime job so Rivera will eventually be shifted to left — making Figgins a supersub again.
Reggie Willits is still around. Maybe Terry Evans gets into the mix at the corner outfield spots.
Torii Hunter is solid in center field. At $17 million, he’s also in the heart of the order for now.
Up the middle defensively, the Angels have the usual cast: Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis catching, Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis at shortstop, Howie Kendrick at second, and Sean Rodriguez pushing for time at either middle infield spot.
Here’s a first-guess look at the lineup, using only personnel on hand: Figgins, LF; Kendrick 2B; Guerrero, RF/DH; Hunter, CF; Morales, 1B; Rivera, DH/RF; Napoli, C; Wood, 3B; Aybar, SS.
Starting pitchers John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver (below right) 
are the crown jewels of the franchise.
There is a 14-victory hole at the back of the rotation with Jon Garland a free agent unlikely to return. Kelvim Escobar is expected back by summer but the expectation is he goes to the bullpen. Worst-case scenario: Dustin Moseley and a slew of Angels prospects compete for the No. 5 spot.
The bullpen is missing its 62-save closer, Francisco Rodriguez. The cast that set him up returns intact, however, with Scot Shields or Jose Arredondo expected to be promoted to closer barring an outside hire. Valuable left-hander Darren Oliver returns after a brief free-agent foray, and the Angels hope Justin Speier can rebound from a tough season. There is organizational depth here, too.
So what we have here is a 100-victory team missing some key components: Rodriguez, Teixeira/Casey Kotchman at first, Anderson in left or DH, Garland in the rotation. It’s shy on left-handed power, and there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Related posts:
CC, si; but losing Teixeira would leave Angels offense in limbo
November 25th, 2008, 8:26 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer
So it’s come to this: Apparently all the Angels have to do to land one of the top free agents available is outbid the San Francisco Giants for West Coast-leaning CC Sabathia.
If successful, the Angels would make a change at the top of their rotation instead of at the back, where Jon Garland is leaving for the open market.
But a pricey Sabathia deal with the Angels — he’s already been offered $140 million for six years by the Yankees — won’t do anything to address the club’s holes at first base and in left field.
The players who finished 2008 in those spots, Mark Teixeira and Garret Anderson, are both represented by Scott Boras. And Teixeira, a la Carlos Beltran, is reportedly seeking a 10-year deal that has given the Angels pause. Sure, Beltran didn’t get a 10-year deal with the Mets, and Teixeira — who’s at the top of the Red Sox lists — might not, either.
But the Angels apparently do not intend to wait to find out, which is prudent given the talent available on the open market. They have an in-house option at first base in Kendry Morales, who can also play in the outfield. And there are a number of attractive albeit expensive LF options on the open market in Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Milton Bradley, etc.
Seriously though doesn’t all this make one miss Casey Kotchman all the more?
Kotchman back with Braves
September 4th, 2008, 10:29 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COMFormer Angel Casey Kotchman has rejoined the Atlanta Braves after missing two weeks to be with his ailing mother in Florida.
Kotchman talked with Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the situation.
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