Kotchman not feeling pressured

03/13/2006
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Casey Kotchman doesn't have to play Lou Gehrig to Darin Erstad's Wally Pipp this season, but underlying expectations are there nonetheless.
It would also prove difficult to equal the historical significance of Gehrig's ascent all those years ago; after all, Erstad has been the Angels' regular first baseman for a grand total of three seasons, the last two years and also in 1997, his second as a pro. And yet, Kotchman is replacing a player who won a Gold Glove at first base and established an excellence, if not an attitude, at the position.
The hopeful eyes of an organization are on Kotchman this spring, an organization that needs him to flash the offensive skills that will earn him a spot on the Angels' Opening Day roster and push the veteran Erstad into center field.
"I don't feel any extra pressure," Kotchman said.
That claim reflects Kotchman's laconic demeanor, but it also illutrates the buffer that will exist between Kotchman and the expectations that are often placed on a fresh bat in the lineup.
In short, the Angels wil allow Kotchman to feel his way through his first full big-league season.
"We don't need Casey to do anything beyond what he is capable of doing," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We have plenty of guys that will be expected to carry the load."
Shouldering the offensive burden for the Angels in 2006 will be the usual suspects, with a slight tweak here and there.
Vladimir Guerrero returns to anchor the lineup with Garret Anderson also in the middle of the order. Chone Figgins will lead off with Orlando Cabrera batting second, Erstad sixth or seventh and Adam Kennedy in the nine hole.
Kotchman joins a familiar group that includes Dallas McPherson and Juan Rivera as candidates to inject some life into an offense that grew stale during stretches last season. But, while the Angels would like to see some power numbers out of McPherson and Rivera, they want Kotchman to just swing the bat.
That has never been a problem for Kotchman, the Angels' 13th overall pick in 2001 -- a year he hit .456 at Seminole High School in Florida and earned top high school player honors from Baseball America. He proceeded to go 5-for-5 in his first pro game and finished that season 20-for-37 in 11 games in rookie ball.
Kotchman suffered a wrist injury that year, a back injury in 2002 and then a hamstring tear in 2003 before finally appearing with the Angels for the first time in the 2004 season. He went on to set a new franchise mark for opening a big-league career with a streak of 48 consecutive plate appearances without striking out.
Despite having the hottest bat in camp last spring, Kotchman opened the season at Triple-A Salt Lake instead of with the Angels. His first stint with the big club then went poorly when he went hitless in 10 at-bats, which followed an uncharacteristically poor yet understandable slump in the Minors.
There were no struggles, though, when he returned to the Angels in August of last season. In 40 games, Kotchman hit .302 with seven homers and 22 RBIs. He started 22 games, some at DH, and did not commit an error in 20 appearances at first base.
The batting average was not a surprise, but the sudden power surge opened some eyes and quickened the pulse of those running the bench as well as the front office.
"He came on very strong for us in the second half of last season," general manager Bill Stoneman said. "We weren't expecting the power numbers, but we'll take it."
Kotchman hit as many as eight homers in 57 games at Rancho Cucamonga in 2003, but this spring he eased past the question about his burgeoning home run stroke as deftly as slicing a base hit to the opposite field.
"I didn't change anything," Kotchman said. "I guess I got a little more lift in my swing."
Guerrero and Anderson will be expected to provide the heavy lifting in the Angels' lineup, while the players who make up the rest of the order will simply be asked to play to their respective strengths.
For Kotchman, that translates into hitting the ball where it is pitched and not trying to overpower it. Anything more would be asking too much.
"It would be unfair to say Casey has to hit 25 [homers] and drive in 85 runs," Anderson said. "That's unfair because he hasn't done it up here. So you just have to take what you can get from certain guys at certain positions because he doesn't have a history. And I'm not just picking on him; he's just the first person that came to mind. He doesn't have a lot of at-bats and hasn't played every day up here all year, so you can't put too much on him at all."
The A's are the trendy pick by some to win the AL West, a forecast that says as much about the Angels not adding a significant bat as it does about any appreciable improvements within the division.
But in failing to find the right deal in the offseason, the Angels have handed the at-bats to players like Kotchman, who now has the opportunity to put his mark on the ballclub and create separation from those who came before him.
"I can't change anything, and I can't control anything," Kotchman said. "All I can do is take the field every day and play."
And that is all anyone needs to hear.

Source: http://anaheim.angels.mlb.com/