Monday, April 24, 2006

Casey Kotchman, Ryan Shealy, Jason Giambi

Despite Casey Kotchman’s frigid start to the season (.155/.210/.172), he is not in danger of losing his job.

As no one in the AL West is putting pressure on anyone else by winning consistently, the Angels have the time to wait on Kotchman’s bat to come around. I believe it will because he has made tremendous contact as a minor leaguer and his contact rates are not alarmingly bad as a major leaguer either.

However, a couple more weeks of sub-.200 AVG and the Angels would be remiss in not doing something.

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Jason Giambi hit two more HRs yesterday and hit an opposite filed double to the base of the left field wall. His bat is clearly back to the pre-2004 levels and if he can hit against the shift, he will be a superstar again.

Right now, though, he is a 30+ HR lock, and everyone who grabbed him last season at his nadir is sitting pretty.

***
No news today on how Ryan Shealy’s recovery from elbow pain he suffered on March 2nd with the exception of a blurb in today’s Denver Post reporting that he is still in extended spring training rehabbing it.

To me, it sounds as if the reporter did not have the time to check beyond what had previously been reported.

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