10/14/05
No. You haven’t seen this man. Not in over a week. Yet he may be the biggest reason the Angels are down 2-1 to the Chicago White Sox
He’s not Doug Eddings. He’s not Josh Paul. He’s Casey Kotchman.
Angel fans, readers of Baseball America, and those who have the distinct pleasure of watching a baseball game with me know who Kotchman is. If you don’t fall into one of those groups, the name may be new to you. Casey Kotchman may very well be the second best hitter on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Now you may be saying, wait, if he’s the second best hitter on the team, why haven’t I seen him in the entire playoffs? That’s a good question, and one that someone should probably ask Mike Scioscia.
Look at Kotchman’s numbers this season, compared to those who are in the lineup instead. (VORP is a cumulative stat by the guys at Baseball Prospectus. It measures players factoring position, park effect, and a bunch of things I just don't have the equipment to do).
| PA | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | VORP | |
| C. Kotchman | 143 | 7 | 22 | .278 | .352 | .484 | 9.2 |
| D. Erstad | 667 | 7 | 66 | .273 | .325 | .371 | 9.7 |
| J. Rivera | 376 | 15 | 59 | .271 | .316 | .454 | 10.2 |
| S. Finley | 440 | 12 | 54 | .222 | .271 | .374 | -2.5 |
Not only are Kotchman’s rate stats higher, but also his cumulative stats are almost as high as the regulars. Think that looks bad? Check out against Right-handed pitchers:
| PA | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
| C. Kotchman | 111 | 7 | 20 | .286 | .355 | .551 |
| D. Erstad | 455 | 4 | 46 | .291 | .337 | .396 |
| J. Rivera | 226 | 11 | 38 | .284 | .326 | .498 |
| S. Finley | 314 | 9 | 33 | .201 | .252 | .347 |
Ok, so based on the numbers here, Juan Rivera seems to deserve a spot in the lineup. And Darin Erstad is the Angels unofficial captain, and as a guy who came up big for them in the 2002 postseason, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
What about Steve Finley though? He was just as bad as an every day player could be this year. Only a stint on the disabled list cost him from having the lowest OPS of any regular in the American League. So why is he in the lineup? Is it because of his defense? Erstad was a Gold Glove CF as recently as 2002, and wasn’t moved because of any injury, so it’s hard to believe he’s forgotten how to play the position. Is it out of loyalty? Can’t be that, he was just signed as a free agent. So there’s really only one explanation. Finley signed a big free agent contract this past off season, and the Angels apparently feel the need to get at least some return on their investment. Instead what they may be getting is a ticket home while the White Sox march toward the World Series.
This was never more apparent than the 8th inning in tonight’s ALCS Game 3. John Garland had cruised through the first six innings, but showed some wear in the 7th, giving up a two run homer to Orlando Cabrera. After Kevin Gregg held the White Sox scoreless in the top of the 8th, the Angels needed to claw back some more. To lead off the inning Mike Scioscia finally went to his bench for a pinch hitter.
He went to Jeff DaVanon.
After DaVanon was retired on a broken bat grounder. Steve Finley came up. After a couple of fouls straight back, Lou Pinella noted that Garland was leaving his pitches up in the zone, almost hangars. Garland left three more fastballs up in the zone, the first two of which, Finley fouled off. The last one, he hit a line drive to medium depth right field, for the second out of the inning. The Angels didn’t score again.
Chances are, Kotchman wouldn’t have hit any of those balls out of the park either. In fact, if Kotchman comes to the plate, the White Sox probably bring Neil Cotts into the game. But wouldn’t you rather take your chances with a 22-year-old rising star with a .900 OPS against right-handers than a 40+ year whose star appears to have fallen to the tune of making outs a quarter of the times he comes to the plate?
Mike Scioscia didn’t think so, and it’s one of the reasons he is looking at a 2-1 deficit.
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