Casey Kotchman

at Atlanta 8, Colorado 1: Jair Jurrjens pitched seven strong innings and Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs. Philadelphia 4, at Cincinnati 3: Ryan Howard hit a solo homer and left-hander Cole Hamels improved to 4-0 in five career starts against Cincinnati. Pittsburgh 8, at Washington 5 (10 innings): Adam LaRoche had a two-run double in the 10th and the Pirates won their season-high fourth in a row.

CLEVELAND -- A getaway day afternoon game in Progressive Field could be just what Ervin Santana needs to turn his dismal season around. It was in Cleveland in a series finale last July 27 that the Angels right-hander threw the eighth no-hitter in franchise history and first since Mike Witt's perfect game in 1984. “I'm not really thinking about that,” Santana said. “It feels like a regular game for me. That's how I'm taking it.” Could a different approach really hurt Santana, though?

Casey Kotchman was scouted more thoroughly by the Angels than any draft pick in team history. When they made the 18-year-old first baseman their first pick Tuesday, it culminated years of research. "I watched him pitch when he was 6," said Howie Gershberg, a pitching coach in the Angel organization. "He learned everything fast." Said Angel coach Joe Maddon: "I saw him taking batting practice when he was 8. He had the sweetest left-handed swing."

Reporting from Seattle When the Angels traded closer Brian Fuentes to the Minnesota Twins on Friday, Manager Mike Scioscia said he would use a "pyramid" of relievers Kevin Jepsen, Francisco Rodriguez and Jordan Walden in front of setup-man-turned-closer Fernando Rodney. A pyramid to success, it wasn't Tuesday night. The Seattle Mariners scored three runs in the eighth inning off Jepsen and Rodriguez for a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Angels in Safeco Field.

It has been rumored that Bill Stoneman is considering letting Adam Kennedy go at the end of this season, when his contract expires, because there is a great minor league prospect available to step in behind Kennedy. We have two of those former great minor league prospects playing for the Angels right now, Casey Kotchman and Jeff Mathis, and we see how well they're doing. Maybe the Angels should let Stoneman go in favor of one of those bright, young GM wannabes coming up behind him. FRED FERKETIC Newport Beach

So in his infinite and original wisdom, T.J. Simers surmises the Angels need more offense and proposes an Ervin Santana and Casey Kotchman trade for either the overrated and over-priced Mark Teixeira or the Coors Field-friendly Matt Holliday. The Angels have already made a trade that has already given them more offense and most likely will continue to do so for some time. The Gary Matthews Jr. "trade" for Juan Rivera was brilliant. Ron Reeve Glendora The weekend sweeping of the Red Sox was a fool's gold for some Angels fans and the team's top brass.

The Angels agreed to terms with Casey Kotchman, their No. 1 draft pick, ending an unusual negotiation. Kotchman is believed to have received about $2 million as a signing bonus. He will report to Mesa, the Angels' rookie league team. He was represented by Tom Kotchman, his father, who is also a scout and minor league manager for the Angels. "I have an opportunity to go do something I always wanted to do," Casey Kotchman said.

Maybe that Los Angeles thing is working out for the Angels. The Dodgers' most celebrated Hollywood blogger has taken notice of the Angels. Or, at least, of their first baseman. Alyssa Milano, actress and Dodgers season-ticket holder, called him "Angels great Casey Kotchman." Kotchman hears those words and squirms in his chair. His face reddens, ever so slightly. He appears uneasy, almost mortified. He just wants to drive in runs, keep his mouth shut and stay off the disabled list.

It puzzles me and, I suspect, most Angel fans, as to why Mickey Hatcher still has a job. He has now single-handedly ruined or seriously set back the careers of Casey Kotchman, Dallas McPherson and Darin Erstad, and he's working very hard on ruining Jeff Mathis and Howie Kendrick. Who knows what's in store for the other prospects? He's been living off the one good October he had in 1988 for too long. It's time for a hitting coach whose approach is something other than "swing at the first pitch, no matter where it is."

The Angels' 2001 draft was supposed to anchor the club for a decade, with three can't-miss players: first baseman Casey Kotchman , catcher Jeff Mathis and third baseman Dallas McPherson . Kotchman cracked the starting lineup in 2007, with an .840 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) that hinted at stardom. Few careers have fizzled as fast. He was traded three times in the last two years, and the Seattle Mariners reduced him to a defensive replacement by acquiring first baseman Justin Smoak in Friday's Cliff Lee trade.

The Angels' 2001 draft was supposed to anchor the club for a decade, with three can't-miss players: first baseman Casey Kotchman , catcher Jeff Mathis and third baseman Dallas McPherson . Kotchman cracked the starting lineup in 2007, with an .840 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) that hinted at stardom. Few careers have fizzled as fast. He was traded three times in the last two years, and the Seattle Mariners reduced him to a defensive replacement by acquiring first baseman Justin Smoak in Friday's Cliff Lee trade.

It may be the best money the Angels never spent. First baseman Mark Teixeira spurned an eight-year, $160-million offer to return to Anaheim to sign an eight-year, $180-million deal with the New York Yankees last winter, leaving the Angels with the unproven Kendry Morales at first base. Teixeira, who is being paid $22.5 million per year, is having an All-Star season, batting .283 with 26 home runs, 77 runs batted in and a .548 slugging percentage.

Angels owner Arte Moreno said the club remains interested in acquiring an ace starter and has not heard anything that would preclude the pursuit of the likes of Toronto's Roy Halladay and Cleveland's Cliff Lee. "We're keeping all our options open," Moreno said. "If we can see a fair deal for someone we believe can help our team, we're going to compete there. We don't have any financial constraints." Halladay would make $20.

at Atlanta 8, Colorado 1: Jair Jurrjens pitched seven strong innings and Casey Kotchman had three hits and three RBIs. Philadelphia 4, at Cincinnati 3: Ryan Howard hit a solo homer and left-hander Cole Hamels improved to 4-0 in five career starts against Cincinnati. Pittsburgh 8, at Washington 5 (10 innings): Adam LaRoche had a two-run double in the 10th and the Pirates won their season-high fourth in a row.

It's the eighth inning of a game the Angels lead by one run, and all the relievers are equally rested. Who gets the ball? Manager Mike Scioscia said he would go to Scot Shields in that situation Thursday afternoon, reaffirming that Shields had not lost his role as the team's primary setup man in the wake of a rough outing Tuesday in which he walked two of three batters he faced to assist Tampa Bay's winning three-run rally. Scioscia had opted to go with reliever Jose Arredondo in the eighth inning Wednesday night against the Devil Rays, saying that he needed to get Shields back on track.

Casey Kotchman for Mark Teixeira? The hardest hitter to strike out in the majors for someone three years older who strikes out over 100 times every season? A hitter who has come into his own and hits right-handers as well as left-handers and is already on pace for a personal high in home runs, for a player who has only eight more than Casey this year? Tony, this one took guts, but could well come back to haunt you. Roger Zuch, Tujunga -- Wasn't the monster contract given Torii Hunter supposed to provide Vladimir Guerrero protection in the lineup?

The Angels handed the starting first base job to Casey Kotchman last spring, but he contracted mononucleosis and sat out most of the season. The Angels have promised him nothing this spring, but he appears well on the way to winning his job back. Kotchman homered and singled in the Angels' 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Casey Kotchman for Mark Teixeira? The hardest hitter to strike out in the majors for someone three years older who strikes out over 100 times every season? A hitter who has come into his own and hits right-handers as well as left-handers and is already on pace for a personal high in home runs, for a player who has only eight more than Casey this year? Tony, this one took guts, but could well come back to haunt you. Roger Zuch, Tujunga -- Wasn't the monster contract given Torii Hunter supposed to provide Vladimir Guerrero protection in the lineup?

BOSTON -- Casey Kotchman wouldn't come out and say it, but there appeared to be some lingering resentment between the first baseman and Mike Scioscia over the Angels manager's benching of Kotchman against left-handers over the last two seasons. Asked whether he felt jolted by Tuesday's trade, considering the ties he has to an organization that drafted him in the first round in 2000 and has employed his father, Tom, as a minor league manager and scout for about 30 years, Kotchman barely flinched.

BALTIMORE -- The team that many believe is one big bat away from being a World Series favorite has had a number of big bats emerge this month, and the Angels didn't have to make one major move before Thursday's non-waiver trade deadline to find them. Torii Hunter hit two home runs, drove in five runs and scored four runs, and Juan Rivera broke open a one-run game with a three-run homer in the eighth inning Saturday night to lead the Angels to an 11-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards.