You are browsing the archive for Casey Kotchman.

Avatar of jonnylons

by jonnylons

Marlins Spring Training 2013: Jacob Turner Sent Down; Giancarlo Goes For Two

March 26, 2013 in Spring Training

Andiamoooooooo Giancarlo! Well, the play call I keep hoping to hear still hasn’t surfaced yet, but if it did, you would hear it twice today. Stanton hit two home runs, one mammoth shot to the top of the batter’s eye in straightaway CF, as the Marlins flexed some muscle and beat the Nats 8-5 today. Chris Valaika also went yard and our boy, Chris Coghlan hit a pinch-hit home run, too. Wondering if he will be the starter in CF, but that looks like it is Ruggiano’s job and Coghlan’s best hope is to make the roster – which leaves Gorkys Hernandez future in question.

It did become official though – Jacob Turner is being sent down to AAA NOLA to work on his control. Mike Redmond admitted it was a tough decision, but the young starter was not really able to show control with his pitches. He was being touted as the team’s #2 starter, but due to his spring struggles, he was not able to deliver. Instead, Nathan Eovaldi takes the second slot followed by Wade LeBlanc, Henderson Alvarez, and Kevin Slowey.

With more roster news, it looks like Casey Kochman, Austin Kearns, and Chad Qualls are going to break camp with the team. Kearns is batting a might .092 this spring, but the Fish are in need of any kind of power they can get. Kochman has a gold-glove talent at 1B and will be used as the de facto starter until Logan Morrison can get back healthy.

Tags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments »

Avatar of jonnylons

by jonnylons

Stanton Takes One Off the Noggin; Morrison is Free to Run

February 20, 2013 in Injuries, Spring Training

ap-marlins-spring-baseball-x-largeA smattering of injury-related topics from Spring Training today.

Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the head by a 95 MPH fastball from Marlins’ stud prospect Jose Fernandez in a simulated game today. X-rays came back negative and no signs of a concussion are apparent at this time although the Marlins are, expectedly, cautious with Stanton. Fernandez usually has great control and this one got away from him. Stanton gave him an “it’s all good” and had excellent perspective on this so the kids are all-right.

Meanwhile, Logan Morrison got the green light to run on his surgically repaired knee. The Marlins are hoping for an Opening Day return but in all likelihood, LoMo will miss more time trying to get acclimated and into game-shape. If lessons of the past are of any study, the Marlins will take their time and be cautious with LoMo and shoot for a few extra weeks for his expected return. Morrison is arguably in his most important year of his career as he should be progressing into an everyday player at this point and with injury plaguing his performance last year, the only reason he was kept was because his contract still offers value to his team.

Casey Kotchman, hoping to score some playing time at 1B while Morrison is out, is recovering from a cut ring finger he injured while banging into a machine shagging a fly ball. Kotchman’s defense, and experience, will help solidify the Marlins plans while Morrison recovers.

Tags: , , , No Comments »

Avatar of jonnylons

by jonnylons

Logan Morrison An Illustration of Everything That Was Wrong With the Marlins

February 16, 2013 in Injuries, Spring Training

logan_01_display_imageLong on potential, short on production, to my mind there is no stronger illustration of everything that was wrong with the Marlins 2012 season than Logan Morrison. He spends more time on Twitter than he does analyzing his approach to the plate and refining his game. I even caught a tweet of his during a game once – and I am sure it has happened more than that.

Let’s get something clear – I am not saying I do not like the guy. This kid came out of nowhere and became a big prospect for the Marlins as a first baseman that could just work the count and hit the ball wherever, and whenever, he wanted. Then he had some personal tragedy with the death of his father: obviously a large part of his life Morrison is now faced with living in a world without someone who had such a large influence on him. Who wouldn’t be rooting for him?

And let’s not forget that his two knee surgeries are the result of horrible handling by the Marlins. Morrison should never have been rushed to play last season and as a result, he was running around in LF in pain on nightly defensive adventures and had to get surgery in September to alleviate damage and pain in his right knee. His offense was never there, nor was his defense, and he missed most of the 2nd half of the season while only playing in 93 games. We love his antics but would love it more if he was a productive player first.

Now, he is not going to be at full strength and ready to run as Spring Training is descending upon us all. This is a decision that the Marlins made last season that they are now paying for this season. Perhaps it was all of the hype and excitement over a new ballpark and new players and all of the electricity. For whatever reason, the hangover is now that the Marlins are faced with one of their brightest prospects now at risk of becoming a wash as he has yet to put together a productive season.

So the Fish have to patch together some ideas for 1B and also find a way to bridge the offense until Morrison comes back – and when he does, it will take some time for him to get acclimated with playing everyday at 1B. That is why Joe Mahoney and Casey Kotchman were brought in, and Austin Kearns and Greg Dobbs are expected to be mixed in there from time to time.

With Morrison out, perhaps longer than he ever should have been as the result of poor choices, there is no better illustration of what went wrong with the Marlins. His production suffered and he never lived up to his billing last season. The wins didn’t come, and the team utterly and disasterly failed. And Lomo, for all of his lovable tweets and antics, has to now focus on delivering on the field instead of growing his “brand” via Twitter and other social networks. He has to get back to work, repair the damage, and find a way to deliver on a once promising future.

Tags: , , , , No Comments »