what's the latest word on Kotchman?

ANGELS REPORT
Kotchman starts to get his bearings
By Mike DiGiovanna, Times Staff Writer
June 18, 2007

Casey Kotchman was still "a little out of it" Sunday after suffering a
mild concussion and a gash on his head that required three stitches to
close when he was hit in the helmet by Dodgers catcher Russell
Martin's pickoff attempt in the seventh inning Saturday.

"I don't feel as woozy, as spaced out, as I did Saturday," Kotchman
said. "When I get my balance back, when I can work out and get my
heart rate up without getting a little disoriented, I should be ready
to go."

That process is expected to take at least two or three days, maybe
more, but not long enough to send Kotchman, who is batting .333 with
eight home runs and 35 runs batted in and has been the team's hottest
hitter of late, to the disabled list.

Kotchman, who "blacked out for a second" after being hit while diving
back to second base, was hospitalized Saturday, and a CT-scan revealed
a Grade I concussion, the mildest form of brain injury. A Grade III
concussion is the most severe.

Kotchman had not seen a replay as of Sunday morning, but teammates
told him his batting helmet, which is supposed to protect players from
major head injuries, remained firmly on his head throughout the play.

"When you suffer a concussion and a cut on your head and you have your
helmet on, that's a little strange," Kotchman said.


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Garret Anderson declined to discuss his latest hip injury, which sent
him back to the disabled list Saturday, but Manager Mike Scioscia said
the left fielder will be on the DL for at least "a couple of weeks,"
which didn't sound very encouraging.

Anderson was sidelined for six weeks from late April to June after
tearing his right hip flexor tendon, and he played in only 11 games
before aggravating the injury while making a running catch of a fly
ball in the first inning Saturday.

"Obviously, it's frustrating, but there are no shortcuts to getting
healthy," Scioscia said. "He felt good and thought he was ready, but
the stamina in the leg is not where it needs to be."


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Outfielder Terry Evans gave his father, Michael Evans, "the best
Father's Day gift I could ever give," a call Saturday to break the
news he had received his first big league call-up.

But not even Evans, who was hitting .327 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs at
triple-A Salt Lake before replacing Anderson on the roster Sunday,
could savor the moment for long. He had two hours to get from the
stadium in Portland, Ore., to the team hotel to pack his bags and to
the airport to catch a flight to Southern California.

"It was such a different mix of emotions because I had to hurry up and
get to the airport," said Evans, who entered Sunday's game as a pinch-
hitter in the eighth inning and struck out on three pitches. "There
were no tears. Just a lot of excitement."