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Anaheim Angels: The Angels will not let Casey Kotchman keep the first baseman's job after the injured Darin Erstad returns, but he may be allowed to stay with the big club, writes Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times. "We are thin on bats," manager Mike Scioscia told Henson. "I don't think Casey will stay here unless there is a role for him. But there will be opportunities to DH, to fill in." There have been positives and minuses in his brief time in the minors. On the plus side, he has yet to strikeout in 42 trips to the plate. Bob Bailor holds the record with 52 times at the start of a career without whiffing. On the other hand, Kotchman has only managed one extra basehit, a double, and he has only drawn two walks. At 21, he probably needs to be playing every day to get his game on the same par with his potential.

Oakland Athletics: The A's don't steal often, but when they try, they usually succeed. So far in 2004, only the Blue Jays have attempted fewer steals than Oakland in the American League. However, the A's lead the A.L. in success rate, nabbing an extra sack on 80 percent of the occasions they've tried. Bobby Crosby put himself in scoring position with a 10th inning steal against the Royals yesterday. "I know if they give me the green light, they have confidence I can steal," the rookie shortstop told Josh Suchon of the Oakland Tribune. "If I have a green light and I get a good jump, I'm going to go. If I don't have a good jump, I'll shut it down." After an intentional walk to Mark McLemore, he scored on a hit by Eric Byrnes, to seal the 3-2 win. Byrnes had one of the more candid responses to the old "what kind of pitch did you hit?" question. "&a white ball coming at me," he replied.

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