Yesterday, Dallas MacPherson's bad back eliminated him from the 2007 corner jam in Anaheim. He will have season-ending surgery to repair a hrniated disck. Now the candidates for corner/DH playing time consist of Chone Figgins and Shea Hillenbrand (starters) with Kendry Morales, Casey Kotchman, Robb Quinlan and Macier Izturis vying for DH ABs and back-up roles.
The big winner is Macier Izturis, a player who already had a tough row to hoe with no regular playing time available at his infield positions (3B/SS/2B). Now the Angels can more easily get his much-needed on-base skills into the line-up. I have been down-grading him all season, not because I dislike him but because I saw nowwhere for 300 ABs. That belief has hit its nadir and is now on the upswing.
With not much in back-up OFs on the roster, I see Robb Quinlan getting more ABs there than he did last year. Right now, Casey Kotchman is healthy and will be a much more competitive player in the firstbase role.
Another injury in this group will have me more seriously looking at XBH-machine Brandon Wood as a legitimate 2007 contributor.