LaRoche forced to pack his bags again
8:49 PM Fri, Jul 31, 2009 | Permalink
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By Daniel Barbarisi And then the rug was pulled out from under him. LaRoche was traded Friday, for the second time in two weeks, heading to Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman. He had come to Boston on July 22 in a deal with Pittsburgh. Moments after the trade deadline passed, LaRoche seemed shell-shocked. Disappointing? Absolutely. I was pretty comfortable here. This team is an unbelievable team, not just on the field but the kind of guys and the class of the organization. I was looking forward to being a part of that for a couple months. It didn't work." LaRoche was penciled into the lineup Friday hitting seventh, with Mike Lowell getting the day off. When the trade was announced, the lineup was quickly pulled down, and LaRoche's name removed. In going to Atlanta, LaRoche will be heading back to the place where his career began in 2004. LaRoche sat in a corner of the clubhouse, packing up his things while surrounded by the former Braves on the Red Sox -- J.D. Drew, Nick Green and John Smoltz -- talking about what a crazy sequence of events had just unfolded and discussing his return to Atlanta.
It is, on its surface, a strange deal. A left-handed hitting first baseman for a left-handed hitting first baseman. But Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said that Kotchman has qualities that will allow him to thrive in limited use, while LaRoche might have had a tougher time in that role. "With LaRoche's timing mechanism with his swing and with his approach in general, he kind of needs to play to be productive, he needs to play every day or close to it, whereas Casey Kotchman has a little different approach at the plate that might play better, a little different type role. Kotchman also is an elite defender, and somebody you could see coming into the game late for defense on days when Victor Martinez starts at first base," Epstein said. LaRoche said he was happy to sacrifice playing time for the chance to head to the playoffs, and he didn't expect to have problems in that capacity this season -- despite viewing himself as an everyday lineup fixture in the long term. "I'm sure that's part of it. I consider myself an everyday player. I said it before, I didn't mind sacrificing that for a couple months for the chance to get back to the playoffs. I never complained here about not playing. I'd gladly take that role to get in and help wherever I can to be on a team like this. I think being unselfish was [helpful] for me. For the short-term ex-Boston teammates that LaRoche will leave behind, the trade was just as much of a surprise. LaRoche was well-liked in his new clubhouse. "I was just falling in love with LaRoche," David Ortiz shouted when he heard the news. "I should've hit a few more home runs. This is a tough town here," LaRoche said before heading to his locker to pack away his things, and start all over again for the second time this month. 
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