Angels Think About What If

The Angels staged What Might Have Been Night at Angel Stadium on Wednesday.

In the clubhouse was Casey Kotchman, the ailing first baseman whose prolonged absence because of mononucleosis removed a power bat from an inconsistent lineup.

Behind the plate was Jeff Mathis, the once-promising catcher who was so flummoxed in his first month in the major leagues that he had to be demoted to triple-A Salt Lake.

And on the mound was Jered Weaver, the pitching sensation whose brilliance the Angels sorely missed during a three-week stretch when he was back to the minor leagues while his ineffective brother remained in the rotation.

Had things turned out differently for the highly touted trio, the Angels’ 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers might have amounted to more than a feel-good moment in a season gone awry.

Weaver uncharacteristically wobbled, giving up five runs on two Mark Teixeira home runs in 6 2/3 innings, but the Angels prevailed behind Tim Salmon’s 299th homer, a three-run shot in the first inning, and Howie Kendrick’s single that drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth to notch his major league-leading 45th save, one short of the club record set by Bryan Harvey in 1991.

“It was like I won the game or something,” Salmon said of his teammates’ reaction when he returned to the dugout. “They’re excited for me. It fires them up quite a bit when there’s not much to fire us up right now.”

There was also good news in the clubhouse, where Kotchman reported that he was almost fully recovered from the severe bout of mononucleosis that had sidelined him since May 8.

“Health-wise, I feel normal right now,” said Kotchman, who has begun a running and lifting program in the hope of playing winter ball.

Kotchman underwent a series of tests Wednesday that included what he described as “real extensive blood work” to rule out anything more sinister than his diagnosed ailment. After a strong spring training, Kotchman felt progressively weaker in April and was done for the season by early May, his batting average a sickly .152.

“When he came out of spring training, he wasn’t the same guy,” hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. Asked whether he believed that Kotchman could still be an important part of the future of his club, General Manager Bill Stoneman said, “Absolutely.”

Big things were expected of Mathis when he was the only rookie on the Angels’ opening-day roster, but he was batting only .103 when he was demoted to triple A on May 3. Mathis turned around his season in the minors, hitting .289 and being selected to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team.

“As he relaxed, everything came together for him -- his throwing mechanics to blocking balls to receiving pitches to his rapport with pitchers,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Mathis, who made his first start since May 2. “He’s a big part of our future.”

Weaver rarely faltered during a debut season in which he won his first nine games but found himself back in the minor leagues in June when Bartolo Colon came off the disabled list. Three months later, with his team having been eliminated from playoff contention during the season’s final week, Scioscia said he did not regret the decision to demote Weaver even though his continued presence might have made a difference in the Angels’ playoff push.

“At the time, that was the absolute right decision to make,” said Scioscia, noting that Weaver came back from his stint in the minors with a more effective changeup. “At the time he wasn’t the finished product, and he’s still not the finished product.”

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Scioscia addressed his players during a brief team meeting before the game, telling them he appreciated their sustained effort after falling into a deep hole early in the season. “For us to be 11 games under in May to get to a point of talking about even a pennant race

ben.bolch@latimes.com