Sox Sign Kotsay

[ChampKind]

Is he this year's Kevin Millar/Sean Casey clubhouse guy who can play 1B/OF?  Or maybe a little insurance in case Rocco or Drew regress?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090109&content_id=3738002&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp

[Chris]

Wow, I am surprised he agreed to sign here, I would have thought he would be looking for a starting job somewhere.  This is a great signing by Boston though.  He has the flexibility to play first, as well as all 3 outfield spots, so he protects them if Baldelli can't stay healthy, or if Lowell does not come back completely healthy. 

Their team is really starting to fill out nicely now.  I am really impressed with the depth.  Now they just need to figure out the catching situation, and they will be all set (assuming they are keeping Lugo as a utility infielder).

[SShorefan 3.0]

Rocco & Lowell insurance

He signed because the market is dry, dry, dry.

I think the Coco trade will end up biting the Sox in the rear.  Whether it be the need for speed of the bench or a consistent outfielder, the Sox lost a lot in trading Coco.

[Roy Hobbs]

Wow, I am surprised he agreed to sign here, I would have thought he would be looking for a starting job somewhere.  This is a great signing by Boston though.  He has the flexibility to play first, as well as all 3 outfield spots, so he protects them if Baldelli can't stay healthy, or if Lowell does not come back completely healthy. 

Their team is really starting to fill out nicely now.  I am really impressed with the depth.  Now they just need to figure out the catching situation, and they will be all set (assuming they are keeping Lugo as a utility infielder).

We could still use some more power, though.  The depth is nice, but I don't think the lineup scares people as much as in years past.  Obviously, that's less of a concern if Lowell, Papi, and Drew are all healthy, but I'm not counting on it.

[bucknersrevenge]

Wow, I am surprised he agreed to sign here, I would have thought he would be looking for a starting job somewhere.  This is a great signing by Boston though.  He has the flexibility to play first, as well as all 3 outfield spots, so he protects them if Baldelli can't stay healthy, or if Lowell does not come back completely healthy. 

Their team is really starting to fill out nicely now.  I am really impressed with the depth.  Now they just need to figure out the catching situation, and they will be all set (assuming they are keeping Lugo as a utility infielder).

We could still use some more power, though.  The depth is nice, but I don't think the lineup scares people as much as in years past.  Obviously, that's less of a concern if Lowell, Papi, and Drew are all healthy, but I'm not counting on it.

I agree but there's not alot out there with the pop and he versatility to play several positions. I haven't taken a look myself thoroughly to see what else might've been out there but Theo has repeatedly said this team is not about putting mashers out there. He's about OBP and doubles, pitching, and defense.

Then again, Kotsay didn't provide a lot of those numbers. He did provide excellent defense though. Kotsay's familiarity with the team and the stagnant market made this happen so fast. Not to mention I think Theo doesn't see any other FA's worth committing to long term and will go "stopgap" til Anderson is ready maybe in a couple of years.

[Chris]

Wow, I am surprised he agreed to sign here, I would have thought he would be looking for a starting job somewhere.  This is a great signing by Boston though.  He has the flexibility to play first, as well as all 3 outfield spots, so he protects them if Baldelli can't stay healthy, or if Lowell does not come back completely healthy. 

Their team is really starting to fill out nicely now.  I am really impressed with the depth.  Now they just need to figure out the catching situation, and they will be all set (assuming they are keeping Lugo as a utility infielder).

We could still use some more power, though.  The depth is nice, but I don't think the lineup scares people as much as in years past.  Obviously, that's less of a concern if Lowell, Papi, and Drew are all healthy, but I'm not counting on it.

I agree, although I think we are probably in trouble if those guys aren't healthy anyways.  I think Kotsay (along with Baldelli) can certainly hold down the fort very well for stretches if any of those guys are out, but if the C's want to do anything in the playoffs, they are going to need those guys to all be healthy at playoff time.

The thing is, this team definitely doesn't have the explosive middle of the order they had with Manny, but if guys are healthy, they have one of the most balanced batting orders in the league.  They would have 5 guys who very realistically could have 20+ homeruns(Youk, Lowell, Ortiz, Bay and Drew), and two potential great table setters in Ellsbury and Pedroia. 

And even more importantly, they now have probably the deepest pitching staffs in the league, which also happens to be arguably the best at the top as well.  They have 3 top level starters, three more veterans (Smoltz, Penny, Wakefield)  who could very realistically be top 3 starters on the half the teams in the league, if they are healthy , and that is not even mentioning their two bluechip guys waiting in the wings, who could be ready to step in and be a top of the rotation starter at any time (Buchholz and Bowden).  And their bullpen looks just as deep, with Papelbon, Okajima, Masterson, Delcarmen, Ramirez, and now Saito. 

I really like the way this team is put together.  It was clearly put together to withstand the long season.

[Silas]

Wow, I am surprised he agreed to sign here, I would have thought he would be looking for a starting job somewhere.  This is a great signing by Boston though.  He has the flexibility to play first, as well as all 3 outfield spots, so he protects them if Baldelli can't stay healthy, or if Lowell does not come back completely healthy. 

Their team is really starting to fill out nicely now.  I am really impressed with the depth.  Now they just need to figure out the catching situation, and they will be all set (assuming they are keeping Lugo as a utility infielder).

We could still use some more power, though.  The depth is nice, but I don't think the lineup scares people as much as in years past.  Obviously, that's less of a concern if Lowell, Papi, and Drew are all healthy, but I'm not counting on it.

I agree, although I think we are probably in trouble if those guys aren't healthy anyways.  I think Kotsay (along with Baldelli) can certainly hold down the fort very well for stretches if any of those guys are out, but if the C's want to do anything in the playoffs, they are going to need those guys to all be healthy at playoff time.

The thing is, this team definitely doesn't have the explosive middle of the order they had with Manny, but if guys are healthy, they have one of the most balanced batting orders in the league.  They would have 5 guys who very realistically could have 20+ homeruns(Youk, Lowell, Ortiz, Bay and Drew), and two potential great table setters in Ellsbury and Pedroia. 

And even more importantly, they now have probably the deepest pitching staffs in the league, which also happens to be arguably the best at the top as well.  They have 3 top level starters, three more veterans (Smoltz, Penny, Wakefield)  who could very realistically be top 3 starters on the half the teams in the league, if they are healthy , and that is not even mentioning their two bluechip guys waiting in the wings, who could be ready to step in and be a top of the rotation starter at any time (Buchholz and Bowden).  And their bullpen looks just as deep, with Papelbon, Okajima, Masterson, Delcarmen, Ramirez, and now Saito. 

I really like the way this team is put together.  It was clearly put together to withstand the long season.

The backup PG and length that the Cs have been missing...Seriously, I agree with you that this team has been put together to succeed during a long season.  If Papi is healthy, the Sox are OK, if he is not, they need another power bat.