The latest revelation is manager Ozzie Guillen considering batting Mark Kotsay in the third spot against right-handed starters to give the Sox a balance of left- and right-handed hitters at the top of the order.

That Guillen has Kotsay as an option is a tribute to Kotsay’s production because Guillen doesn’t want to bat a left-handed hitter high in the order just for the sake of balance.

But Kotsay is batting .429 with seven RBIs in his last 10 exhibition games. He also has four stolen bases and is running better than Carlos Quentin, who missed eight weeks last season because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Quentin ripped three singles Wednesday in a 10-3 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Guillen emphasized he will wait until the end of March to decide his lineup, and it will be subject to change with potential slumps and injuries.

 

From Mr. Gonzales article in Trib.

It's obvious Oz loves Kotsay. Hopefully this guy can hit like Oz thinks he can.

From Mr. Gonzales article in Trib.

It's obvious Oz loves Kotsay. Hopefully this guy can hit like Oz thinks he can.

 

This will end poorly.

Ozzie's infatuation for some of these players he coaches just goes too far sometimes. Just because he loves that these guys play hard and are "grinders" doesn't really mean they should be put in situations he puts them in and he loves doing that.

From Mr. Gonzales article in Trib.

It's obvious Oz loves Kotsay. Hopefully this guy can hit like Oz thinks he can.

 

Greg, you might have been the only person on this site who would have made a positive comment about this thread. I give you credit for that.

Damn you Brian Anderson, DAMN YOU! Even when you're not on this team, the by product of you is screwing us over. WHY OH WHY?

Awesome.

It might be possible that there will be a player I hate more than Darin Erstad.

It might be possible that there will be a player I hate more than Darin Erstad.

I don't think that is possible for myself. Just seeing his name makes me laugh in anger.

It might be possible that there will be a player I hate more than Darin Erstad.

Big difference though. Erstad hit .221 in an injury-riddled year before the Sox, so expecting much from him was ridiculous even though the Sox did. Kotsay hit .292 with the Sox, is in perfect health and has ripped the ball in Spring Training. Now I hope Ozzie comes to his senses and bats Kotsay in the 7th spot or lower, but he won't be Erstad II.

Edited March 25, 201015 yr by maggsmaggs

We should all bombard Ozzie's Twitter and Facebook with messages saying WTF.

 

I already have.

I like Mark Kotsay

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4754935.story

 

Vizquel's going to get far too much playing time. It's shocking to me what our lineup might look like.

I like Mark Kotsay

So do I. I don't get the hate on him. If he hits against righties most of the time, he is gonna put up darn good numbers. Probably not gonna hit a lot of HRs, but will make solid contact and won't strike out that much.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4754935.story

 

Vizquel's going to get far too much playing time. It's shocking to me what our lineup might look like.

There's a guy who I will hate this year. Not because of him, but because of Ozzie's usage of him. He is a pretty horrible hitter right now. He should get like one start per week at most.

Kenny should just get bench players Ozzie doesn't like so he plays them appropriately.

It might be possible that there will be a player I hate more than Darin Erstad.

Why? Kotsay will hit righties very well. This is what he was brought on the team to do.

Edited March 25, 201015 yr by RockRaines

Kenny should just get bench players Ozzie doesn't like so he plays them appropriately.

 

At some point kenny is responsible for the manager. He either has to get him the type of players he wants, or he gets a manager to play the players that Kenny wants played.

At some point kenny is responsible for the manager. He either has to get him the type of players he wants, or he gets a manager to play the players that Kenny wants played.

 

If this doesn't work out (and it won't), Kenny needs to step in and just tell Ozzie to stop playing favorites.

If this doesn't work out (and it won't), Kenny needs to step in and just tell Ozzie to stop playing favorites.

 

If Ozzie isn't the type of manager he wants, he needs to fire him and find another one. Otherwise Kenny is just as much of a part of this as anyone.

Boy I hope I won't hate Kotsay as much as I probably will hate Juan Pierre this season. I like Kotsay... as a solid bench bat.

I'll wait til Kotsay fails until I hate him. He's done a nice job in a Sox uni so far. Kinda like Rob Mackowiak, it's hard to hate him when the manager is the one making the lineup.

If this fails, we try another guy there. I don't like the idea of him hitting that high, but if it doesn't work we can just move on with a lesson learned.

Why? Kotsay will hit righties very well. This is what he was brought on the team to do.

 

People need to stop saying he hits righties well, because it's not true.

 

Career

.290/.347/.419, .330 wOBA vs RHP

 

So unless you honestly believe a 34 year old player is going to substantially outperform his career averages, the best we could hope for is league average. League average includes catchers and shortstops and Brian Anderson, so this is bad for a DH.

we are surrounding beckham with pierre and mark kotsay. that's sandwiching a steak with two cow pies.

we are surrounding beckham with pierre and mark kotsay. that's sandwiching a steak with two cow pies.

 

Kotsay could be batting 7th and Pierre 9th, and I would still say the bottom of our order is weak. I will also predict that if Ozzie tries to play Kotsay 4 times a week, he will be on the DL for an extended period.