They put doughnuts in bags now?

 

I think a bag of baseballs got mixed up with a box of doughnuts ;>

I look at the overall offense and what it produced over the season, I don't focus on one spot in the order. The Sox were a Top 7 offense in June, Top 5 in July, and the best offense in baseball in August. They lost games they should have won because of the pitching and the failure to hold leads.

 

Of course having Dunn's ability in the lineup makes them a better offense, but that doesn't mean that Kotsay's presence cost them the playoffs last year. If they have Dunn last season, I still don't believe they make the playoffs, because I don't think he alone makes up the 6 games they would've needed.

 

But, I do want people to keep in mind that Konerko benefited greatly by getting days off from the field and the team benefit by him being in the lineup on those days. The idea of being able to rotate somebody into his spot play is a very good idea. I just hope that he stays as healthy this year as he was last year. Just keep an eye out for that in 2011.

Ranger...I will agree with you on one point here...Kotsay's presence alone was not enough to cost the Sox the season. The stats say that; the difference in wins between Kotsay and Dunn was at best 3-4 wins if you buy the advanced stats. Other things piled in there; Quentin struggling, Jenks being constantly bad, Peavy getting hurt, etc.

 

However, that's a really poor excuse for one simple reason; it was an obvious mistake going into the season. It was as obvious of a mistake as having Dewayne Wise leading off in 2009. It was obvious from the day the decision was made that it was wrong.

 

Saying "He alone doesn't make up the 6 games they would have needed" is like going through a test, getting about 75% of the first few problems right, then deciding that instead of solving the last problem that you know how to do, you're going to draw a picture of a pony. After all, you didn't get an A on the test, so what's the big deal right?

 

If getting Konerko extra rest and having extra flexibility on the roster was that important, there were other, more intelligent options. Adam LaRoche was available. Aubrey Huff was available (and he would give you the added benefit of being able to occasionally handle RF as well). That's why we come back to this one. It probably didn't cost us the division on its own, but that doesn't mean it was ok.