Mark Kotsay needs to go away

Welcome to part 2 of 3 in my “First Month of Brewers baseball rantings”.  In part 1 we examined the life and times of one Craig Counsell.  That article was more of a celebration of one of the most underrated baseball careers of my generation.  This article is more of a personal problem that I have had with this signing from day one.

Please allow me to issue this disclaimer (for what feels like the 40th time).  I have no problem with Mark Kotsay as a man or a baseball player.  In fact, while he was with Oakland, I thought that he was one of the best young players in the game.  Of course that was many moons ago, but true none the less.

Jim Thome has called Kotsay the “Greatest” DH/pinch-hitter in the game today.  Which is all well and good, if you play on an AL team.

     There are so many reasons why this signing did not make sense in the first place.  To me, the most glaring problem was, Where he would play in the field?  We play in the NL where there is no such thing as a DH, so signing a guy who has almost no value in the field blew my mind.  Mark Kotsay is nothing more than a hitter at this stage of his career and he should be somewhere that he can have 4 AB’s every day.  Let’s face it, we have 3 better options for outfield help and Erick Almonte is a  better option at 1B.  Which again leads me to wonder why the Brewers signed Kotsayto begin with. 

If you are building a championship team, you want veterans who can contribute.  Here are the veterans that the Brew Crew signed in free agency this past off-season; Jeremy Reed, Mark Kotsay, Craig Counsell, and Takashi Saito.  Reed is in Triple-A, Kotsay is nothing more than a pinch-hitter, Counsell should retire, and who knows if we will see Saito ever again (he just strained his oblique in last nights rehab assignment).  That is 4 veterans, of whom 0 are truly contributing to this team.  Not really a recipe for a championship roster, if you ask me.

Mark Kotsay is of no value to this baseball team.  We have a young left handed bat in Brandon Boggs, who has a much more commanding approach at the plate than Kotsay.  There is also NyjerMorgan, a left handed batting outfielder who has twice the heart of Kotsay.  I doubt we will ever see Kotsay go barreling into an opposing catcher at full speed.  What do we even need Kotsay for at this point?  Who amongst Brewers fans would prefer to see Kotsay at the plate, rather than Boggs or Morgan?

I may have a solution to this problem.  The Brewers should trade Kotsay to an AL team, for some middle infield help.  The Brewers organization has virtually no help at SS and 2nd base.  The closest prospect we have is Scooter Gennett, who is probably still another 2 years from being major league ready.  By the time the All-Star break rolls around, I guarantee you that AL teams will be looking for an experienced left-handed bat.  When that day comes, the Crew needs to make that deal.  Any value, is good value for Kotsay.

On a more personal note, I just have no more patience for the Brewers choice of veterans.  Year in and year out, Attanasio wastes money on no talent clowns.  Players who have surpassed their expiration date by more than a season or two.  You know what you do with spoiled milk?  You throw it out, unless you live in the Attanasio’s house, in which case you give it a 1-year $1.2 million dollar deal.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they started kicking the tires on Kotsay.  If I would have been a fly in that room, I would have been dive-bombing everybody.  Flying into ears, hanging up telephones, just being an overall pest, until the team decided it was too much work and gave up.  Sadly, I am but a man.

Mark Kotsay seems like a pretty descent club house guy.  I have never heard anyone talk badly about him.  He keeps his nose clean and out of the media.  It’s hard to not like those things, but he is not a good fit.  Even in Kindergarten you learn that the square shape does not fit through the round hole.  Kotsay is a triangle trying to fit into a rectangle and it just is not working.

Please check in on Saturday night for the exciting conclusion of  “First Month of Brewers baseball rantings”.  It will be in regards to the Nyjer Morgan/Carlos Gomez situation we will soon find ourselves wading through.

Tonight the Crew is back in action, as Shaun Marcum will be taking the hill against Brett Myers.  It would be nice to get off on the right foot this road trip.  We should be able to take 2 out of 3 this weekend.

Word on the street is that Greinke will make his first Brewers start next Wednesday, so clear your schedule now.  Call in sick if you have to.  You will NOT want to miss this.

Well friends, thank you for reading my rants.  Let’s send out that positive ju-jutoday so we can get a W.  First month of baseball almost in the books, how do you feel about it?  Let me know in the comments!!!  Happy Weekend!!!!