I'm past my upset phase of the Mark Kotsay deal and I've moved on to acceptance. One reassuring comment that helped ease my pain came from Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation. For those of you who don't know, Blez is one of the preeminent baseball bloggers around the web and one of the driving forces behind SB Nation, as well as a rabid A's fan. He had this to say when I asked him to reassure me that there was an ounce of value in Kotsay:
At the same time he's a little slower now and back surgeries haven't helped. I think he could have a good season if he's healthy, but I'm not sure if it's going to last.
Thanks and best of luck to him. I'm going to have to retire my Kotsay tee. (cries)
This is the part of Kotsay's game that we can't read about in a box score and something that doesn't show up in his end of season stats. I had heard that he was a good defender, but perhaps we need to upgrade that to above average defender. Still, we have to "hope" that Kotsay is healthy and that he hasn't lost a step.