Recapping Kotchman, Chapman in Cincinnati

Kotchman to Seattle

With all the positive moves the Red Sox have made this off-season, it’s a bit curious that Casey Kotchman became the first player expendable in the wake of the Adrian Beltre acquisition.

Following the trade, the party line claimed that Kotchman became obsolete – and expendable – with four starting-caliber corner infielders on the roster. While it is certainly true that the team does not need four such players to man two positions (Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, Mike Lowell, Kotchman), it seems as if the team has forgotten that they have been aggressively shopping Mike Lowell since November.

Following a trade of Mike Lowell – whose occurrence is a near certainty – the team is likely to be without a quality reserve corner infielder. Sure, Jed Lowrie and Bill Hall will be able to man the position in the event of injury and off-days, but what kind of upgrade do they provide over Kotchman?

In the event of a significant injury to Beltre or Youkilis, both Hall and Lowrie would be completely miscast as a full-time option. In addition, with Beltre missing 51 games this past season, entrusting the insurance policy to either option is a very dangerous proposition…

Lars Anderson looking like a younger Casey Kotchman

I think Casey Kotchman should be a warning to any long term success we might expect from Lars Anderson. This is also just a discussion of their offense as Kotchman has a much better glove. Kotchman was a much higher draftpick going in the first round of the 2001 draft while Anderson was an 18th round pick. So what is it that makes these two have anything in common?

First is that they have excellent plate discipline. Even at the minor league level they both have between a half a walk to a full walk for every strikeout. Anderson strikes out quite a bit more, but he walks a lot more too. All things being equal Kotchman would probably have a better average, but their OBP would be close.

An interesting comparison is how Baseball America viewed them. In 2005 BA ranked Kotchman #6 and had this quote from a scout. “He’s such a good hitter and he’s still developing. I think he’ll easily hit 30-plus homers in the majors. As we have seen that power never came and now Kotchman is more of a 10-15 homer guy at a power position.

Red Sox deal Casey Kotchman for Bill Hall

It’s been spread on Twitter that Casey Kotchman is headed to the Mariners for Bill Hall, a minor league PTBNL and cash considerations. When I first saw this deal I was curious to what this accomplished, but after looking at the numbers this makes a bit more sense. The cash is likely the money that Seattle got from the Brewers when they got Hall to cover some of his 2010 contract. So they are probably not adding contract and could be dropping some.

Is Casey Kotchman our best bet at first?

As comprised today, Boston has two choices when it comes to filling it’s first/third hole: Slide Youkilis over to third and commit to Nick Johnson as first-baseman… or leave the window open for Beltre with the expectation that Kotchman ends up at first.

The question is:

Is Nick Johnson appreciably better than Casey Kotchman based on actual value?

To me, it’s a rather simple answer: No. Casey Kotchman is the better option than Nick Johnson.

The Science of Selling Felix, A-Gon Short

In our versions of an offseason blueprint the Red Sox could follow (1, 2, 3) one topic that came up fairly often was how realistic or unrealistic our proposed trade packages were for certain players. Let’s recap:

Mike Lowell, Casey Kotchman, Clay Buchholz and key minor league pieces (defined as anyone sans Kelly, numbering two) for Felix Hernandez.

Money comment: Getting King Felix would be nice, but you are crazy thinking Seattle would have any interest in picking up Lowell or Kotchman. Why would they pick up $16+ in salaries? Lowell is going nowhere unless we pay his salary, which is crazy. – MEe

Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Manny Delcarmen, Michael Bowden, two “second-tier” prospects to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez.

Money comment: Delcarmen is a stiff. Bowden is a stiff. Anderson has done NOTHING in the minor leagues. Clay Buccholz has major league stuff but has yet to prove himself for an entire season. For this you’ll get one of the best young power hitters in the game? I think not!! - Nick

If our proposed deals are not up to snuff, that’s not good. Let’s try to figure out what a proposed deal could, should be.

Laundry List: Lowell’s Hip, Kotchman’s Bat

Two items for today’s laundry list:

1) Hope that Lowell’s hip heals

2) Pray to Pedro Serrano’s voodoo gods (yeah, that crazy guy from “Major League”) that if he doesn’t, Casey Kotchman’s bat will rise from its slumber.

Mike Lowell came into this season on the heels of a revolutionary labrum surgery, one so new that it is yet to be named (that Lowell, incidentally, hopes will be named after him). As a result, he’s already had one DL stint this season due to the hip and received another Synvisc injection Monday.

BOS 3, BAL 1: Clay Out of Control

Both Clay Buchholz and Jason Bay weren’t feeling quite right last night, but somehow emerged as the heroes of Friday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Buchholz’s six strong innings, combined with Bay’s 34th home run of the year, lifted the Red Sox past the Birds, 3-1.

Projecting the Playoffs, The Case for Kotchman

With just 20 games left and a 4 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card, what exactly are the chances for our beloved Sox to play in October? Baseball Prospectus seems to think they’re pretty high, but Texas has life yet.

And who, exactly, is the Red Sox’ most unappreciated player. Surely, it couldn’t be Casey Kotchman. Though he doesn’t always see the field, he provides stability at a key position on the diamond, while simultaneously solidifying the team’s outlook at … catcher?

Projecting the Playoffs

With just 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Sox’ Hunt for Red October is getting stronger by the day. At this juncture, with this team, a 4 ½ game lead in the Wild Card is a considerable advantage. Don’t get cozy though, as one hot or cold stretch can completely change the complexion of this race. Still, it’s looking pretty good for the Sox, as Baseball Prospectus gives the Red Sox…

Tweets on the Red Sox’s 25-man roster

In a homage to Twitter, the new social media application that is changing how news is delivered (in the same vein how blogs changed everything) I bring to you a summary of each Red Sox player on the 25-man roster in 140 characters or less (the maximum number of characters you can enter on Twitter).

Have Twitter? Follow me. Tim’s on too. Oh, and Fire Brand has one as well. You’ll notice that had you followed Fire Brand, you would have gotten all these tweets last night.

LAA 7, BOS 5: Dice-K roughed up

A six run outburst in the sixth inning was the all the Angels needed dumping Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston Red Sox 7-5 at Fenway Park.
Casey Kotchman’s two-run homer and [...]