A few weeks back, Theo Epstein was waxing rhapsodic about how 2010 could be a bridge year for the Sox; a time to squeeze what we can from existing talent while waiting for all the fresh faces on the farm to come of age. Then, just as we were finally coming to grips with the idea, he makes some big splash signings, throwing massive dollars at John Lackey and Mike Cameron.
Now, with the Adrian Gonzalez buzz off the charts, Theo has come out to publicly state how cool he’d be with Casey Kotchman at first on opening day:
“I would be very comfortable [with Kotchman]. He’s a good example of a player who has a chance to go out and build some value by playing. He didn’t get an opportunity to play here. He’s outstanding defensively and he’s someone who is a tougher out than the numbers indicate. He can hit really good pitching and it’s tough to get him to swing and miss and we think there is a lot of offensive potential there. If we end up with him playing a lot of first base against right-handed pitching, he has a chance to duplicate or build on what he did in 2007. Then it’s a great solution.”
Following the boss’ lead, Francona hopped on the Kotch Train as well:
“I’m a big Kotchman fan. I think Kotch kind of goes under the radar because he came over and he didn’t play and he didn’t say anything and he just kind of went about his business. We can do just fine with Kotch playing first, hitting down toward the bottom of the order, and catching everything in sight. I’m pretty comfortable with that.”
So, if Theo’s modus operandi is still in effect here, does this mean we can expect to land Gonzalez any day now? I am intrigued.
Meanwhile, congrats to Jon Lester for being named Sox Pitcher of the Year by the mighty Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association, and to Jacoby “Forward all my mail to San Diego” Ellsbury for being named Defensive Player of the Year by MLB.com.
Lastly, for some inexplicable reason, I’d love to see the following sketch reworked with Don Orsillo in the Palin role and Jerry Remy as Idle’s saucy butcher. Because hearing Remy call DO a “nasty spotted prancer” would make my winter, despite the fact I have no bloody idea what it means. I guess that says a lot about me.
