Beauty of Sox is more than skin-deep
TAMPA, Fla. -- Under slightly different circumstances, we might now be celebrating Mark Kotsay the way we celebrated Bobby Kielty or, before him, Dave Roberts and Doug Mientkiewicz. Not so long ago, Kotsay was leading a relatively futile existence with the Atlanta Braves. Now, he has become an integral part of the Red Sox' quest for another world title.
And were it not for the efforts of Mark Teixeira, who began this season sharing a clubhouse with Kotsay in Atlanta, we might again be asking the question of how Kotsay ended up here at all.
"What was I thinking? That my former teammate just took away my game-winning hit," Kotsay said earlier this week, after Teixeira's diving stab temporarily stymied the Sox in what nonetheless became a 3-2 victory over the Angels in the decisive Game 4 of the ALDS. "But I'll take the one that got caught for the one that got through."
In the bigger picture, so will the Red Sox.
Think about it: Not long after the July 31 trading deadline, the Red Sox reached agreement with the San Diego Padres on a trade that would have brought outfielder Brian Giles to Boston. But Giles killed the deal, exercising his his contractual right. Within three weeks, resourceful Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein executed the trade that instead brought Kotsay to Boston, a move that now seems crucial given the recent injury to third baseman Mike Lowell.
Unlike Giles, who never has played first base in his major league career, Kotsay has demonstrated the requisite versatility to do so. What the Red Sox might have sacrificed in offense, they gained in flexibility. As such, Kotsay will be playing first base tomorrow night with Kevin Youkilis at third base and Jed Lowrie at shortstop when the Red Sox open the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Were Giles here, one of two things would have happened: Sean Casey would have been at first base and the Sox would have been weaker defensively; or Alex Cora would have been at shortstop (with Lowrie at third and Youkilis at first) and the Sox would have been weaker offensively. Instead, the Sox got the best of both worlds in Kotsay, a career .281 hitter with gap power who made a pair of defensive plays in Game 4 (both on popups) that only magnified his value to these Sox.
Where are we going with this? At this stage, it seems, the Red Sox have done it again. Exploiting the true benefit of a $150 million payroll, Epstein shrewdly fortified his bench for the most important time of year. That is why Kotsay will be at first base and career 108-game winner Paul Byrd will be the long man out of the bullpen when the Red Sox return to the ALCS, further validating what should be known as the Theocratic method:
Build a team; identify its weaknesses; reinforce the stress points.
During Epstein's tenure as general manager, excluding a 2006 campaign that stands out as the aberration rather than the norm, the Red Sox have demonstrated an indisputable commitment to improvement, before or after July 31. In 2003, Scott Williamson arrived on July 30; the 2004 season marked the landmark acquisitions of Roberts, Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera; in 2005, Epstein brought in Tony Graffanino; last year, he delivered Eric Gagne (with good intentions, at least) and Kielty.
In many cases, including 2008, the objective of any all maneuverings was to improve the team's depth, be it in the bullpen or on the bench. While the latter has received relatively little attention in the Red Sox world of perpetual analysis, the results have proven critical. In the case of Roberts, whom the Red Sox employed almost exclusively as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, he authored what will forever be known as The Steal; an exceptional hitter from the right side, Kielty provided what proved to be the final, decisive hit for Boston in the 2007 World Series; now Kotsay has moved into a starting role, a relatively seamless transition because, prior to arriving in Boston, he was, after all, a starter.
Epstein hasn't merely gone out and acquired good bench players during this time.
Rather, he has gone out and acquired good players, then placed them on the Boston bench.
Admittedly, Kotsay is no longer a reserve on these Red Sox, but that is not the point. While moving him into the starting lineup, the Red Sox have not missed a beat. Today, presumably, the Sox will announce that they have expanded their pitching staff by one (Mike Timlin) while trimming their positional roster by the same number. The casualty will be either Gil Velazquez or David Ross, the former of whom replaced Lowell during the ALDS and the latter of whom was a luxurious third catcher. The end result is that the Sox will sacrifice virtually nothing in the wake of Lowell's injury, which speaks to their depth and, more specifically, their level of preparation.
In fact, the Red Sox anticipated that they would be without Lowell at some point this postseason, something Francona alluded to before the ALDS even began.
"If for some reason it doesn't work, it's not as devastating as it might look," Francona said.
The manager wasn't criticizing Lowell.
Rather, the skipper was giving thanks for what he still possessed.
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