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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 4, 2006
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Other than Jair Jurrjens, I would have to say that Mark Kotsay was the biggest pick-up of the offseason. I know just a few weeks ago I was saying that Joey Devine would be nice in the bullpen, but Kotsay his hitting the ball great. He owns a .308 average and has 3 homeruns and 14 RBIs. He's been an awesome fill-in defensively as well. Andruw Jones was awesome, but I honestly think Kotsay has better speed and sometimes better range than Andruw has had in his past couple of years. That ball he ran down tonight against the Padres was awesome, I have never seen him take a bad route or get a bad jump on a ball. He has been a stellar offensive and defensive cog to our new look Braves team and I hope we can keep him next year, especially seeing that Jordan Schafer is stupid!
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Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 11, 2007
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When I had read that we traded for Kotsay, something told me this was yet another match made in heaven. There is something about Bobby Cox and the Braves that can bring has been players back like a pheonix rising from the ashes. I'm really loving it considering I have Kotsay on my fantasy league team.
I give kelly another month leaving off, and if his numbers haven't risen, then I think Bobby switches Kotsay and Kel in the lineup.
-BC10
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 19, 2008
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Gee let's see
Mark Kotsay $7M .308 BA 3 HR 14 RBI
or
Andruw Jones $14.7M .158 BA 1 HR 4 RBI
Half the money for three times the production!!
Yep, we'll take that
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Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 17, 2008
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I take back what I said about not liking the trade of Devine for Kotsay. This is a great trade. Maybe Kotsay isn't just a short-term replacement; maybe he should be a permanent replacement. I would much rather have him in our outfield right now then some rookie like Schafer.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 19, 2008
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Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Mark Kotsay has been a very welcome addition so far, but he plays so hard all the time he will always be an injury risk. Plus, he will command a much higher salary than a younger CF like Jordan Schaefer would. I'm not campaigning for Schaefer or anything, I'm just letting you know how the Braves will look at things when the time comes to make this decision.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 22, 2006
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volpride - just kind of a fyi - we got 5m back from the A's in that trade to offset Kotsay's payroll, so we're actually only paying him 3m of his 8m salary.
Great pickup - nice defense, and timely hitting. And he's had a lot of bad luck hot smashes right at people as well, or he might be in the .350 range.
Go Braves '08!!!
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 19, 2008
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Thanks redchip.
To me that makes it even better. Good production out of a "low cost" center fielder. Not always easy to come by.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:May 16, 2007
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At the beginning of the year, I was afraid the fans would boo Mark Kotsay if he missed a catch. But all I've seen from him is nice plays, and hitting the ball hard. The Braves fans love him already. He managed to take a tough pair of shoes to fill, and exceed them in my eyes. Go Mark.
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Reputation:93
Level:All-Star
Since:Nov 6, 2007
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i watched the Mets/ Dodgers game last night and andrew couldn't catch anything that wasn't a gimmie. he made a horrible play on a ball that fell in front of him which if i remember correctly cost the dodgers a run, he walked back to his position with a big smile on his face.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 22, 2007
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I will have to admit that I was very skeptical of the Mark Kotsay for Joey Devine trade. It now appears that just maybe I should not have been so hasty. Time will tell, but this is working well at the moment.
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Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Oct 13, 2006
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I agree VolPride, paying Kotsay less money than Andruw and getting more than three times the production. One other thing to look at: look at how many times Andruw has struck out so far compared to Kotsay and thats another added benefit. I really like how Kotsay has been tearing it up offensely and defensively of late, and I hope it cintinues the whole year.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:May 3, 2008
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Andruw Jones was awesome, but I honestly think Kotsay has better speed and sometimes better range than Andruw has had in his past couple of years.
Maybe this year. I'll admit that I haven't really watched too many Dodgers games. You look at this stats from the past 9 seasons (back to 1998) and he's averaging 375 PO a year. Only once did he dip below his average (2005) and last year he had 396 PO. While with Atlanta, he got the best jump on the ball that I had ever seen. He makes plays that most people lay out for look effortless (or at least he did). He needs to lose a few pounds (it might help him stay more balanced at the plate, too, but I think that's a lost cause at this point).
As far as Mark Kotsay goes, I was skeptical just for the injury concerns. One thing you could always count on out of Andruw Jones was that he would play in almost every game. Mark's defense was never a question for me, if he's healthy. I still think he's a downgrade from Jones defensively, if only slightly. His offensive production has been fantastic so far. I still like Kelly Johnson in the leadoff spot as I think with the absence of Barry Bonds in the majors, Kelly has one of the best eyes in baseball now.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 25, 2007
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I'll stick with what I said in the pre-season:
Whether Mark Kotsay is good or not is irrelevant. Gregor Blanco is 2 and a half million dollars cheaper, nearly as good, and not that much of a downgrade. It didn't seem enough to give up Joey Devine, at least, who could be giving us a lot of bullpen help right now. At the time I felt it added unnecessary payroll, added an unnecessary player, and spread our bullpen a little too thin.
Now Blanco is forcing his way into the lineup on a regular basis and we're still frantically searching for bullpen help. It's not that we received poor value in the trade; I think the trade was pretty fair. But given our team and our situation, I don't understand why we thought we needed to make the trade.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 29, 2008
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Danger,
Because, while Blanco was highly regarded, I don't think Wren or anyone else expected him to develop as well as he has. That's why we got Josh Anderson as well. In retrospect, those deals seem superfluous, but at the time, the Braves management thought they were needed.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 19, 2006
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Mark Kotsay was a great acquisition for the Braves. The team made it clear that they were not looking for a long-term deal with a "big-name" player because of all the talent that is in the minor leagues.
Kotsay will be just fine until it's time for one of the young guys to be called up and play every day.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 4, 2006
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After tonight's game, I think we can all agree that Mark Kotsay was a great addition to our team. Joey Devine looked good tonight, but Kotsay helped get this all too important homestand off on the right foot by driving in the winning run against his former team, the Oakland Athletics. I hope we can keep this momentum going, Go Braves.
Next up : Tim Hudson goes up against his old team.
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