What I like about Kotsay/Baldelli is that the two of them are strong fallback options if Lowell isn’t ready to go April 1; if (when) Drew goes down; if it turns out that the Ellsbury of June-July is what we get all season (in which case Butchie can send me his hat and I’ll eat it).

If either outfield problem develops, Kotsay/Baldelli could make a very strong platoon.

Regardless, it’d be foolish not to consider. Having said that, I don’t think he’d agree to being a 5th OF, PH deluxe, which would be his role here.
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I agree, he wouldn’t take a non-starting job. Having said that, ugh…I cannot imagine him in NY. I can’t stand Bonds.

I so don’t want to go there.
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Regardless, it’d be foolish not to consider. Having said that, I don’t think he’d agree to being a 5th OF, PH deluxe, which would be his role here.

The season went horribly wrong when Alberto Gonzalez had 52 at bats with an OPS+ of 18 and Justin Christian had to get 40 at bats with an OPS+ of 65.
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92 AB’s out of 5500+ really isn’t that big a deal.

But if you’re looking for an OF with pop to come off the bench, I believe Mr. Bonds is looking for work…
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I so don’t want to go there.

i would add that i think john rodriguez is someone to watch as a potentially useful bench player. unfortunately, it’s at the one spot we don’t need any depth: corner OF.

i’m with steve here. this is a big reason why i think you have to keep nady and swisher (to start at least). right now they make the bench. with them it’s decent, without them it’s atrocious. nothing wrong with molina backing up posada. and obviously nothing wrong with nady/swisher in a 4th OF, play 3-4 times a week with late PH ABs. but there are still two more spots to fill. melky/berroa/ransom isn’t overwhelming anyone, even in the context of bench players. it won’t mean much if everyone stays healthy. but we’ve seen how that has gone recently. you need depth, and we don’t have much, especially if we trade nady/swisher, which shouldn’t even be a consideration unless the return is too good to pass up.

MJ, I agree that if you have to worry about your 5th outfielder than something else has goe horribly wrong. Last year, we saw that happen. The season went horribly wrong when Alberto Gonzalez had 52 at bats with an OPS+ of 18 and Justin Christian had to get 40 at bats with an OPS+ of 65. Even if we had somebody average or below average it would have helped, but with the possibility of losing time from numerous players, having Melky and Berroa worries me. Is it crucial to our season? No, but I feel we can do a little better.

Again, is Swisher that guy (assuming he and Nady stay)? Well, I’ve seen him play – and I’m not sure he’s in the class, with the bat, of a Straw, Raines or PED assisted Spencer…..coming off the bench.
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Well, in the case of Straw & Raines, you’re talking two HoF caliber talents, so I don’t think many people can match up to them. I don’t see any reason Nady & Swisher couldn’t replicate or exceed Shane Spencer’s numbers.

But if you’re looking for an OF with pop to come off the bench, I believe Mr. Bonds is looking for work…

YankCrank, all I’m saying is that in the grand scheme of things, I’m not worried about Angel Berroa or the 5th OF role.

Would I ideally love to see the Yanks have starting-caliber players on the bench? Of course. There’s nothing I’d love more than to have a 25-man roster of 100% dependable guys. But I just won’t worry about the 25th man on the roster unless there’s a reason to. And right now there isn’t.