We are cluttered in the of and Nady is a second-tier player in my book. We haven’t seen him play for the entire season, and while I like him, he’s 29-30 and has never been an everyday player until very recently. Kotchman is very good at first, and while he’s not necessarily an all-star, I’d ask do we really need another?

Look at our great teams of the past … O’Neill, Martinez, Girardi, Brosious, Williams … all were solid, workman-like performers, but none were heart-stopping superstars like those we carry today. We need guys that “fit” in like Brosious—solid .280 guys with some pop and great defense. I’m for pursuing this. I really don’t think we NEED to have Tex in pinstripes. We need guys like Kotchman, and yes, Nady (my issue with him is that he doesn’t play great defense, and we are already crowded out there).

We have a crowded outfield as is. Trading a 29 year old Nady to the Braves for a 25 year old slick fielding first-baseman eliminates our need to sign Tex, and as I’ve been preaching here for several weeks, we need to get back to the late 90s mentality of not having a freakin’ all-star in every position. We tried that in the 80s, and it simply didn’t work.

Kotchman is a puzzle piece. He’s hard-nosed, hard playing. Nady also fits the bill, and I’d hate to see him go, but if we can land another puzzle-piece guy like Baldelli (who I think would come cheap) we’ve not broken the bank, and we’ve gone a long way in returning to that late 90s philosophy.

For those who think Baldelli would bomb, I’d answer that it’s much easier finding a quality outfielder than a quality first-baseman.

Kotchman is still climbing the curve. In the minors he was nothing short of a magician with the bat. He’s barely got 1,000 at bats, and many will tell you that that is simply not enough to determine a player’s line. I’d pull the trigger in a heartbeat.

I’d rather throw money at CC, Peavy, Burnett than Tex.