I totally agree with this.

However, it doesn't make me less mad that March, not November, was the chosen month for the surgery.

and appreciation?  that's what i tell all my soon to be ex g/f's...

But he has to be in a game to miss him. He misses too many games. That's why people aren't as sad as you and Blez seem to think that we should be about him missing time. You can't cry over the inevitable.

BTW...we really needed another Kotsay thread. <eyeroll>

He'll be gone by then.

Bradley will be a marked upgrade over 2006 Kotsay in centerfield.  Hell, Byrnes would be an upgrade.

The only thing we'll miss about Kotsay is depth.  If Bradley and/or Stewart go down to injury, we're screwed, but we probably would have been, anyway, with or without Kotsay.

I sense an impending barrage of defensive metrics.

Out of curiosity (and I have no idea whether Kotsay is better or worse than average at this, so I'm not trying to make any point), how do defensive metrics account for positioning?

Nico, usually your posts are well thought out and well supported by actual observations and evidence.  That's why I am really disappointed with your post. It is couched in terms of fact, i.e. the fact that Bradley will make this error or that, when in fact, you have not even given Bradley the benefit of observing him play center for a prolonged period of time.  So how can you couch what are essentially baseless predictions as fact?  
Is Kotsay the standard in fundamentals?  Yes?  Does that mean Bradley won't be an upgrade or an equal to Kotsay b/c he has had a mental lapse? No.  
I would think Torii (?) Hunter has more mental lapses than Kotsay - you know what I mean - but at this stage in their careers, I think Hunter is by far the better defensive CF even though he is overhyped by all the SportsCenter highlights.

Similarly, I believe Bradley's natural talent, better speed  and better arm will be more than enough to make him equal to or better than Kotsay.  At least to such an extent that I won't be begging for Kotsay's return as you claim we all will.

Mind you, I'm not a Kotsay hater or a member of the KDF, and I truly wish he was healthy b/c that's just better for the A's depth wise, but no one can dispute his steady decline in the past few years - fundamentals aside.  We will be just fine without him . . . so long as Milton and the other OFs stay healthy.

with the entire gist of this post. You make it seem like Bradley is some goon with a glove. He's a very fine defensive player and I don't anticipate a huge spike in missed cutoff men or balls rolling back towards the infield because of Bradley replacing Kotsay.

I'm not saying that Kotsay's D won't be missed because it will, but the reason it will be missed is not because Bradley will be in center, but because Swisher will be in right and not at 1B.

Now pass the green m&m's....................and let's all just enjoy what we have. God I love A's baseball!!!!

any criticism about the timing of kotsay's surgery is misplaced.  we would have all made the same desicion is his shoes.  you would have waited until all other options were exhausted.  i work in the spinal graft industry, and believe me, you don't want any body cutting your back open unless they absolutely have to.  People are upset about the timing??  why? because it impacts your fantasy team?

although, eric bynes would look pretty good on the team right about now.  think of the column nico could write about fundamentals then!

looking at it this way, it could be the break goleski or maybe dan johnson can take advantage of.  somebody will get significant playing that otherwise would not.  now maybe goleski can break camp with the club and begin to blossom.  otherwise we would have to give him back.

In any sport at any level, success starts with defense and defense starts with fundamentals.

Synchronized swimming?

Noodling?

Buzkashi?

(To be fair, I really don't know whether or not success in buzkashi relies on defensive fundamentals...)

Speak for yourself Nico, not all of us. Bradley not fundamental enough for you? Perhaps you preferred an NBA game without the non-traditional dunk shot?

Stop!, you're both right!

Is it possible that Mark Kotsay and Jim Breuer were separated at birth? I know that there are obvious differences, for sure, like Mark is a hard working ball player and Jim Breuer is a smartass comedian, Kotsay is, for the most part, straight laced, Jim Breuer is a goofball. But one can't help but looking at the both of them and wondering..."Are they related or both just smoke a lot of weed?"

You make it sound like Mark Kotsay was a perfectly sound outfielder for the last three years ... he wasn't.

Even at his healthiest, Mark Kotsay wasn't a perfect outfielder. His fundamentals were sound, but he did misjudge balls. Plus, Kotsay was far from 100% physically the last two years.

I'll take Bradley's "flawed fundamentals" over Kotsay's 60% physical ability any day.