if I thought he were a good leadoff option. But I think last year proved that he’s not good in that spot. As a result, he’s just another No. 6 hitter on a team full of them — whereas Colvin at least has the capacity to do more.

And, yes, Kosuke could hit second. But he won’t, because that seems to be where Castro will hit.

I don’t blame Kosuke for making money. But the signing, in my mind, was the spark that ignited a fire that burned down the foundation laid in 2006-07. Had the Cubs NOT signed Kosuke after 2007, they could have spent $48 million on better player(s). There really is little question anymore — despite old, tired, impossible-to-quantify statements that Kosuke made the Cubs more patient and more attractive to Japanese fans or fuzzy math regarding when he received his signing bonus, etc. — that Kosuke has been grossly overpaid by the Chicago Cubs.

When the Kosuke signing blew up, Hendry had to find another middle-order bat who hit left handed. Enter Milton Bradley, whose contract (with so much other money on the books) was paid for by shedding DeRosa, Wood and Marquis and acquiring replacements who were net negatives in 2009 (Gregg, Miles, etc.).

Hendry is the main culprit, and even with Kosuke, he could have found other ways to work his budget and fill out the team. But Kosuke’s failure in the second half of 2008 was the single biggest factor in deciding how the complexion of the team was going to change for 2009, IMO. And, of course, we all know what happened in 2009 and 2010. I also hate the defense that Hendry shouldn’t be blamed for signing Kosuke because a handful of other GMs were equally willing to shell out too much money Kosuke. Great — so Jimbo won the bidding for the first Yugo. Fantastic.

Beyond that, I’m personally tired of hearing how Kosuke is really a good player even though he’s not good enough to justify another team even paying half his salary. If he’s as good as his defenders claim, why won’t some team pay even $4 million for his strong defense and OBP?

l never criticize Kosuke’s defense. But he’s a maddening offensive player who has been a huge disappointment. He’s incredibly streaky, he requires a platoon partner/lots of rest to perform AND he can’t use his single good offense ability — OBP — to provide the one thing the Cubs haven’t had since Kenny Lofton: a leadoff hitter.

Finally, Colvin might have a sophomore slump. But he’s a legitimate part of this team’s future. Why would we sit him down in place of a guy who likely will head back to Japan before 2012? Colvin might not be the real deal — but shouldn’t we actually find out if he is? I think the findings on Kosuke are pretty clear.