Torii Takes a Walk
In a rare move, Torii Hunter walks. However, this isn't the type of walk that Torii has avoided at all costs throughout his career, but rather the one he's been talking about for the past year. The one where he's managed to spin the situation around and paint the Twins as being "cheap" for not overpaying on a long contract for an aging, inconsistent player who has become increasingly critical of not only the organization but also the young players on the team.
Hunter moves to The Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim, California, Not To Be Confused With Those Lame Los Angeles Dodgers (I think that's the current name, though they may have changed it again since I started typing it), where he will probably fit right in. He'll get to bat behind Vladimir Guerrero, providing him much needed protection in the lineup; this makes a lot of sense, because Torii is a major impact bat and has always given consistent offensive production -- oh wait, opposing pitchers knew they could walk the guys in front of Hunter in Minnesota because Torii would ground into a double play ... will that change now that he's making even more money? And he'll get to check the color of his new teammates' skin and decide whether to criticize them for being injured and not playing; part of the Angels' stated plans in bringing in Hunter was that Gary Matthews Jr would then spell Garret Anderson and Vlad at the corner positions, because they won't be playing every day. (I'm going to go out on a limb and say Hunter won't say anything about them, and repeatedly say how much he loves the place, until they either start losing or a white star starts rising through the ranks and Hunter feels he has to denigrate him through the media rather than risk his status as a clubhouse hero by talking in the clubhouse.)
Over the past few months, I've become very critical of Torii Hunter. And at this point, I don't think anybody can legitimately accuse the Twins of being cheap by not signing him. Five years, $90 million is way too much money to pay someone like Hunter. And by "someone like Hunter" I mean a 32 year old center fielder with decreasing speed, dwindling skills in the field that are overlooked because of his reputation, a complete inability to draw a walk or make the pitcher work, and a history of extreme inconsistency at the plate. A mid-market team signing that deal means that three years from now, you have a grumpy left fielder making $20+ million, criticizing the other players on the team, batting .250/.260/.380, blocking some prospect from getting his shot with us and forcing us to send him away to flourish elsewhere, and making enough money to prevent us from signing younger, better, more consistent players (I'm looking over at first base right now, but it could be anywhere). Large market teams can afford to pay that kind of player because they'll just sign another big bat and either leave the albatross on the bench or trade him for a couple of mid-level prospects and pay half his remaining salary just to get rid of him. And by the way, if the Twins start doing things like that, they'll be fighting to get out of the basement in the AL Central for another decade.
Other than being free of the Torii Hunter Show (canceled after one season), the only other bright side here is that the Angels swooped in and signed him. Since they were in the top half of the league last year, we get their first round draft pick next year. It's my opinion that Torii was looking at the White Sox, Royals, and Rangers because he wanted to stick it to the Twins and ensure that we didn't get that first round pick. (Or you can believe Torii, who said it was because he wanted to go to a team dedicated to winning championships, which is clearly what the White Sox, Royals, and Rangers are.)
And now we have to wait and see what we can do to fill our holes at CF, 3B, and DH. Hopefully Bill Smith realizes that Denard Span, Nick Punto, and Garrett Jones are not the answers to our problems. Also, I'm hoping he doesn't mention to the senile Carl Pohlad that we have $12 million ToriiBucks to spend, because I'm guessing he wouldn't be allowed to spend it all if The Carl knew about it.
Posted by Sean Schulte at 2007-11-23 13:39:05
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