Torri Hunter...

[davego]

Just throwing this out there. If Hunter is signed to play CF (I know the odds of this are about .01%), Hall could go to 3rd and Ryan to left. Would be an upgrade on offense as well as in the field. Gross, TGJ and/or Dillion could round out the OF.

[Katuluu]

Hunter wants 5 yrs at $15 million per. He'll get that and probably more fairly easily. The chances of him signing with the Brewers are less then 0%.

[And That]

In addition to the boatload of cash he's going to get, his defense has started to slip a bit. And your going to be paying him until he's 35 or 36 years old. No thanks.

[GAME05]

thing is, at what point do you just have to accept that you're not ever going to sign the perfect player? There's even knocks against ARod.

 

I'm not necessarily lobbying for Hunter, but any solid FA out there is going to get a contract until he's 36, at least. And as far as Hunter or any other high-profile CF out there this year, when he starts to slow down too much for CF, we just scoot him to a corner and assume that some prospect like a Ford or Gillespie or whomever is going to be able to take over CF at that point.

[Gopher74]

thing is, at what point do you just have to accept that you're not ever going to sign the perfect player? There's even knocks against ARod.

 

I'm not necessarily lobbying for Hunter, but any solid FA out there is going to get a contract until he's 36, at least. And as far as Hunter or any other high-profile CF out there this year, when he starts to slow down too much for CF, we just scoot him to a corner and assume that some prospect like a Ford or Gillespie or whomever is going to be able to take over CF at that point.

Well, the thing is, IMO, you're not going to really get much of an upgrade offensively with Hunter over Billy Hall. Now of course last year Hunter had a career year, and Hall had an awful year, but I think it's pretty safe to say that Hall is going to be a .270-.275/.330 or so type player who can hit 20-25 HR's. That's pretty much what Tori Hunter is going to give you, and what he has given you for the last several years.

 

Now as far as Hunters defense, I don't agree thats' slipped at all. I think he's the best defensive CF'er of all time(I admit, an opinion that's been influenced by Gammons and Callis). But I don't think that's enough to sign him for 15+ million(and given Jones slip, I think he's actually going to get a Carlos Lee-esque deal).

 

What I WOULD do is go after Bobby Abreu. He gives you exactly what you need. He's a very good OBP type guy, he's got good speed, and decent power, though he's obviously lost quite a bit of that power, which is what may make him a 10-11 million dollar a year player rather than a 15 million dollar a year player again.

[davego]

I'm not saying that it shoulb be Hunter, but someone who could play center could be the way to go. Really the 'new guy' would be replacing Mench/Jenkins. Billy would improve the IF defense and I'll assume is not going to hit worse then he did this year. Bran would be the question, if you would want to bounce him around the diamond. I know this isn't going to happen, but just saying...

[Gopher74]

I'm not saying that it shoudl be Hunter, but someone to could play center could be the way to go. Really the 'new guy' would be replacing Mench/Jenkins. Billy would improve the IF defense and I'll assume is not going to hit worse then he did this year. Bran would be the question, if you would want to bounce him around the diamond. I know this isn't going to happen, but just saying...

I think if say for instance Mike Cameron had an OBP of .380 on average, I could him being our primary target, but IMO, I think Melvin is going to go after Bobby Abreu. I just think he fits perfectly into what Melvin wants to do. Speed at the top of the order, great, great OBP's, decent power, and he can knock in runs. Now if they don't get him, I could definitely see us going after Cameron and sacrificing the OBP a little to upgrade the defense, speed and power.

 

But I don't know if I agree that CF should be a position we focus on because of Bill Hall. I mean assuming he's going to keep playing for us, and we're not looking to replace his stick(Which I think most agree will come around) then I think he's fine in CF. He improved exponentially out there last year, and I think he'll continue to make those strides this year, and since the Brewers seem intent on sticking with Braun at 3rd base, I think they'll leave him out there.

 

Again, if we pass on Abreu, I'd be thrilled to plug Cameron into CF, but I think the defensive aspect of it should be 3rd or 4th among priorities behind getting on-base, speed, and situational offense....all things Abreu is fantastic at.

[And That]

I'm not saying that it shoud be Hunter, but someone to could play center could be the way to go.

Hall got better as the year went on - I think he's a viable, if unspectacular, option out there. Corey Hart plays a good CF also. This team has higher priorities than CF defense right now, IMO. Hunter would pretty much just be brought it for that.

 

[Gopher74]

I'm not saying that it shoud be Hunter, but someone to could play center could be the way to go.

Hall got better as the year went on - I think he's a viable, if unspectacular, option out there. Corey Hart plays a good CF also. This team has higher priorities than CF defense right now, IMO. Hunter would pretty much just be brought it for that.

 

Two sentences in what took me three paragraphs..LOL.....

I totally agree though.

[MNBrew]

While Hall has potential, Hunter has delivered several times over. His offense has only gotten better, especially the past two years. And his defense is nothing short of exceptional. With the possible exception of his arm strength (only because I haven't looked it up), Hunter is an established 4- if not 5-tool player and a bona fide All-Star.

 

Maybe someday Bill Hall will have those credentials & plaudits under his belt. But until that occurs, Hunter would be a huge upgrade over Hall and Bill Hall is not close to the same class of players as Torii Hunter is. (And I am a die hard Brewers fan, hands down, not to mention an eternal optimist. These aren't Twins goggles I have on.)

 

Dollar figures are debatable, but Hunter's basically said outright that he's after a 5-year contract. He turned down the 3 yr./$45M contract the Twins offered this summer for its years, not average salary.

 

(EDIT: For what it's worth, as much as I like Hunter, I don't think he's the guy the Brewers should target first. I'm in the Bobby Abreu camp.)

[TooLiveBrew]

The chances of him signing with the Brewers are less then 0%.

 

So you're sayin' we've got a chance!

 

Btw, mr. nitpick sez, "It's 'Torii'!"

[igor67]

The advantage of grabbing an OF with good defense is the potential that Doug could see that light and switch Braun into LF and Hall back to third. I'm pretty confident that by the end of the year that pays big dividends defensively for the team.

[davego]

What Igor said.

[lukevan]

I really don't see any move for Braun until '09 at the earliest. Melvin & Co. will give him another shot at 3B this year IMO.

 

Hunter is too expensive for the (minimal) size of upgrade he'd be over Gross or Hall. And his defense has taken a slight hit.

[endaround]

The problem with Hunter is the salary after 2008. In 2009, Suppan will make $12.5 million, Bush around $5 million, Capuano around $6 million, Fielder could get $5 million, Hall $6.8 million. Hardy $5 million, Hart $3 million, and Weeks $3 million. Thats $46.3 million without Sheets and without a bullpen.

[Gopher74]

While Hall has potential, Hunter has delivered several times over. His offense has only gotten better, especially the past two years. And his defense is nothing short of exceptional. With the possible exception of his arm strength (only because I haven't looked it up), Hunter is an established 4- if not 5-tool player and a bona fide All-Star.

 

Maybe someday Bill Hall will have those credentials & plaudits under his belt. But until that occurs, Hunter would be a huge upgrade over Hall and Bill Hall is not close to the same class of players as Torii Hunter is. (And I am a die hard Brewers fan, hands down, not to mention an eternal optimist. These aren't Twins goggles I have on.)

 

Dollar figures are debatable, but Hunter's basically said outright that he's after a 5-year contract. He turned down the 3 yr./$45M contract the Twins offered this summer for its years, not average salary.

 

(EDIT: For what it's worth, as much as I like Hunter, I don't think he's the guy the Brewers should target first. I'm in the Bobby Abreu camp.)

Yea, I agree that he's more likely to put up those numbers than Hall is, I'm just saying paying a HUGE sum of money for a guy who has hit in the .270/.330 25 range most of his career when you should expect Hall to do that is a bad idea.

 

Now if it were 10 million per for Hunter, that'd be worth it, but like you said, he's already turned down 3/45...so.....