I need to bake a pumpkin pie, but it seemed worth mentioning in a post (as mentioned in the comments) that Torii Hunter has agreed to a 5-year, $90M deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The length or amount of this contract isn't really surprising. The location is a bit surprising.
The Angels now employ Vlad, Torii, Garrett Anderson, Gary Matthews, Jr., Juan Rivera, and Reggie Willits. That's six players for four spots in the lineup. I'm not exactly sure how much sense this makes for them, but if they can move Matthews, Rivera, or Willits, the outfield overload wouldn't seem quite so extreme.
For the Twins, this means they'll be drafting twice in the first round next year, which is nice for the long-term future of the team. The supplementary round of the draft has gotten to be pretty large, so in comparison to Hunter signing with the White Sox or Rangers, this is in a way like trading up from a third-round pick to a first-round pick.
For the next couple of years, off the top of my head, I'd say this definitely makes the Angels better. The last two or three years? I'm not as sure about that. I can envision a world where the Angels are able to increase their revenues to the point where a contract like this doesn't really hurt them, but we'll find out. I'm extremely comfortable saying that a 5-yr/$90M contract for the Twins wouldn't have made sense. This is pretty decent timing for the Twins, who are now free to make a move for a center fielder while there are still a number of options out there.
Alright, time to use the pumpkin pie recipe passed down to me from my mother, who got it from her mother, who got it off a can of Festival pumpkin. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Wow. $90 million. That's huge money.
We'll see if Torri gets the Knoblauch treatment when he visits the dome
I wish Torii steps to the plate at the Metrodome for the first time next season as an Angel, and gets absolutely no reaction at all. Silence.
Doubtful. I'm sure there will be elegies to him in the local press from the usual suspects which will play on the heart strings of some.
On the other hand, Hunter couldn't stop running his mouth when he played here, so I'm sure he'll have something backhanded and patronizing to say when comes through town. We'll see how that plays now that he's in the other clubhouse.
He will probably repeat how much he loved it here and how he misses all of his old teammates, but then when Garza buzzes him with a 97 mph fastball he will charge the mound and then try to punch Morneau when he intervenes. Then he will say something to LEN about how it's all Mauer's fault because he called for the pitch, and that Mauer has never been good at calling games, and that Mauer is a sissy crybaby.
I'll miss you, Torii Hunter.
Silence.
That would be perfect. It's not going to happen, but it would be perfect.
Radio reports that the Angels open against the Twins.
I just wish we could get some silence from Hunter. I had to hear again last night about how he wished he could have stayed with the Twins, but they just didn't want him.
Hunter, shut up. You could have stayed with the Twins and gotten a big pile of money. You chose to go to Los Angeles and get a bigger pile. That's your right, and I don't see anything wrong with it, but don't talk about how you were forced to do it. You had a choice.
Yeah, it's a shame that the cost of living has gotten so high that $90M won't buy silence anymore.
Torii's comments are predictably self-serving--of course he was after the big pile of money--but he's not exactly wrong about the Twins, either. His agent let them know that he could get 5 years from other clubs, and probably gave them an idea of the dollar figure he was after, as well. If the team can't offer its supposed FOTF some kind of 5-year deal, not even for show, what can you say? Smith clearly wasn't too interested in re-signing the guy.
Bump said that he's going to continue having Torii Hunter as a guest on his radio show. What for?
Mauer bashing, of course.