Torii Hunter, the much-discussed and nearly ousted Twins center-fielder, won his fifth straight Gold Glove, as the awards were announced today. Along with Hunter, Oakland 3B Eric Chavez and Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki also won their fifth straight. Some of the other winners were questionable. Vernon Wells from Toronto and Mark Teixiera from Texas. Teixiera seems like a strech to me and another case of winning the award for offense over anything else. (Although his .998 fielding percentage lead AL first baseman, Darin Erstad has a higher zone rating) That is to say, Paul Konerko also has a high fielding percentage, but he isn't exactly known to be a great first baseman. I say give it to Erstad, the highlight reel guy who isn't even close to an offensive force. Why not? He won't be winning the MVP anytime soon.
But, enough about those complaints. Hunter gets his award and his $100,000 bonus, but we haven't talked much on this sight yet about whether or not he is staying or going. Hunter is certainly great to have in the field, but I wonder if his issues are about his lack of leadership or a desire to be traded. Either way, he should be. There is no reason to keep a cancerous presence around the clubhouse for $10.75 million. Especially when that cancer doesn't do much leading with the bat. He'll be the biggest free-swinger in the lineup with Jacque Jones. Time to move on. Even if Joe Vavra gives me little hope that the Twins will do anything next year. Congrats, Torii. Hope New York treats you well.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
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3 comments:
Granted, Torii isn't what we wish he would be, and if you could do it again, you probably wouldn't pay eight figures for what he provides. Still, he's not exactly a bum, either. He is a fairly good batter, and an excellent defender. That doesn't mean the Twins shouldn't trade him, but they shouldn't just give him away, either. If you can get something for him that will make the team better, then fine, make the move. But don't just trade him to get rid of him.
True, I don't mean to suggest we should trade him at all. It really came out more sarcastic then I was trying for. I meant to say that the club looks like they are going to trade him and maybe that's what they want. No, they shouldn't trade the only respectable veteran around who can actually shake up or better yet, beat the snot out of no-respect players like Morneau. Someone has to teach these guys respect so they can play as a coercive team. That's worth 8-figures. So I honestly hope they decide against it, but it looks like they'll be stupid enough to think this will be a "Knoblauch"-esque trade. It won't. We can't replace Torii's presence so lets not try to, especially if we want to compete next year.
I think you meant a "cohesive" team.
On the other hand, if Torii's going to beat people up....
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