Torii Hunter to Braves? - his own words

by themurph on Oct 18, 2007 1:22 PM EDT

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071017&content_id=2270739&vkey=news_mlb&fext=. jsp&c_id=mlb&partnered

He is apparently good friends with Dmitri Young...

"I always talk to my wife about being interested in playing in front of the African-American fans and trying to get the African Americans back to playing the game," he said. "If I go to Atlanta or D.C. and make a difference that way, I would love it. Trust me -- D.C. is very interesting to me as well as Atlanta."

I admire that stance actually...I hope we can get him. Give Schafer plenty of time to learn and not rush him into the 09 lineup.

This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Talking Chop.

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Unless

he'd be willing to sign for a 2, MAYBE 3 year contract. Pass. The guys bat is bad. AJ had a horrible year and even then, Torii barely eclipsed him in one of his best, if not best years!! Yeah his D is great, but whoopee. They have more pressing needs pitching wise, than signing a "top tier" CF.
I have never seen Schafer play, but from everything I read about him, he's the goods. And I don't think a 2009 timetable would be rushing him.

by NorCalAtlFan on Oct 18, 2007 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

What???

Torii (circa 2007): .287/.334/.505
Andruw (circa 2007): .222/.311/.413

This was the second best season of Hunter's career, with the third best being last year, so this looks to be his prime more than a fluke or contract year rush. He's also clearly the better fielder as per Zone Rating.

That aside, I agree with everything else that you said. Schafer's developement means that the Braves will look for a stopgap CF instead of a big ticket replacement for Andruw. Truth is that just about anyone could duplicate his line from last year and we were a second tier line-up in MLB as far as runs scored are concerned, so there's no real need there. We should only spend if we have to and keep our commitments to a minimum.

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by ejruiz on Oct 18, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

obviously

getting more hitting wasnt the right way to go about making up for the Braves shitty pitching. If you cannot sign a valuable pitcher, then he next best thing to do is to shore up your fielding. Torri Hunter is one of the best CF in the game and his bat is nothing to be ashamed of. This was one of the main reasons that BC left Andruw in the lineup night after night, so he could patrol the OF and minimalize the mistake made on the field. Shit look at the Colorado Rockies right now and where they are (best Fielding % in the league). Shafer looks like he is going to be an exciting player, but lets not give away the CF spot to him just yet.

by MIZIKE74 on Oct 18, 2007 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions

we can't afford torii hunter

why do people even take the time to think about? he, and rowand, and andruw even through arby, are all far more than we have to spend on CF

by abravesfan on Oct 18, 2007 2:28 PM EDT reply actions

sign Mark Cameron already

1 year deal until Jordan Schafer is ready

by RehabReject on Oct 18, 2007 8:02 PM EDT reply actions

oops

I meant MIKE not Mark

by RehabReject on Oct 18, 2007 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Torii Hunter's Career Line

.271/.324/.469

And the Braves are going to pay even more money annually to their center fielder?

Roll that beautiful bean footage.

by Anonymous2 on Oct 19, 2007 1:42 PM EDT reply actions

Mike Cameron or....

Coco Crisp. I bet we can get Coco for a bargain and stick him in the leadoff spot. He's definitely not coming back to Boston since they got my boy Jacoby there.

by RehabReject on Oct 19, 2007 3:40 PM EDT reply actions

I live..

..in Oregon and loved watching him play at Oregon State. :)

by RainDelay on Oct 19, 2007 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions

jacque jones

may not be a bad signing either for the braves. the cubs have three CFs on their roster, the other two being highly regarded prospects. the braves may get him for cheap and he has a fairly similar contract to crisp (both from LA also)

by MIZIKE74 on Oct 19, 2007 7:26 PM EDT reply actions

thats

if we want to be unrealistic

but maybe the Braves can get a bargain for coco, torii or jacque

by MIZIKE74 on Oct 19, 2007 9:47 PM EDT reply actions

personally

I would settle for Coco, Jacque, or Cameron. At least we know we're getting an average CF with so-so hitting and OK fielding.

With Andruw in the lineup we NEVER knew what we were getting. He would be terrible for a month and then he'd tease us with a "good" week by hitting .270 with 2 HRs. Then back to being god awful for 2 months followed by a 3 game series in SD where he was an MVP candidate.

by RehabReject on Oct 19, 2007 11:07 PM EDT reply actions

But Crisp and Jacque Jones aren't any good

And Hunter is likely going to make about 15 million per year on the open market. I don't think the Braves will ever even call his agent.

Mike Cameron makes the most sense. He is from Georgia and wants to play for the Braves. You could get him for a one or two year deal, opening the door for Jordan Schafer in 2009 or 2010. I just hope signing Cameron doesn't mess with the Braves' plans to get one or two new starters and fix the rotation. Can the Braves afford both Glavine and Cameron?

Roll that beautiful bean footage.

by Anonymous2 on Oct 20, 2007 1:01 PM EDT reply actions