Hunter praises Guerrero
by raven191 on Jan 9, 2009 5:57 AM PST
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This is great news to Angel fans....I can't wait to see what Vlad looks like this year.. I think with his added motivation that he is in for a great year.. He is one of the best offensive players in the MLB..I just hope the knee stays healthy and he plays 150 games .. I think he can play 120 or so of those in the OF, and DH once a week or if he is a litte sore from the wear and tear of a full ML season...Can't wait for the spring...
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yeah, and he also said we were landing Teixeira...
so… yeah. there’s always that.
I have nothing important to say.
by thrill000 on Jan 9, 2009 8:15 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, but I love that about Torii...
…he’s almost pathologically optimistic. You need players like that.
I see red people
by The Limey on Jan 9, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think he ever explicitly
Said we were landing Teixiera—he said he thought we had a great shot at it because of what he’d heard the Halos’ offer was at and how Teixiera had been agonizing over it so much.
Light Up That Halo!
by Clutch on Jan 9, 2009 1:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
someone needs to post that video of him with the pinata again
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 9, 2009 9:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
ask and you shall receive
Kotch would've had that.
by howiestheman on Jan 9, 2009 9:49 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
YES
he should come out to that song this season and maybe have that kid’s reaction on all the video screens
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 9, 2009 10:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
hahahahaha
that would be sooooooo freaking amazing
Kotch would've had that.
by howiestheman on Jan 9, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I have seen animated gifs of the little boy for years.
Never did I know that crazy expression came from our very own Center Fielder. Thank you Hunter for being awesome. And can someone re-make that commercial for the Angels.
Thank you.
by Jay Cal on Jan 9, 2009 10:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Me too!
I thought it was kind of creepy before I knew the context. I’m sending that one to my family.
Don't mess with Teix-ass or Bor-ass!
by Rally Manatee on Jan 9, 2009 4:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That is priceless...
Thanks for the link.
Jim Scully
by jimmuscomp on Jan 9, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That was incredible
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Specializing in maniac-ball since 2000
by halofan4life on Jan 9, 2009 12:42 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
have you guys not seen
Lookout Landing made this after Torii robbed the Sexson homer to win the game…
Kotch would've had that.
by howiestheman on Jan 9, 2009 12:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
haha
12/19/08 - Thank you KLJ for coming into my life.
by norcaliangelsfan on Jan 9, 2009 1:26 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
whenever Torii comes up to bat
my girlfriend and i are both saying, “C’mon Torii! Ruin someone’s birthday!”
Kotch would've had that.
by howiestheman on Jan 9, 2009 2:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Failure breeds hilarity
Those guys are absolutely hysterical on a regular basis. Just another reason to root for them to continue to fail!
Napoli IS the power bat in 2009. Watch.
by 101halo on Jan 9, 2009 4:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
LMAO
That was awesome.
“I will smush you with my shoes. I am tall, you are short and easily smushed.”
by Chzburger Jones on Jan 9, 2009 4:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
those comments justify about 50% of torii's contract
just seeing how much misery he brought to seattle makes me love him any more
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 9, 2009 9:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm hoping that
Vlad has one more 35 HR, 120 RBI @ .330/.420/.580 left in him. I doubt it, but I am hoping.
by Chzburger Jones on Jan 9, 2009 4:58 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
18 million dollars per year worth
of talk is great and all.
Great interview? check.
Great team player? check
Great clubhouse guy? check
That’s fine and all. But i will gladly give ALL of that up, in exchange for simply this:
18 million dollars worth of production. Because we certainly did not get anywhere near that from Torii in 2008.
HR’s: 2006: 31 2007: 28 2008: 21 Ouch.
RBIs: 2006: 98 2007: 107 2008: 78 Ouch.
Games played: 2007 160 2008 146
Total Bases: 2006 273 2007 303 2008 257
Bottom Line: We did NOT keep Tex. It was not our doing. Tex screwed us over royally. He screwed over Boston too. Borass is King Midas in Reverse. It was out of our hands. Honestly, I’d prefer to not deal with Borasss any more, no matter the cost. I’d ask Weaver now if he plans on keeping Borassss as his agent, and if he does I’d start shopping him for the best deal I could get from frigging Kansas City or some shit like that. And we’re talking about my little Jared Weaver here; I’ve loved the guy since he signed the first time, which you may remember included Borasss trying to screw us again.
But that’s a whole nother topic.
However, our offense is looking tenuous at best. I have a feeling we are going to be in the bottom third of the AL in runs scored and power numbers in 2009. So guess what: Hunter better show up. We need a minimum of 28 dongs and 100 RBI’s, and that’s the floor when you’re making 18 million dollars.
He better get it done. I’m just sayin…
by goodvibe61 on Jan 9, 2009 6:55 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
way to buzzkill an otherwise happy torii post
get used to it. overpaying guys is the way free agency works. We could have had teixeira if we were willing to give him 28 million im sure and then youd be sitting here making the same post about how he’s not worth the money either. In fact, the Yankees are currently overpaying all 3 of their new guys. You wont see them complaining about it. Signing free agent all stars requires overpaying.
Its not a given everyone wants to come here. Sometimes we’re gonna need to put out more money to get guys to come here. When we signed Torii, we were desperate for offense and our clubhouse chemistry and leadership was basically nonexistant with Cabrera gone.
Really, look at our lineup without Torii to start last year and tell me adding a gold glove in CF to effectively apologize to angel fans for Gary Matthews was a bad idea.
Its not your money, just enjoy the guy. He was great in the postseason, had clutch catches and clutch hits in the regular season. And he won a gold glove. Thats not what id call a collossal bust.
Matthews you can be pissed about. Not Hula Dula
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 9, 2009 10:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
just to clarify
that wasnt hostile so dont read it like it is! ;-)
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 9, 2009 10:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't take it that way.
This offseason has cemented a few ideas for me, a couple of which you just hit on.
I agree it’s not a given that ANYONE wants to come here. I think it IS a given that we will get screwed over by almost all prime FA’s, who will mostly go to the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, or Cubs before they come here.
I agree, we will have to overpay for guys to come to Anaheim. The problem is that if we spend our money overpaying for the wrong guys then we don’t have the money to overspend for the right guys. Case in point, our FA signings the past couple years.
I would only complain about Tex costing way too much if he signed a huge contract here, then sharply underperformed compared to his couple most recent seasons. Like GMJ. Or Hunter.
I agree, it’s not my money. By the way, it’s not yours either. So while we’re sitting around BS’ing I’d just like to say I’d rather have spent Artie’s money on Teixeira. That’s all, no biggie. There aren’t any everyday players looming as FA’s in 2010, so hopefully we won’t sign any more FA’s for a couple years. We should wait for the right guy, then overpay him. Even then, if he’s either A: an “east coast” guy, or B: a Borasss client we’re still screwed. But that’s ok, because it leads to the last point.
I agree that it’s completely a business with these players. Hunter loves us now, cuz we paid him. That’s the way it works. We are gonna need to pay more, because it’s become apparent that when a guy we covet (Konerko a few years ago, Tex this year, etc.) is available, SoCal doesn’t seem to be anyone’s first choice. And if the Dodgers really do end up signing ManRam to a few year deal and he does play in SoCal, the idea of him not raking for us is going to be a really big pill to swallow. Oh well.
by goodvibe61 on Jan 10, 2009 1:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
i agree
what youre saying is how ive felt about the free agents this year. Id much rather wait for the right guy than just a guy. However, in the case of Hunter i really do feel that hes not exactly the wrong guy. Sure, he’s overpaid. Thats very obvious. But he’s never been “the guy” in Minnesota so I guess my lack of disapointment had more to do with me not expecting him to be that here.
The guy offered to have his contract spread out over many years like the Dodgers are trying to do with Andruw Jones’ deal, and thats something that makes me really admire Torii and makes me glad he’s on our team. For me at least, the extra 4 million dollars a year (assuming he really should be making 13 or 14 a year in last years market….probably 8 mil in this years) is worth having him on board.
But overall I agree. I hope we avoid sticking with free agents for a while and choose rather to wait for the right guys and right opportunities to spend.
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 10, 2009 9:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm OK with vibe's post
Hunter needs to produce in ‘09 if we’re going to be successful. I don’t think he’s pissed about Hunter, just saying he needs to step it up. And hopefully with a full year under his belt in the clubhouse and in our ballpark, he will.
by Sethy on Jan 9, 2009 10:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
goodvibe61 seems like a misnomer
Unless you’re being ironic
by OntariGro on Jan 9, 2009 10:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Usually I wait for a losing streak before the irony really gets going.
by goodvibe61 on Jan 10, 2009 1:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Well
I’ll certainly be looking forward to that.
by OntariGro on Jan 10, 2009 2:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
no losing streaks planned in 2009. ;)
by Downing Rules on Jan 10, 2009 8:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
What did you expect?
When he signed with the Angels at the end of 2007, Torii’s career numbers averages were .271 / .324 / .469 with 25 HR per 162 games. In 2008? .278 / .344 / .466 with 23 HR per 162 games played. So he hit within 8 points of his career average, slugged within 3 points of his career average, and posted his highest on-base percentage ever. Adjust for the fact that it’s slightly harder to hit a home run right-handed in Anaheim than in Minneapolis, and the difference in home run rate becomes insignificant.
I don’t know what everyone else was expecting, but last year just looked like Torii being Torii to me. Management knew what they were paying $18 million for, and if those offensive numbers are worth $18 million to them, then I’d say they got their money’s worth.
by Suboptimal on Jan 10, 2009 1:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That's the problem. I got what I expected.
Instead of 18 million dollars worth.
by goodvibe61 on Jan 10, 2009 1:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Sometimes it pays to overpay
I posted this away ago in another conversation, but it seems relevant:
I think you have to think of the Torii Hunter deal in terms of bargaining strategy. During the last off-season, the Angels FO was desperate for a star center fielder (i.e. not GMJ). There just aren’t many good CFs coming up in the next few free agent classes, and there aren’t any exciting candidates in the farm system either. It was worth more to them to "make him an offer he couldn’t refuse" than to risk making a bid they might lose, shutting them out of a quality CF for a very long time. Will paying a 37 year-old Torii Hunter $18 million look silly in 2012? Of course it will. But not nearly as silly as paying Andruw Jones to do absolutely nothing through 2014.
You can also bet the Angels had Vernon Wells’ huge contract in mind when they drew up their offer for Torii. The two are pretty similar at the plate (105 career OPS+ to 109 career OPS+) and in the field. Wells got $18 million a year through age 36. Hunter got $18 million a year through age 36. So while I won’t deny that Hunter is overpaid in terms of actual production, it’s not impossible that the Angels could have lost the bid entirely if they had low-balled him instead of ambushing him with a big offer.
I just try to enjoy watching the guy play instead of thinking about how much he makes.
by Suboptimal on Jan 10, 2009 2:29 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That's why
the only signings this year have been low budget.
The Tiex signing was never going to happen. It was never serious money. Let’s face it, if he got 22.5 million from the Yankees, then the Angels could have gone 23.5. But having been burned twice with GMJ and Hunter, the bar was set at 20 as a smoke screen, knowing all too well that it would not cut it.
Anyway, spring training is right around the corner. I’m itching for the season to begin. Play ball. Enough already.
by Kristy_Joe on Jan 10, 2009 2:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Very well said
Angel Pitching, Angel Defense - get past that.
by vladtheimpaler on Jan 10, 2009 10:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
GOODVIBE YOU ARE MISSING ONE IMPORTANT POINT
How many outs did Torii’s glove create that shitty willits would have allowed to be hits, gap doubles, rbi liners, and off course a few HR, how many pitchers would have come out of games and taxed the bullpen with shitty willits – who is cheap, you get your f-bomb 400K value out of shitty willits.
Who else should be in centerfield in 2008? oh how about Garret Anderson – hahahaha, add 1.00 to the staff ERA. Torii met his career offensive numbers and made the pitching staff in Anaheim better than it was without him. $18 million seems about right, especially in 2008 dollars as opposed to Vlad’s bargain 2004 dollars.
by Rev Halofan on Jan 11, 2009 12:47 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
It just seems like too much money compared to what you get for it.
It’s not like i don’t think Hunter is a good player or anything like that. He IS a good player, a very good player.
Just not 18 million a year worth of player, that’s all.
Looking at The Hardball Times, they list Hunter as the 11th best outfielder in the AL in 2008 based on WIN SHARES. That’s not bad. Looking at the numbers, it is his defense that brings him up significantly in the rankings (his fielding number is 6.7, tying him for high in the AL), showing that his offense is merely ok and nothing more (he is ranked 17th in batting, below GA offensively).
True, we have no other options for CF in the foreseeable future. We will watch Torii’s decline over the next four years; hopefully he’ll drop off only a little each year. I expect him to hit 19 HR’s or so and drive in 80 this year, so when people say I should just sit back and enjoy watching Torii it’s not that easy when I think of all those dollars we spent for that kind of production. Especially when we are so deficient offensively. Perhaps when he makes a nice play in the field i will whoop it up a little more or something. Hopefully he won’t watch lazy fly balls fall in front of him in ALDS games next year.
Although i cannot deny that there will also be one other thing running through my mind as i watch Hunter, that his contract helped contribute to our losing out on Teixeira. Torii’s contract was repeatedly mentioned in the media this fall as the floor for recent FA’s in the marketplace. The thought being that if Hunter is actually worth 18 million dollars per year then what is Teixeira worth. And Hunter’s contract helped set Teixeira’s bar so damned high. Perhaps if the bar had been a few mil per year lower we could have overpaid for him instead, and we’d be looking at several years of a far superior talent on our club.
Oh well. As everyone here has been saying, deal with it and just enjoy Hunter. I’ll try.
Settling. That’s what it is. Settling. Hard for me to do.
by goodvibe61 on Jan 11, 2009 8:29 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
just seems like an odd thing to be making such a big point out of
considering very few free agents really justify their contracts. Mark Teixeira’s and Alex Rodriguez’s dont grow on trees, and when theyre available, whoever wins either has to be the Yankees or just flat out of their minds because they get so grossly overpaid.
If we want to improve our team while at the SAME TIME developing our younger players, then free agency is how we’re gonna do it most of the time because we dont give up our prospects. Arte has always said he prefers spending money over spending talent. Would you rather have signed Torii for a couple million dollars over his true value or trade for someone whos worth 18 million and give up the Brandon Woods, Adenharts, Trumbos, Waldens of our farm to do so? And then as you saw with Teixeira, theres no guarantee youre getting this new guy for any real substantial time.
Look at the 2009 Brewers and Braves to see how that works out. Trading for the guys who are “worth it” basically wrecked their systems for the time being and leaves them noncompetitive for at least the next 2 seasons. All we did was win the most games in franchise history with Hunter and enter 2009 with all of our prospects ready to take us into the future
by ihearhowie2.0 on Jan 11, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
No Offense
get over it. its done. lol. only thing that should be on your mind is who is on the team not who isn’t on the team. only stat that really counts is the win column. thats it. thats why they play the games and not hand out WS rings because who looks the best on paper. Yanks are always going to be able to buy the best players but that doesn’t mean their going to win. all the other stats don’t mean anything because your always going to find a stat to favor your opinion on any argument. to say this again, Teix didn’t make us better when it comes to the ultimate stat which is winning.
by HALO_86 on Jan 11, 2009 10:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
well, that's what makes it kind of hard to get over this.
Because all I’m trying to do is think about who IS on my team, and that now I’m supposed to sit back, relax, and enjoy watching Gary Mathews Jr. play ball. And Hunter at 18 million per.
And to say Teix didn’t make is better when it comes to winning, baseball is a team game. One guy doesn’t win World Series rings. But to think that a player like Teix doesn’t make your team better? I disagree.
And that’s the end of this for me. I’m prepared for us to go to war with what we’ve got. I honestly believe we have a very deep pitching staff, and very little offense. It is what it is. Who knows, maybe some of these kids will pan out. Time to find out.
by goodvibe61 on Jan 12, 2009 11:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
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