Torii Hunter agrees to a 2-year deal with the Tigers

[johnnyg83]

Good lineup on paper ... VMart back and Hunter instead of Young.

[LoveYourSuit]

Originally Posted by SephClone89

So he's the Delmon Young replacement. Good for them.

Tell me about it. They actually upgraded themselves.

Despite losing speed, Hunter a much better fielder than Young.

[Chez]

This surprises me. Detroit has good, young, cheap internal options.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by Chez

This surprises me. Detroit has good, young, cheap internal options.

Young, cheap internal options fail probably north of 90% of the time. Good teams that want to win don't rely on them to perform.

[Chez]

Originally Posted by doublem23

Young, cheap internal options fail probably north of 90% of the time. Good teams that want to win don't rely on them to perform.

Perhaps. But the same young, cheap internal options (Garcia, Dirks, Berry) didn't prevent the Tigers from getting to the World Series last season.

It's a good move for Detroit -- just surprising to me since they still need to allocate resources to their rotation and bullpen.

[ChiSoxNationPres]

I think Hunter vs Young is more or less a wash at the plate. Plus Hunter has less power. He only hit .313 last year because he was hitting in between Trout and Pujols. But I will still be concerned when he plays against us as always.

[Lip Man 1]

Delben:

Not 'crowning' anyone but ANY rotation that starts with Verlander and Scherzer isn't exactly chopped liver is it?

Lip

[thomas35forever]

Back to kill us some more, huh?

[Boondock Saint]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxNationPres

I think Hunter vs Young is more or less a wash at the plate. Plus Hunter has less power. He only hit .313 last year because he was hitting in between Trout and Pujols. But I will still be concerned when he plays against us as always.

I'm sure hitting somewhere in the middle of Cabrera, Fielder and Victor Martinez is a major step backward in that respect.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by Lip Man 1

JB:

I suspect Ilitch isn't concerned in any way shape or form that he potentially 'overpaid' for Hunter.

He wants to hold that trophy before he dies.

Hunter is still a good player. Wish the Sox had more of his type even if he 'only' hits .270. I'd take that in a heartbeat over some of the averages in the Sox lineup.

Detroit is simply going to bludgeon teams next year.

Lip

We said that last offseason too. The Tigers scored fewer runs than the Sox this season.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by Boondock Saint

I'm sure hitting somewhere in the middle of Cabrera, Fielder and Victor Martinez is a major step backward in that respect.

I think Hunter was fortunate to have Trout on base ahead of him all season long. He saw more fastballs and faced pitchers who had divided attention between himself and Trout.

Austin Jackson is a nice player, but he isn't Mike Trout. He certainly isn't the threat on the bases Trout is.

[Boondock Saint]

Originally Posted by JB98

I think Hunter was fortunate to have Trout on base ahead of him all season long. He saw more fastballs and faced pitchers who had divided attention between himself and Trout.

Austin Jackson is a nice player, but he isn't Mike Trout. He certainly isn't the threat on the bases Trout is.

That's all true, but his protection is going to be just as good, if not better, in Detroit. He won't have the speed threat on ahead of him, but a good percentage of time, he's going to have a man or two on base or in scoring position, and probably a dangerous hitter on deck behind him. That's a lot of trouble.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by delben91

Sounds similar to the Sox teams of the early 2000s. Lets see if the starting pitching beyond Verlander can keep at the high level they showed in the playoffs before we crown anyone.

Crowning people is what we do best here. We conceded the 2008 AL Central Division title to the Tigers on Dec. 4, 2007.

Little did we know Detroit would lose 88 games the following summer.

[JB98]

Originally Posted by Boondock Saint

That's all true, but his protection is going to be just as good, if not better, in Detroit. He won't have the speed threat on ahead of him, but a good percentage of time, he's going to have a man or two on base or in scoring position, and probably a dangerous hitter on deck behind him. That's a lot of trouble.

I don't think he's any more trouble than Delmon Young is/was.

If Detroit is better next season, I think it will be because Martinez comes back and plays at pre-injury levels. Whether he does that is anybody's guess.

I'm sorry, I just don't think this signing is a game-changer in this division.

[PalehosePlanet]

Originally Posted by JB98

I think Hunter was fortunate to have Trout on base ahead of him all season long. He saw more fastballs and faced pitchers who had divided attention between himself and Trout.

Austin Jackson is a nice player, but he isn't Mike Trout. He certainly isn't the threat on the bases Trout is.

I'm with you JB, there is a good chance Hunter falls off a cliff this year.

As for Victor Martinez, a 34 year old DH/1B after missing a season, is also far from a sure thing.

WSI is sounding a lot like the winter of '07 and '08 again.