http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/315 Recent articles about Torii Hunter en-us The Minnesota Twins acquired Carlos Gomez from the New York Mets in the Johan Santana trade over the winter, a transaction that for all intents and purposes knocked Denard Span out of the center field picture in the Twin Cities.  Span, the long-believed heir-apparent to Torii Hunter was sent back to AAA but the demotion [...] Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:27:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/308505 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/308505 Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Brad Hawpe? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Torii Hunter? Grab him while he's hot! Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:05:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307834 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307834 Gotta hand it to our offense, we've been scoring some runs. We were coming on offensively before the deal but getting Tex puts us over the top. The thing that amazes me is that he is such a patient hitter. He really waits for his pitch to drive. He has been fun to watch and I think guys have fed off of the energy he has brought. Having Tex hitting in front of Vlad is flat out scary. Not sure how I would even approach it. It's almost like pick your poison, after those two guys you have Torii Hunter. Wow. Our 3-4-5 is right up there as one of the best in the bigs. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:01:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306780 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306780 John Lakcey and his 7.00+ ERA walked into Fenway Park and nearly no-hot the Red Sox last night... the party pooper? Dustin Pedroia, with one out in the 9th. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:19:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297991 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297991 Angels 7, Sox 5 WP: Weaver (9-8) LP: Matsuzaka (11-2) SV: Rodriguez (44) HRs: BOS-Ramirez (20); LAA-Hunter (16), Kotchman (12) Summary: The Red Sox lost to the other team from L.A. for the sixth straight time when Casey Kotchman and Torii Hunter both hit home runs off Daisuke Matsuzaka in a six-run sixth. Boston gave Dice-K a 2-1 lead [...] Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:35:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297567 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297567 John Lackey hasn't faired well against the Red Sox... Boston is hoping that continues tonight as the attempt to beat the Angels for the first time in six tries... Clay Buchholz will start for the Sox. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:01:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297525 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297525 Matsuzaka imploded in the 6th, giving up 2 homers and 5 runs... the Sox never recovered and lost their 4th game in a row to the Angels. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:12:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297366 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297366 Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Torii Hunter? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Xavier Nady? Grab him while he's hot! Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:56:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296787 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296787 The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins. Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far. AL East Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that's with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox. Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite losing pitcher Curt Schilling for the year (and perhaps for good) and a decline in production from slugger David Ortiz (including a stint on the disabled list). It looks like this could be the first time in years that the New York Yankees won't make the playoffs. They currently sit six games back of Boston and it just looks like there is too much talent in Tampa and Boston for the Yanks to make up enough ground. That being said, I am loathe to ever count the Yankees out of anything. Red Sox win division. If it wasn't for the Rays, the debacle in the AL Central would be the biggest story of the season. The Tigers, whom I picked to win the World Series, are a disappointing .500 on the season. Even more surprising, the Indians are in last place, 12 games under .500. The Chicago White Sox are sitting pretty atop the Central at 14 games over .500, led by 10 game winner, and former Phillie, Gavin Floyd. Erratic closer Bobby Jenks, despite being on the DL, has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA. On offense, the White Sox have a tandem of heavy hitting outfielders in Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin. I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by the White Sox. In large part, I think they have overachieved so far this season. I think they will come back to earth, which will leave an opening for the Minnesota Twins to step in and take the division. The Twins, led by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and catcher Joe Mauer, are right on the tail of the White Sox, just a game and a half back, and with star pitcher Francisco Liriano waiting in the wings of AAA, the Twins are poised to move into the post Santana era. Twins win the division. AL West Until the Texas Rangers find someone who can pitch (Vicente Padilla currently leads the team in wins with 10), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the prohibitive favorites to win the division for years to come. The Rangers can hit, led by the top individual story of the year Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, but their pitching is a joke. They boast a rotation of Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Jamey Wright and Kason Gabbard. Until they can get at least one pitcher, they could have all the offense in the world, they still won't be able to compete with Los Angeles. The Angels' pitching rotation, which boasts John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, not to mention closer Francisco Rodriguez who is on pace to shatter the single season saves record, is arguably the best in the majors. Their offense, while not being the power heavy lineup that Texas or Boston has, plays small ball like no other team in the majors. The obvious offensive leader is Vladimir Guerrero, accompanied by Torii Hunter. But the offense works so well because of intelligent baseball guy like Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson. The Oakland Athletics have basically traded themselves out of contention and the Seattle Mariners have the worst record in baseball. Needless to say, Angels win the division. I think the Rays win the AL Wild card this year. They are too talented to fall behind the likes of the White Sox or Rangers. In the end however, the Red Sox have too much experience and skill to be taken down. They beat the Angels to go on to the World Series. NL West Many commentators are calling this the NL Worst, and it's hard to argue with that. After starting out red hot, division leading Arizona is now one game below .500. That's right. The division leader has a losing record. Need I say more? The reigning NL Champion Colorado Rockies are fourth in the division with a record of 39-57, topped only by the San Diego Padres, an incomprehensible 37-58. The Dodgers are one game back of the Diamondbacks, trailed by the San Francisco Giants in third place. This division is a crapshoot at this point, but the Diamondbacks' pitching, led by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren is just too good and the offense is not going to continue to struggle in the mighty fashion it has over the past month or so. With up and coming stars like Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson and Chris Young, the Diamondbacks are going to eventually right their ship. Arizona wins the division. NL Central This is the best division in baseball. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball. Four and a half games behind them are the Cardinals, with the Brewers just a half game behind them. All three of these teams are going to be better in the second half. The Cubs traded for Rich Harden last week, and the Brewers added reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia. The Cardinals are getting ready for the return of Adam Wainwright and former Cy Young Chris Carpenter. Both pitchers are aces on almost any other team in the majors. The Cubs and Brewers already have bona fide aces on their teams in Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets, respectively. This is, without a doubt, the toughest division in baseball in some time. I think the Cubs are ultimately the most complete team in the league, and certainly the division. Now let me just say, here and now, there is no way Ryan Dempster continues to pitch this well. He just isn't this good. He will come back down to earth. But even with The Dumpster coming back to reality, the Cubs are bolstered by some serviceable pitching in Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, in addition to Zambrano and Harden. On offense, the Cubs' lineup reads like it's very own All Star roster, led by Derek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Geovany Soto. Cubs win the division. NL East The Phillies came into today with a half game lead over the Mets. The Marlins sit just one game behind the Mets. It is a division up for grabs to say the least. The Marlins boast a talented, young roster rivaled by only Tampa Bay and Arizona. Led by Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla and Josh Willingham, they have an offense that puts the in a position to win every night. That being said, their pitching is thin, with Ricky Nolasco leading the team with 10 wins and a 3.70 ERA. The Braves are most likely looking to scrap this year and go into rebuilding mood, if only temporarily. First baseman Mark Teixeira is a free agent at the end of this year and chances are that the Braves are going to move him before the trade deadline. Their pitching is pretty banged up, and old. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are all currently on the disabled list. Not to mention that they are six and a half games out of first place. The Mets pose the biggest threat to the Phillies' playoff hopes. Winners of nine straight coming into the break, the Mets are batting .320 as a team during that time. They also only gave up a total of 19 runs over the same span. They are hot, no doubt, led by Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Fernando Tatis. But therein lies the problem for the Mets. They have been winning in large part as a result of the contributions of usual bench players like Tatis, Endy Chavez, and Damion Easley. The Mets' pitching is also suspect after you get past Johan Santana and John Maine, neither of whom have been stellar this season. After having a impressive season last year, Oliver Perez is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA. His record is somewhat deceiving, as he has been wildly inconsistent this year. Pedro Martinez continues to battle being really old. Originally set to return this week, his next start is being skipped. I just don't think the Mets have the talent to overcome a Phils team with a much more potent offense and what could end up being a more stable pitching rotation. The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Athletics Thursday, and while Blanton has not had much of a year so far this season (5-12, 4.96 ERA), he has show some real talent and a change of location could be all he needs to break out. More importantly, the addition of Blanton means that Adam Eaton is out of the starting rotation. Brett Myers is progressing nicely in AAA and is set to return to face the Mets on July 23rd. JA Happ threw a no hitter today in his minor league start and it is only a matter of time before he is brought up to the major leagues for good. The biggest cause for concern for the Mets is that the Phils' struggles have in large part been due to a lack of offense. This coming from one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Jimmy Rollins, Chasey Utley and Geoff Jenkins are eventually going to turn things around. Ryan Howard continues to lead the league in home runs and RBIs. Pat Burrell is going to eclipse his usual 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. And that's without the possible addition of another bat, like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. I say this with the caveat that I generally have no faith in the Phillies in ever winning anything, and at the risk of tempting fate, I pick the Phillies to win the division. I pick the Brewers to win the NL Wild Card this year. I'm going to be very cliche and pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant over the Brewers. I think unless the Phillies add a serious starting pitcher, ala Erik Bedard, they are not going to be able to compete with the Brewers in the playoffs. That will bring us to the ESPN's ultimate dream, a Red Sox Cubs World Series. Bristol could fawn all over the lovable losers from Chicago and Boston. Seriously though, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Boston wins, again. (Just threw up again) Should be a very exciting second half. Continue to check out Hot Stove Philly as we bring you all the latest scores, trades, rumors, and general sports drama. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:54:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 First off, a hearty congratulations to Justin Morneau for winning the Home Run Derby. I normally do not watch things like this, but I was forced to check up on it every once in a while. The obvious storyline is Josh Hamilton and his record-breaking 28 home runs in the first round, but Morneau showed great consistency and eventually beat out the slugger. While I do think Morneau deserves the honor of the award, I think the story of the night belongs to Hamilton. In this third and final installment of how I would go about "fixing" the Twins, I will address the hole at third base. www.rawsportsblog.com Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:56:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290707 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290707 After struggling throughout his first season in 1999, former Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter was demoted to triple-A in the middle of the 2000 season. Hunter tore up the competition in triple-A, was promoted, and developed into a star. Does current Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez need a demotion to reach his potential? Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:48:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290350 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290350 Denard Span was supposed to be the center fielder that took over after Torii Hunter's departure before Carlos Gomez decided to intervene. Span found himself in the minors, again but after ripping it up at AAA Rochester (.340 and 15 steals in 40 games) has come up to replace an injured and disappointing Michael [...] Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:16:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288849 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288849 Monday, July 7th Torii Hunter went 3 for 5 with 2 Runs, 3 HRs, and 3 RBI. Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre each banged out 4 Hits. David Wright had 4 RBI. David DeJesus, Mike Aviles, Eric Hinske, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis, Vladimir Guerrero, Blake DeWitt, and Alfredo Amezaga each had 3 Hits. John Buck, Carlos Lee, David Murphy, and Richie Sexson each had 3 RBI. Hiroki Kuroda threw a Complete Game one-hit Shutout with 6 Ks to improve to 5-6 with a 3.39 ERA. He lost his Perfect Game bid in the 8th on a Mark Teixeira Double. Ubaldo Jimenez allowed 3 Hits in 7 scoreless Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 4-8. Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-1/3 scoreless Innings) and Scott Baker (7 scoreless Innings, 7 Ks) got no-decisons in their pitchers' duel. Chad Paronto tossed four Innings of scoreless relief (after the Runelvys Hernandez gave up 10 Runs in 4 Innings). Dustin Nippert gave up 1 Run on 4 Hits in 7 Innings of relief (after Luis Mendoza got shelled for 8 Runs in 1-1/3 Innings. Ricky Nolasco gave up 1 Run on 5 Hits in 8 Innings with 7 Ks to improve to 10-4 with a 3.74 ERA. Greg Maddux gave up 1 Earned Run in 6 Innings, but took the Loss. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:15:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287242 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287242 When I am bored, whether it be in the office or at home, I am not one to put on WFAN to listen to what people have to say about the Yankees or the Mets. My friend said he was listening to the incomparable Ann Liguori one night on the radio and she made a pretty bold statement that caught my friend's attention. She said that when the Mets outfield consists of Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez, and Ryan Church, that it is the best defensive outfield in baseball. Upon hearing this, my friend called me to tell of this blasphemous statement and how she couldn't be any more wrong. While I agree with Ms. Liguouri that that is a very good defensive outfield, it is very hard to say that it is the best. Now I am hoping that she did in fact say this, and that I dont sound like an idiot for the next few minutes, but I am going to bring up other outfields in baseball that can match the previously named trio. Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim- Torii Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Garret Anderson: Torii, who for some reason spells his name like a pornstar, is possibly one of the greatest center fielders of all-time and will finish with a trillion Gold Gloves. Gary Matthews also plays exceptional defense and basically any fly ball hit to the right side of the outfield is going to be caught someway, somehow. While Anderson doesn't help the defensive side of the outfield, both Matthews and Hunter make up for the negative Anderson brings. In addition, Reggie Willits, the backup left fielder to Anderson, has a ton of range and a pretty strong arm to go along with it. Arizona Diamondbacks- Eric Byrnes, Chris B. Young, Justin Upton: Talk about a speedy outfield, I am surprised any balls drop in that ballpark. While Byrnes is on the DL, when healthy he plays with reckless abandon and no care for his own personal health. Young and Upton both have cannons for arms and cover so much ground their nickname should be UPS. Scary thing about Young and Upton are that they are still learning to play and will get better on both sides of the ball with time. While Upton does has 8 errors his year, he does have 6 assists as well and in time those errors will go away. Colorado Rockies- Matt Holiday, Willy Tavarez, Brad Hawpe: This Outfield is probably one of the more underrated in the game. Coors field has just as much, if not more, room in its outfield than any other ballpark. Hawpe has one of the top 5 strongest arms in the league and guys don't even run on him anymore. He also covers a decent amount of ground, and has help on his left in Willy Tavarez. Tavarez doesn't have the arm but his glove and speed are just as good as anyone else's. Even Holliday is a good defensive outfielder, but he gets overlooked for his offensive contributions. Boston Red Sox- Jacoby Ellsbury, CoCo Crisp, J.D. Drew: As much as i may hate to admit it, this outfield is just as good as that Mets outfield. Ellsbury and Crisp cover a lot of ground and while Crisp can't get the ball back into 2nd base sometimes, he makes so many great catches it's had to ignore his defense. In Right Field, Drew covers a good amount of ground in that spacious right field of Fenway park and has one of the stronger arms in the league. Ellsbury does it all from fielding to throwing and is only going to get better with more experience. As for the Mets outfield, it is a very solid defensive outfield, but i don't think it can be recognized as one of the best in the league. While it may measure up to these other tandems, it has plenty of flaws as well. Church covers a decent amount of ground and has had an impressive arm this season, though doesn't have the reputation of having too strong of an arm. He also has some difficulty going back on well-hit balls. Beltran plays too deep in Center Field and should maybe bring it in a couple steps. Chavez has great legs but an inconsistent arm. While it is one of the top defensive trios in the league, i think it's hard to say its the best. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:04:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286657 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286657 By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports Take a bow, Carl Pavano. Just don't hurt your back. You, sir, are the kind of baseball player that makes the annual All-Overpaid team possible. Since you signed with the New York Yankees four years ago for $39.95 million – remember, you fired your agent because he didn't get you $40 million! – you have made 19 starts, won five games and earned $359,282.51 for every inning you pitched. The Yankees expect you back in August. Yeah, just like they expect $1 gas. Sadly, your contract expires this offseason, which means another lucky soul can be recognized for being grossly overpaid, even by baseball standards. In the interest of fairness, we'll take another shot at the All-Underpaid team, too. The same caveat applies this year as did last: no players who have yet to hit arbitration. Baseball rules artificially depress their salary, and the credit due to teams for signing them doesn't apply. So that means no Josh Hamilton, even though, at $396,830, he is probably baseball's biggest bargain. No Carlos Quentin ($400,000), Ryan Ludwick ($411,000), Nate McLouth ($425,000), Edinson Volquez ($382,000) or Tim Lincecum ($405,000), either. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:24:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279584 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279584