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Torii Hunter, disruption?
August 13th, 2009, 2:37 pm · 27 Comments · posted by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM
Torii Hunter went 2-for-5 with a home run in his second of three rehab games at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Wednesday night. He’ll play 
again tonight and then fly to Baltimore to join the Angels in time for Saturday’s game (most likely).
This seems like an absurd question to ask, since Hunter was the unquestioned team MVP when he went on the disabled list 30 games ago with a strained groin. But we’ll ask it anyway: Could his return disrupt the Angels’ sizzling offensive chemistry?
Hunter was batting .305 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs when he got hurt. He is joining a lineup that leads the majors in batting average and is second in runs scored.
While he was out, the Angels went 22-7, scored more than six runs per game and went from one game back to five games up.
Manager Mike Scioscia won’t hesitate to put Hunter back in the everyday lineup, primarily because he is a major upgrade over Gary Matthews Jr. in center field. Maybe it’s a win-win situation. If they were this good without him, they’ll be unstoppable with him?
“We’ve had a lot of guys play well in the absence of Vlad [Guerrero] and Torii. So that’s what we’re looking forward to,” Scioscia said.
27 Comments
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Yes you were correct when you wrote is this an absurd question to ask. Not only is his bat going to help but his defense in centerfield alone is enough to want him back ASAP!
Are you kidding? Huge upgrade over GMJ, even though he hit a big 3 run HR yesterday, GMJ is only hitting around .240 and he makes silly errors.
Are you kidding me? People were saying the same thing before Vlad came back and he was hitting worse than Torii before he got injured. Look how that tuned out. Offense is still going strong. Torii is going to be a HUGE upgrade over GMJ. With the bat and with the glove.
Torii will be an improvement over GMJ, but really wish we could have seen GMJ play more. He’s been steadily improving.
Steadily improving? Don’t kid yourself. The guy is well into his 30’s. This is who he is. He may have a decent series here and there, but the guy is a forth, maybe fifth outfielder at best.
Torii Hunter was scratched from last night’s Quakes game with “flu-like symptoms,” according to Quakes broadcaster Jeff Levering. Jeff said Torii may play tonight; they’re at home against Lake Elsinore.
When Torii get’s back he’s going to, give the Texas Rangers flu-like symptoms. With, his, bat and glove.
That’s absurd. Anyone notice the first game Vlad came back the offense was nowhere to be seen and guys were back to swinging at 1st ptiches again? I don’t care if he’s hit 3 home runs or 30 since coming back…Vlad is the REAL disruption in that lineup. All hail Torii!!!
That’s good, Brett. You don’t care how many home runs Guerrero hits, or how many runs he drives in, or anything like that. The fact that he’s back at all disrupts the offense, no matter what he does or what they do. You can have the first game Vlad came back. Let’s talk about five of the last seven.
I hear what you’re saying Mark but sorry…I’m not a Vlad fan. Anyone who swings at balls that bounce before they reach the plate needs to be benched. It’s ridiculous
I’ve been holding my breath waiting for Torii to come back! cannot wait!
Speaking of holding your breath, that wouldn’t be a bad idea if you run into Hunter. He apparently had a nasty little flu-like bug yesterday, but the team says it’s nothing serious.
The flu bug has been running around the organization all year long. I picked it up at extended spring training in late April. It went through the Salt Lake clubhouse a few weeks back. I guess it’s in Rancho now.
You can pick it up from the stands?
Wonder if I caught mine from watching mlb.tv?
Having the big three injured for so long did wonders for this team. It gave bench players a whole lot of playing time and that makes the Angels a deeper bench team. It also gave Juan, Vlade, and Tori time to really heal. It will always disrupt the team for a few games, but it will also strengthen the Angels chances with only 52 games left. Tori will have 50 plus games to get is groove on and the Angels will be better for it. This team is going to be very hard to beat Post season.
Could be worse, you could be Landon Donovan with the swine flu. I knew soccer was bad for you.
While I agreee that Tori is certainly an upgrade with what they have individually, the writer makes a good point that it could cause the offense to drop a couple of levels (It did when Vlady returned). There is a tendancy to always expect the two best guys to carry the team. When they were gone there weren’t two guys so they all picked up their game. I agree that there will probably be a letdown, though I hope not. Personally I wouldnt play him until they lost a game. Its like sticking with the hot shooter in basketball or the hot goalie in hockey.
The so called roll The Angels have been on since the All Star Game makes me very suspicious. They have gone to great lengths to try to get out from under being The Dodgers’ Red Headed Step child. Last season the team was the only one to win 100 Games in the post season as the frequently had these “Freak power surges.” When the first round of the play-offs began, hey played like they didn’t belong there. They were humiliated the first round. Manny got busted for PEDS, and all of a sudden the issue of PEDs use was once again in the spotlight during Manny’s 50 game suspension. During that time, The Angels were struggling in comparison to the previous few seasons they have had. When Manny’s 50 game suspension was over, and PED’s was again out of the spotlight prior to the all star break, The Angels started having these freak power surges again. Yes, this Red Headed Sep Child of The Dodgers would do just about anything.
What in the hell are you talking about?
In soirt, I strongly suspect (not accuse) The Angels of cheating and using PEDS for years now, and getting away with it.
Nice sour grapes there, Mannywood.
Hunter coming back, if he is ready? Can only be a good thing. This team is a very good team now. they can get scary good! thats were they have to get to bet the Yanks an win the AL. GO ANGELS!!!
Mathews is a disaster in the outfield - when ball is hit his way, I start cringing - if up in air, he makes a one handed slap/grab, if near the ground, instead of picking it up directly in front of him and protecting it from getting by him, he goes to one side and again uses the glove slap technique that sometimes works. An erratic hitter.
Naturally, Scioscia already has a lineup in mind for when Hunter returns:
http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2009/08/14/sunday-at-the-earliest-for-rehabbing-hunter/33459/
the Rally Monkey Handler could never be a distraction…
Angels should be in the playoffs at the end of, the season. The question is, do, they have enough to, get past the Yankees or, Redsox in the playoffs. The question is, Vlad going to, retire or, not. After, the season or, post season is, over ?
I don’t see Vlad retiring at all. He still thinks he can play the outfield and will want a decent sized contract. The Angels will most likely offer him a substantially lower 1 or 2 year contract which he’ll turn down to go play elsewhere. It’s just too bad we didn’t win a championship with him. He carried this team for 3 years from ‘04 to ‘06 and we were asking for a Big Bat back then to help.