Apparently you haven't paid attention to what happened in Seattle where they lost Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriquez in consecutive years and then went on to win 116 games. While this is no guarantee that we'll increase our win total this year, there is no reason to think that losing Alou will automatically knock us out of playoff contention. That's what a farm system is for, reloading.
Sorry, BobFinn*, but Hunter is a very mediocre (at best) leadoff hitter. His lifetime OBP is .313. He will help in the speed and defense area, but I assume his role (barring injuries) will be more of what they wanted Glen Barker to be. He'll see more playing time, but won't be in danger of displacing any regulars.
