I'm still looking for some kind of confirmation, but ESPN just announced on Baseball Tonight that the Astros have released Brian L. Hunter. Guess he has bigger problems to worry about than his baserunning and lack of playing time now.
This is one of those "what do they have in mind?" type of moves. Honestly, Hunter's was the only guy who doesn't really worry me in CF...Biggio has done well considering the circumstances, but I don't like yet another converted 1B (err, corner outfielder) playing CF. Obviously, Biggio isn't giving up the starting slot, but it makes me wonder how close The Hun is to something. We shall see...Weaver is about to be on ESPN.
You love the guy, I mean really love the guy, don't you. I bet you were quite disappointed when the Astros parted ways with him years back, no?
was i the only one who got tired of Brian Hunter pinch hitting late in a crucial game knowing that he would get out. oh wait... that was just from the right side, can't forget about lefty greg zaun.
It's official, he asked for his release. http://astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ho...nt_id=448097&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
now the astros are probably the only team in the mlb with absolutely NO black players. i find that statistic a little surprising.
I might have heard incorrectly, but I believe Hunter actualyl made the excuse the other day that the reason he made a base-running error was because he didn't play enough. May be true, but you don't make excuses when you're a professional athlete.
Actually, the original Brian Hunter WAS one of my favorite players...I love watching players that absolutely wreak havoc on the basepaths. The current Hunter isn't blindingly fast anymore, though. Still would've rather seen him shagging flies in CF than anyone else. He's never been able to hit much, and having him as the primay right handed pinch hitter has been a serious mis-cast of a role. He's a defensive replacement and pinch runner at this point in his career, whether he wants to admit it or not. I hope Lane is the real deal, but I'm skeptical...he's a 26 year old, and has had a slew of injuries this year. I'm not sure he's the answer as a right handed pinch hitter, and putting him in CF in MMP doesn't give me warm and fuzzies. PS- Weaver is dealing in Fenway. No runs, 2 hits through 6 innings, about to start the 7th against the best offensive team in either league. But yeah, we're better off with Villone in the rotation. Edit: Hammond gives up a 3 run homer, two of the runs charged to Weaver, he goes from leaving the game with a 2 hit shutout to 6 1/3 of 2 hit, 2 run ball, and a no decision. Guy needs to get out of pin stripes. As I type, Damon homers. What a meltdown by Hammond.
That's exactly the excuse he made after the base-running blunder. I was pretty pissed off when he said it too, because as a professional athlete, you ought to be ready to do your job, even if you only play occasionally. Good riddance to him - I'm looking forward to a farmhand coming up who is more than happy to simply be there.
Well they eventually had to make room for Hidalgo, who undoubtedly murdered the minor leagues. Hunter never impressed me because whenever I had high hopes for him, he failed miserably. Where's Bill Spiers when you need him.
It's about time they made this move. Obvioulsy his trade vlaue was worthless since he just got his outright release. I have nothing against Hunter, we just didn't need him in our over crowded outfield.
Lane continues to be on the DL in New Orleans. At least they finally got rid of Hunter. He was not contributing at all.
Hunter waived Now if Zaun would follow. And could this mean a deal is forthcoming? http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-astrosmoves&prov=ap&type=lgns HOUSTON (AP) -- Veteran outfielder Brian Hunter was put on waivers by the Houston Astros, and outfielder Colin Porter was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans. Hunter was hitting .235 with no homers and 13 RBIs in 56 games this season before Sunday night's move. He hit .269 with 20 RBIs in 98 games in 2002. Hunter has played in 1,000 major league games over 10 seasons, batting .264. He started his major league career with the Astros in 1994, was traded to Detroit in 1996 and returned to Houston last season as a free agent. Porter hit .304 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs in 88 games for New Orleans this season.
A trade huh? Maybe we should have tried to bundle the two players together and trade them.... But i guess Hunter was pretty much worthless... I hope Porter is better than him.
Reading the article, I guess it's a good move for both parties...I agree with everyone understanding their roles, but he was never consistent (due to lack of PT) and really, only had the speed...
