Angels Kick Torii Hunter Out Of CF

The Angels have shuffled their outfield, and nine-time Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter insists he is OK with the decision to move him to right field with 23-year-old prospect Peter Bourjos taking over in center.

"I can sit here and say, 'I want 10 Gold Gloves and center field is my position,'" Hunter told the LA Times. "Sometimes you have to slap pride in the face and all that individual stuff. All I care about is winning, man (ESPN)."

I was absolutely shocked when I read this (can't believe Hunter is taking this so well). Hunter has been one of the better CFs in all of baseball for the past 10+ years. I have to admit I haven't seen a bunch of Angels games this year, but it would surprise me if he has fallen off that much.

I had never heard of Peter Bourjos until about 4 days ago. After doing some research I found out that Angels are really high on him (duh!!!). He is known for his speed (27 SBs in the minors), defense, and on top of that he hits for average (.317) and has a little pop (13 HRs). He went 0-3 in his first game, but rumors have it that he is going to take the leadoff spot full-time.

Mike Scioscia doesn't usually throw young hitters into the mix, so he must have a good feeling about this kid, or he thinks his year is over and he might as well see what he has for next year. Either way it gives the Angels a much better defensive outfield.

Torii Hunter Is A Racist Prick

Torii Hunter was probably one of my top 5 favorite baseball players in the MLB. He is consistent every year, is incredible on defense, and had been a staple on my fantasy team for years. Then he had to go and do this...

"People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African-American," Hunter said. "They're not us. They're impostors. Even people I know come up and say: 'Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?' I say, 'Come on, he's Dominican. He's not black.' ...

"As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us. It's like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?' ... I'm telling you, it's sad," he said.

Ummmm what? Listen Hunter black people don't play baseball because it just isn't that popular in their culture. Basketball and football are the two major sports right now. It is no ones fault, it's just the way it is. MLB executives are not sitting in some dark room thinking of ways to keep black kids from playing baseball (though that sounds like a great movie).

Nothing Hunter said made any fucking sense. "Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?' Ummm Ozzie Guillen I'll let you take this one...

I was laughing because when he said, `They go there and sign for potato chips,' I said, `Well, we've got Chapman. They gave him $12 million. [Cincinnati actually agreed to a $30.25 million, six-year contract with pitcher Aroldis Chapman.] We've got [prospect Dayan] Viciedo. They gave him $10 million. I remember in my time, one scout goes [to Venezuela and] 30 players show up. Now, 30 scouts go there and one player shows up. In our country, we play baseball. That's no choice. Here you can play basketball, you can be another athlete, you can do so many things when you have the opportunity. And that's why there's not many [African-American] players out there."

When you make Ozzie Guillen sounds like a calm and rational person you know you fucked up. It is really sad that Hunter feels this way, because he is 100% wrong. Of all the major sports I think the MLB has done the best job of integrating different cultures. Over the past 10-15 years we have seen a boom of international talent from place like the Dominican Republic, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Netherlands, ect. The big bad MLB is not doing this to erase the black culture they are just scouring the world looking for talent, and at the end of the day there are just less black people playing baseball.

Sox Take 2-0 Series Lead With 7-5 Win

The Sox came into this game with a lot of questions. How hurt is Lowell? Why is Cora playing? Will Dice-K prove he is truly an elite pitcher? Can Masterson hold down the setup spot?

A lot of those questions are still unanswered, but we did find out that J.D. Drew is still a difference maker, even after missing 6 weeks. Many (including myself) thought that his season might be over, several times during those 6 weeks. The Sox had blown the lead it was the top of the 9th. Ortiz had doubled, but Youk failed to move him over. It was a tie game, and maybe one of the more unlikely heroes comes to the plate, and hits a shot to right field, and in a blink of an eye everything the Angels and K-Rod had done all year was on the ropes. The single season save record had blown a tie game, at home, against a team that had now beaten them 11 straight times in the postseason.

The Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, after a Drew RBI double, Jason Bay added a 3 run shot. It seemed like the Sox were going to be able to easily run away with this game, but Dice-K wasn't an ace. He was solid, but not an ace, and the Sox bullpen is just not good enough for anything less than 6-7 innings. Dice-K went 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 5 Ks. Like I said not bad, but many Sox fans were hoping to see him take it to the next level. Thank god no one other than Teixeira, Guerrero, and Hunter can hit the ball. Those 3 combined for 8 of the Angels 11 hits. What Dice-K and the Sox bullpen did do is not give up that big inning (Dice-K is been amazing at that all season). The Angels never scored more than a run in any inning, but the chipped away at the lead. Okajima came in and the Sox were still up by 2, but Okajima let up a run, but Masterson bailed him out with a strikeout. The Sox seemed like the dodged a bullet, but in the very next inning Masterson let up a leadoff triple to Figgins. So, Papelbon came into the game (I think he should have been in there to start the inning). He got Anderson to pop out, but Teixeira hit the game tying sacrifice fly.

J.D. Drew had his heroics, but it was great to see Papelbon dominate the likes of Hunter, Matthews and Kendrick. I still have not figured out why you would have Hunter try to bunt in the 9th, but I guess the Angels are just desperate. The Sox now own a 2-0 lead in the series with Josh Beckett pitching at Fenway on Sunday. Mike Lowell will be back in the lineup, and the Sox seemed poised to put this series away.

-BMack