MLB.com: White Sox, Hunter share mutual interest:"I play well in Chicago," said Hunter during his chat with hosts Tom
Waddle and Marc Silverman on ESPN AM 1000. "The grass is true [at U.S.
Cellular Field], and everything is going good for that place right now."
"That's 100 percent accurate," Hunter said. "Listen to those words and
that will tell you where I might be ending up. I have to visit fields
where I've never played and see if the grass runs true. I love defense
so much that if the field is not right, I'm not taking it."
Man, he sounds like he really, really wants to play for Chicago. But wait....
what's that?"I want to watch and see what's going on. I'm interested [in going] anywhere," Hunter said by phone on Wednesday. "Dmitri Young makes it very interesting. I've always wanted to play with Dmitri. He has been one of my buddies since I was 18 years old. I used to watch those guys play and hang out. I've known him a long time."
Well, that's only two cities. Err, three...
"I always talk to my wife about being interested in playing in front of
the African-American fans and trying to get the African Americans back
to playing the game," he said. "If I go to Atlanta or D.C. and make a
difference that way, I would love it. Trust me -- D.C. is very
interesting to me as well as Atlanta."
Oh man."I haven't thought about it a little bit," Hunter said of playing for the Rangers. "I've thought about it a lot a bit. I'm going to be a free agent and I'm just watching. I'm watching to see what all the teams out there are going to do.
Aw geez."The Yankees? It's history. A lot of history," Hunter said. "It would be cool if the Yankees wanted me."
This just in: Torii Hunter loves nouns.
******************
Thanks for asking, Kenny:Brewers GM Doug Melvin told me before leaving for those meetings that
he wasn't inclined to move Hall from center field, so he probably told
the White Sox he wasn't motivated to deal him. Hall has three years
remaining on a four-year, $24 million deal he signed earlier this year
and the Brewers expect him to bounce back from a disappointing
offensive performance in '07.
Also, the Joe Crede-for-Johnny Damon trade rumor, which rose from obscurity to become a media darling and overnight sensation,
died tonight. It was three days old.
So we're back where we started -- with Juan Uribe in the fold, 1 1/2 outfielders and an unsavory interest in the services of Hunter, who apparently loves anything that has an outside chance of loving him back. And with the news that
11 free agents were asked to speak to George Mitchell, I'm gearing up for a long and drawn-out offseason.