Bill Hall an underrated signing & what can the Sox expect?

by JonnyNYC on Feb 24, 2010 4:43 PM EST

Apologizes if this topic has already been addressed and exhausted.

At first glance, Bill Hall as a utility player seems like a tremendous upgrade over last year.

the big Q is if he is healthy and can stay that way. When healthy with the Brewers he seemed to be an above average fielder by UZR, though it's hard to really qualify based on # of positions played and # of years injured.

But this is a low risk contract for a player who can fill in at 5-6 positions on the team, potentially with some decent offense. No telling if he can become a more selective hitter, but at the very least his potential ceiling seems much higher then Nick Green and he's career production is better established.

This seems like one of the quieter signings of the off season, but better deals of the off season.

It's like the offensive version of the John Smoltz/Brad Penny/Wade Miller low risk, moderate/high return deals in the past.

Tweet Comment 7 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

It was a great trade

in that it got us a player who can play good defense in almost any position, while getting rid of a player we didn’t really have a use for and saving us money.

We hopefully won’t see Hall, as he offensively just has not been performing at all the last few years, with a pretty dramatic decline. Really I don’t expect those offensive numbers to rebound in a utility player role. He can, however, provide relief at almost any position and is very useful for that.

by wolf9309 on Feb 24, 2010 6:22 PM EST reply actions

I like it too

Because it gives us versatility with our bench. If we have to go with an extra pitcher for a little while, we can, cuz we have a guy that can fill in 5-6 different positions. Hopefully he stays healthy, plays solid defense, and maybe hits a couple of homers that win games. If we get 2 wins from his offense all year, Ill be happy. Lets hope he contributes more with his defense.

by Jason A on Feb 25, 2010 11:21 AM EST reply actions

He can dazzle you with his defense

and if he gets a fat pitch he can send it out, but I’d keep expectations low on his offense.

by Salty on Feb 25, 2010 9:17 PM EST up reply actions

I was actually watching a bit of the 2009 Brewers

I watched the first few games a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to see him and cameron in action.

It was a very small sample size, and at the very beginning of the year, but boy did his defense look disappointing at third. It seemed like he misplayed every ball that came to him. I’m sure that’s not what he’s like in general, but it was disappointing.

by wolf9309 on Feb 26, 2010 9:25 AM EST reply actions