Readers Ask Questions, Jeff Gordon Gives Bad Answers

...Well, one bad answer. The Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon is usually pretty good. In today's "Q&A" section, he gave a shitty answer.

Peter asks: Do you think the Cards should or will open the vault for once and go sign a high end outfielder this offseason, like a Bobby Abreu, or Carl Crawford?

Jeff Gordon: The media will put lots of pressure on DeWitt Care, as Bernie puts it, to land another cornerstone offensive player. What about Torii Hunter? He'll cost in excess of $100 million, but he would be a great successor to Edmonds. (This assumes that Edmonds will retire if he never gets going this season. If he ends up hitting, the Cards will want him to finish out that second contract year.) Crawford would be a fabulous leadoff hitter with some power, too. The bidding on him would be fierce. I have mixed feelings on Abreu, who isn't playing up to his salary.

Jeff, Torii Hunter is a league average hitter. He's flashy in the outfield, and makes some incredible plays. But still...his career OBP is .324; his career OPS+ is 103. According to baseball-reference, similar batters to Hunter include Preston Wilson, Juan Encarnacion, Jacque Jones, Richard Hidalgo, Jim Ray Hart, and Glenallen Hill. He's also going to be 32 in July. For $100 million, this would be a terrible signing. The Cubs need a center fielder; let them overpay for him. God knows they like to give loads of money to guys with shitty OBPs.