Really, that's the truth.  I am sure circumstantial evidence of this exists in the usenet archives...

Furthermore, between the two Jones would be the clear winner anyway. BA is not the end all consideration going around here. Jones is two years younger, OBPs twenty points higher for his career, and sluggs the hell out of Hunter in an average year. Both are righties, so their power would take the same minor hit at AT&T. Both are multiple Gold Glovers on defense, for whatever little that is worth.

Hunter has a bit of an injury history that may or may not worry somebody, and Jones has a bit of a fat-jury history that may or may not worry somebody.

So of the two, Andruw makes a very good case for being the superior choice. Like I said, though, it's not a matter of "either/or" here. Not pursuing Torii doesn't mean we will be pursuing Andruw, and the other way around.

Now, this is not to say that signing one of the two is necessarily a bad idea. And it all comes down to your opinion on two things: 1) whether or not the Giants can compete within 3 years, and 2)the value of playing the kids (quotes optional) that we have.

If you believe the Giants can be competitive within three years, then one of these two guys could easily be an asset on that competitive team. If you don't believe they can be, then it's not worth it because in three years Hunter will likely be well into his decline, and Jones is already showing signs that he might be in danger of an early decline period (which would put him declining around 32 or 33... in about three years). In those decline phases, these guys will not have much value on the post-three year competitive Giants team.

If you believe that there is value in playing our prospects (ditto quotes), then signing either of these guys would be a liability, especially if neither Winn nor Roberts is movable during the offseason, for the obvious reasons.

Personally, I believe that - while maybe unlikely - the Giants can be competetive within three years. I also believe that there is value in evaluating each of these players we have on the periphery. Schierholtz needs to get every chance he can, I love everything about Fred Lewis even if I completely understand his significant limitations. I'm not particularly high on Ortmeier, though if he's getting his shot at first that's no harm no foul. And I think it's important to see which Rajai is the real Rajai - the high OBP leadoff hitter with speed, or the jumpy, no plan at the plate AAAA guy we saw when he was in his rough patches. The first Rajai could be an important part of a good NL team for 5-7 or so years. The other Rajai is the guy who couldn't crack a Pirates lineup, and we obviously don't want that.

I also believe that if only one or none of these guys demonstrates value over the course of 2008, then there will be FA talent over the 2008 and 2009 offseasons that will make us not care about either Jones or Hunter. So I think we can actually have the best of both worlds. Not everybody thinks that, and I can see an honest argument for signing one of the two guys.

I just wouldn't do it.