He's only 31. Bill Hall is only 31.
He's younger than Andres Torres. He's younger than Ryan Vogelsong. Bill Hall is not 41, like I thought he was when I heard the Giants had acquired him. And based on his past performances, we can expect one of the following:
- a really good performance
- a completely wretched performance
- something right in the middle
- something close to the middle, but closer to good
- something close to the middle, but closer to wretched
Remember, you read it here first!
Has there been a more inconsistent player in the major leagues over the past ten years? Hall makes Aubrey Huff look like the paragon of consistency. At first glance, it's pretty amusing the Giants signed Hall because a) he's a hacker in the Aaron Rowand mold, and b) he's a wily veteran that fits the Giants' decade-long stereotype of acquiring wily veterans. Amusing and a little sad.
But as far as free players go, the team could do worse than to see if Hall can hit better than Manny Burriss because he probably can. Given the choice of Hall or Burriss starting at second, it's not much of a choice at all. Sure, Hall was bad enough this year to get released by the Astros -- that's like being a pariah in Russia because you drink too much -- but he was pretty good last year.
So Hall will probably start at second for a couple of months, or at least until Fontenot gets back. And while Hall doesn't have a huge platoon split, Fontenot does, so a pseudo-platoon wouldn't be the end of the world.
You know, re-reading this, the worst part about it is how it refers to Bill Hall starting for a first-place team without devolving into absolute freakout mode. That's just how the season has gone. Lefty likens the 2011 Giants to the Black Knight, and that's about right. And you know what? The Black Knight didn't die in that scene. He died several days later from blood loss and a nasty infection. So there's a lot of season to look forward to.
Also, an anagram for Bill Hall: Hill Ball. I didn't even use an anagram generator for that one!