The Giants Should Give Bill Hall a Shot, Even Though He’s Not Very Good

Published by on June 16, 2011 | 9 Responses

The Houston Astros are a pretty terrible team, so you already know that Bill Hall was not having a good year when they released him. It is somewhat humorous to note that the Astros released Hall while another player that the Giants gave away for free last year – Matt Downs – was still on their active roster. Downs is quietly having a nice little season for the Astros.

I know you’d like to hear that Hall was the victim of bad luck in his stint in Houston, and that he’s a sure thing to bounce back, but that’s not really the case. Hall flat out sucked for two months, striking out in 37% of his AB while not doing anything much to make up for it. Also, the only time he’s really been not terrible in the last three years was when his home park was Fenway: a place that can transform a solid, underrated right-handed hitter into a batting champion.

Hall was also not a terribly multidimensional hitter even when his career was going well. He’s yet another Giant that probably won’t get on base at even an average rate, or hit right handed pitchers very well.

The key here is not that Bill Hall is a great bet to transform back into a real hitter, but more the fact that there is some upside in him. He can probably still hit for power, and if he can keep the strikeouts under control for a half season, he’s a real asset. Plus, when you’re already scoring 3.5 runs per game there’s no real reason to play it safe. Especially when “playing it safe” means playing a lot of Manny Burriss. I haven’t given up completely on Burriss becoming a useful part of a major league roster, but giving him a bunch of starts at second base is chapter one in my instruction manual on how to make bad offenses that much worse.

If Hall can bounce back slightly, when Mike Fontenot returns from his injury, the Giants will hopefully have three acceptable options at two middle infield spots, and also Miguel Tejada. That could help move the middle infield from a black hole of outs to something like what the corner outfield spots currently are: a bunch of okay options with no outstanding ones.

Article written by

9 comments
  Livefyre
Newest | Oldest
Adam
Adam

I would be just fine with a straight platoon at 2B between Hall and Fontenot when he gets back. Hall has a career tOPS+ of 112 vs. LH pitchers and a third of his career HR total in over 1200 fewer at-bats than he' s had against RH pitchers. We all know how much better Fontenot is against righties, so it only makes sense.

nvsfg
nvsfg

As an unapologetic Matt Downs fan, the Giants picking up Bill Hall to fill the spot of Matt Downs while the Astros released Bill Hall to keep Matt Downs hilarious. It’s somewhat like the six degrees of separation for Kevin Bacon. At some point, everyone will be within six degrees from the Giants.

obsessivegiantscompulsive
obsessivegiantscompulsive

This makes a lot of sense, except that he hit just as well on the road as at Fenway. And Downs, while hitting nicely in small samples, Is still under 700 OPS for his career, has done all his hitting at his home hitters park, and butchers defense so badly that one has to question if even that batting line is worth that, plus he is doing it all against RHP. In any case, there was no spot for him on last years roster anyway, no way he could have improved upon what Ishikawa provided. I think the big plus for Hall right now is that he should be OK defensively at 2B, as he was a SS previously, and if the reports that he has figured out a batting flaw that has plagued him for years is true, his power would be back and he would be as big an addition as Burrell last season.

oldjacket
oldjacket

Did you just cite SSS for Downs' offensive numbers, but then refer to his exceptionally poor defensive numbers in the same sentence?

IndyGiant
IndyGiant

"If Hall can bounce back slightly, when Mike Fontenot returns from his injury, the Giants will hopefully have three acceptable options at two middle infield spots" Exactly how I felt when they picked him up. I feel Hall at the very least won't HURT the team and maybe it will create a little competition when Mighty Mike gets back and raises everyone's game a little bit in the infield. I can't wait for the day when I don't have to watch Miguel Tejada hit anymore.

AVE_fan
AVE_fan

If the Giants keep Hall, and I'm not saying they shouldn't, they'll have to decide between Burriss and Fontenot. Keeping 3 players who are essentially "second-basemen" just doesn't add-up on a roster which allows for only 11 position players outside of pitcher and catcher. Else, they'll have to decide between DFAing Miggy or sending Crawford back down for more "seasoning" at Fresno.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Stealth hits.

O&B4L
O&B4L

Everyone says Burriss is Speedy, but he doesn't ever DO anything speedy. I feel like he ought to be a slap-the-other way, beat out ground balls, steal bases kinda guy, and yet he's more of the pop-out, strike out, always end the inning on first kinda guy...

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Bill Hall, better than Burriss! I'll go print some t-shirts. You're right, though. Hall probably isn't good, but neither is Burriss. What bugs me the most about Burriss is his hitting approach. He constantly seems to hit balls into the air and his walk-rate this year is Molina-esque. I like Hall as a platoon guy against LHP once Fontenot gets back.