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God Bless Bill Hall

By Jesse Motiff | January 11th, 2008

I have no doubt that the signing of Mike Cameron will make the Brewers an overall better team. The signing benefits the team on multiple levels. They get Cameron’s glove in center field and can now move Ryan Braun’s fielding problems at third base over to left field. Tony Gwynn should also get a chance to show off his skills as he very well could be the starter in center while Cameron serves his 25 game suspension to start the year.

The biggest move of all involves Bill Hall. For a third straight year he will be expected to field a different position. In 2006, Hall played most of the year at shortstop when JJ Hardy was out with an ankle injury. Last season he transitioned to center field in anticipation of Ryan Braun being the everyday third basemen at some point. Hall struggled defensively in center which led to his struggles at the plate. All of his numbers at the plate dropped off significantly from 2006. Home runs dropped from 35 to 14. His batting average fell from .270 to .254. His on-base percentage fell 30 points and his slugging percentage dropped a staggering 128 points.

To his credit, Hall has never complained once of his constant shifting in the field. He has been a constant team player and has always said he’ll do whatever he needs to do to make the team better. He has faced head-on and subsequently overcome every obstacle put in front of him since his debut with the team in 2002.

Hall is entering the second year of the four-year deal he signed last offseason. He’s still only 28, so he’s just now entering the prime of his career. Look for Hall to settle right in at third base in Spring Training and he should show no signs of rust by the time Opening Day rolls around. While I don’t expect him to ever hit 35 home runs like in 2006, he should have no problems putting up between 20-25 homers while driving in at least 80-90 runs. The key will be for him to stay disciplined at the plate and draw more walks while cutting down on his strikeout totals.

I’m happy Hall is back at a position he feels more comfortable with, but I do have major issues with the Brewers front office jerking him around so much. I understand that outwardly he is fine with all the moves, but one still has to wonder how his psyche can handle being shifted around so much. It’s very easy to cheer for Bill Hall and I will always hope for the best for him as he is someone that constantly works hard to improve his game and cares about the responsibilities he has as a professional athlete.

The Cameron signing also sets a few things up for the Brewers long-term. Bill Hall is now locked in at third for the duration of his contract. Cameron will likely just be here for the one year. I fully expect to decline his option for next year. That would allow Ryan Braun to shift to center field and make room for last year’s top draft pick, Matt LaPorta, to have every opportunity to win the left field spot in 2009.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers, Brewers Bar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “God Bless Bill Hall”

Joe says:

January 12th, 2008 at 7:11 am

Not a Brewers fan so you’ve probably seen more of their games than I have but the idea of Braun in centre sounds like a bad one considering LaPorta’s reputation as a ‘great bat, not much glove’ type player. I’ve heard reports Corey Hart could handle centre so wouldn’t it make more sense to go with Braun in right for 2009?
David Hannes says:

January 12th, 2008 at 8:56 am

I have to disagree with you both. Braun is an infielder, not an outfielder, and moving him will require massive amounts of adjustment to a new position, which will impact his offense in all likelihood (like it did with Hall)–there is a finite amount of time in spring training for practicing hitting and fielding, and having Braun spend the needed time in the OF will impact his hitting.

Moving Hall from CF to LF is less of a transition–he’ll still have to gauge flyballs and hit the cutoff men, but will have less running to do.
Steve says:

January 14th, 2008 at 11:09 am

How are the Brewers jerking Hall around? When his contract was extended last year for a healthy sum, Brewer management made it very clear that Bill Hall was a valuable member of this team because in part he is very versatile…very dynamic. Why do we see it as jerking around? Playing three positions on a whim is a feather in Hall’s cap and it helps explains the money he earns….Why do we fans encourage this pampering of players…this specialization that now the collective mob sees playing two positions as crazy because they are more prone to injury. We can convince ourselves of anything and when everybody hops on the wagon it gains normalcy…..I say let Dave Bush play left field when Capuano is pitching and let them rotate between pitcher and outfielder depending on the batter. Terribly ridicilous? Absolutely….but not that much crazier than questioning Hall’s versatility….Hall is not Craig Biggio…He already proved his worth last year in CF with a gradual improvement that would no doubt continue…And when he played SS, he made some plays that I have never seen before…(Mother’s day 2006…in the bottom of the 9th)
David….I hope Mr. Melvin knows more than the rest of us…he got the Rangers winning in 1996…
David Hannes says:

January 14th, 2008 at 8:06 pm

Personally, I think it is a bit much to keep asking him to change…simply because he needs to spend more time on fielding a new position, plus I gotta believe it impacts his overall confidence. But, at least he’s under contract, so it is not like it is going to kill his market value.
BJ says:

January 14th, 2008 at 8:29 pm

You’re nuts if you think Braun will develop into a center fielder. Look at how much Hall struggled to learn the position, and he’s a better athlete and all around defender than Braun will ever be. If LaPorta earns a starting job in ‘09, Hart will start in center field and whomever has the stronger arm between Braun and LaPorta will start in right field.

I like the Cameron signing, but I wish the Brewers would have given Gross a shot at earning the job like they did with Hart last year. I think he has the potential to be a left-handed Hart type player, but has never been given a consistent chance to prove himself.
Matt S says:

January 14th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

2008 will have an outfield of Braun and Laporta in the corners and Hart in Center a 100 Hr. Outfield. Meanwhile the infield is now locked for the next 3 years. With the exception of catcher which could be a revolving door for years to come. I would like Damian Miller to return to the Brewers so we have some continuety at that position if he hasn’t already been snatched up. This signing i believe push’s Kapler out of the OF equation and a OF of Braun, Cameron, Hart, Gwynn, and Gross. (Dillon Situational) infield starting Hall, Hardy, Weeks, Fielder, Kendall. With the reserves being Craig and Dillon. And whoever our backup catcher may be. Not going to lie this lineup for next season should be as good as any other in the National League.

Weeks
Hardy
Fielder
Braun
Hart
Hall
Cameron
Kendall
P

Very hard to find a lineup anywhere else in the NL which can compare. Here’s to hoping Cappy and Bush can rebound…