well, that answers that

in case you haven\’t read it yet, the twins have picked up torii hunter\’s $12MM option for 2006.

this pains me, and yet i think it was the right move.  i had wanted to compare torii\’s \’06 stats to the stats of this offseason\’s crop of free agent centerfielders (because, face it, we weren\’t going to hand the position over to lew or tyner.)  thankfully, people have already done that for me here.  (thanks, twinsgeek.)  despite torii\’s seeming loss of range in center, despite the complete evaporation of his patience at the plate in the second half, and despite that game two misplay that still haunts my dreams, i feel better paying him $12MM than paying someone else on that list less money.  well, maybe juan pierre, but the twins need another no-power speedster like they need a hole in the head.  and pierre\’s on-base percentage isn\’t that much greater than torii.

there\’s more at play here than what makes economic sense, as well.  with rare exceptions, the twins have almost never let \”the faces of the franchise (FoF)\” leave without a souring of the relationship. 

i\’ll grant this is very unscientific, but:

• Kent Hrbek— FoF from 1982 to 1994; re-signed at hometown discount in 1989, retired after 1994 season 
• Frank Viola— FoF in 1987; traded to NY Mets in 1989 only after his agent published a \”pay me or trade me\” open letter in both local newspapers
• Kirby Puckett— FoF from 1987 to 1995; re-signed at a hometown discount in 1992, retired after 1995 season
• Chuck Knoblauch— FoF from 1995 to 1997; traded to NY Yankees after falling out with the team and Tom Kelly
• Paul Molitor— FoF from 1996 to 1998; retired after 1998 season
• Matt Lawton— FoF from 1996 to 2001; traded to NY Mets during 2001 season.  This is the one variant in my theory– unless Law-dog had worn out his welcome behind the scenes.
• Doug Mientkiewicz— FoF from 2001 to 2003; traded to Boston Red Sox after becoming an all-around asshat
• Brad Radke— FoF from 1995 to 2006; re-signed in 2004, retired (probably) after 2006 season
• Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau— time will tell

so, given torii\’s status as a mostly-gruntled star in this town, there was no way we weren\’t going to re-sign him.  if/when he gets cranky, however, he should fully expect to be shipped out of town, likely for players who will never pan out.