twins/mlb

Did Torii Hunter knock one out of the park? Or did he abandon Minnesota for greener pastures? Thursday's surprising announcement that the Twins star signed a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels lit up fan blogs, where anger seemed to be the prevailing theme. Some said good riddance to the center fielder, arguing that the Angels spent too much for too little. Others wondered if ace pitcher Johan Santana would be next.

Here are some samplings from www.startribune.com Twins blogs:

Hunter is gone. Time to trade Santana and any other possible free agent who does not want to be here. Carl [Pohlad] had better find a way to put a contender on the field or be ashamed of himself for demanding a first-class facility to house a second-class team. I have been a Twins fan since 1961, but I am getting tired of watching our owners do nothing except ask for more.

MARK FREDRICKSON

Well, we might as well get rid of the rest of the team nucleus. Don't spend any money and go back to the late '90s, where we are a glorified Triple-A ball team.

CJAYWILD

The Twins need to catch up to the curve or we'll be bound for .500 teams and a no-name squad opening the new stadium. This "game" has become all about the money, and it is getting out of hand. The Twins need to pony up and make a huge attempt at keeping Johan here ... otherwise fans (me included) will begin to stray and find other things to spend their hard-earned money on.

MARY B

So long, Torii, let's hope those injuries pick up again; this is the smartest move Twins have made in two years letting this guy go. He's not even close to worth this amount.

MIKE

How bad does baseball need some form of a salary cap? Good luck, Torii, just like I said to the likes of [Corey] Koskie, [LaTroy] Hawkins, [Eddie] Guardado, [Cristian] Guzman and [Jacque] Jones. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

BUFFTWINS

Man, the bitterness coming from some on this board on Thanksgiving Day is incredible! ... To those of you angry about Torii's "greed" -- let's get real here. Torii just got offered twice as much money by a team that's more competitive right now. Taking that deal's not greedy, it's smart.

JOSHUA TAYLOR

No player is worth that kind of money. These guys get paid millions to play a game. Go figure! Greed is what today's players are all about. The days of loyalty from players like Kirby [Puckett] and Kent [Hrbek] are over.

DEAN MILLER

It is disappointing, because he just said the other day that he would not make any decisions until after Thanksgiving. Obviously he didn't learn everything from the late and loyal Kirby Puckett.

JOSH