Nothing but love as Bill Hall signs with Yankees

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His bobble ranks as one of the favorites in my vast collection. He is the man that made magic with that pink bat on Mother's Day a few years back. Bill Hall (He's still Billy Hero in the 223) signed with the Yankees today and after I got through making jokes about Mr. Hall to my favorite Yankees fan (Vaughan is also a fan of the champion G-Men), I am really happy for him.

Now don't get me wrong, I would not have wanted him on the Brewers and before you jump on me for that, hear me out. Since he hit 35 home runs and drove in 83 and had a .271 batting average in 2006, a year after he hit .291, the man hasn't done much of anything at the plate. Now maybe the Brewers are to blame after moving him all over the diamond defensively, but for the money they paid him it didn't work out. He is a .248 lifetime hitter, but hit .211 last season in 199 plate appearances in 61 games before the Giants sent him packing.

Playing in 120 games in 2010 with Boston he hit .247, so maybe there's hope for a guy to come in making $600,000 and make a difference. Baseball history is littered with guys that have struggled and reinvented themselves and had a second wind in their career. It certainly makes it hard for teams to cut a guy when he can play eight of nine positions on the field. For Hall, that counts the pitcher and not the catcher. But when he was called on to be a starter and play one spot in Houston he couldn't hack it any more.

With the Yankees he'll be an invite to spring training and will have no pressure to make the team. I have followed Bill's career and he has a good shot to make the team. If he's called upon to do more than be a bench guy, he will likely struggle. It will be interesting to see how long he lasts with the Yankees. All the fans on Twitter saying he will bring them closer to a title are crazy off a Super Bowl win. He is a great guy, but will not be the piece that puts them over the top. Get real now.

Yes, Bill Hall, I paid $40 and traded a regular bobble for you pink bat bobble and even have your jersey T, but I'm glad you are not a Brewer. Have fun spending time in the Bronx and getting the farewell gift bag set up for Derek Jeter's one-nigh stands. I'll enjoy watching you play ball this season (outside of Milwaukee).