We’ve been waiting a couple weeks for the first big free agency splash. With big names like Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling and Mariano Rivera staying put, things were getting a bit dull. That changed early Thanksgiving morning when the Angels announced they had signed star outfielder Torii Hunter to a five year deal worth $80 million.

For the past couple years, I’ve been waiting for the Angels to sign a big bat with the ability to protect freakish Vladimir Guerrero. Finally, they have that guy. How’s this for an outfield? Vlad The Impaler, Torii Hunter and Gary Matthews Jr. Good luck hitting the gaps or taking the extra base on that trio.

We know the Angels have a stranglehold on the American League West. But with the signing of Hunter (for a relatively decent price), are they ready to seriously challenge the Evil Empires of the Atlantic Northeast? They have the pitching, the bullpen and now, a couple big bats in the middle of that lineup. And they might not be done yet.

Earlier this week, the trade to acquire Jon Garland in exchange for solid shortstop Orlando Cabrera had me scratching my head for a couple reasons. One is the fact that Cabrera is a good shortstop. The other? Jon Garland isn’t very good. You don’t just trade one of the American League’s best shortstops unless you have a plan to replace him.

How about Miguel Tejada? We all know he’s unhappy in Baltimore and we all know the Angels have a logjam in the outfield, with Reggie Willits and Juan Rivera on the outside looking in. There’s plenty of young pitching in that Angels minor league system. It’s a move that makes sense. For the sake of not having to hear about the Red Sox and Yankees for a week, let’s hope it’s a deal that gets made.

This brilliant video was recommended to us by our friend Derek. While the Minnesota Twins might be eliminated from the playoffs, Torii Hunter is clearly still working on perfecting his swing. Check out the kids faces at the end. Hilarious.

As you probably know, Major League Baseball is planning a very big weekend to honor the late Jackie Robinson, the first player to break baseball’s color barrier. Because his courage is so incredible, we’ve done our best to honor him with his picture on the right side of our page. Torii Hunter thinks this is all too much.

“This is supposed to be an honor,” Hunter told USA Today, “and just a handful of guys wearing the number. Now you’ve got entire teams doing it. I think we’re killing the meaning.

In an interview on ESPNews, Hunter made himself appear ignorant and foolish. He explained Jackie Robinson would be “turning over in his grave,” due to the countless players honoring him. He even went as far to say more black players were around in Robinson’s day than there are now. That’s odd, I could have sworn there weren’t any black players when Jackie Robinson first started.

He then made an obvious suggestion about who should be able to wear #42. When asked what should be the determining factor about wearing #42, Hunter said “I’m not even going to say it, just think about it.” Translation: White people shouldn’t wear Jackie Robinson’s number. If Robinson is really turning over in his grave like Hunter said, it’s over this moronic comment. While Robinson sought to eliminate discrimination, Hunter is doing the discriminating.

Jackie Robinson’s accomplishments go far beyond baseball and I don’t think Hunter realizes it. Regardless of race, people honor Robinson because of his courage to make things right in society. If a non-black player wants to honor Jackie Robinson, what’s wrong with that? He was an early pioneer to the Civil Rights Movement, not just baseball. Should we stop honoring Martin Luther King Jr. as well? Stick to diving catches Torii, you probably shouldn’t talk for the rest of the week.