I think you underestimate how dificult it is to play center field in the majors at full speed every game. A lot of times, when he does something that seems unnecessary (acrobatic), he's trying to roll into position to make a throw. Somtimes he doesn't need to jump as high as he does, but he jumps that high so that he can land with more momemntum behind the throw. When you've got your back to the wall, you have no room to go deeper than you need and get your momentum going toward home. So he uses the vertical plane to get more on his throws.

Other times when he rolls, he's trying to keep from sliding too much on artificial turf, especially on his exposed arms. You can't argue with his leaping, especially not in that freaky geometry of Fenway, running full steam 70 yards for a ball into the triangle.

He is unique in the way he plays center, mostly because he goes all out and has to find some way to stop his momentum and get the ball back in. That is one trait that makes him the best at what he does.

Another is the fact that he has the best first step of anybody I've ever seen. Anyone at Bloggers Night who saw that catch will know what I mean. Perhaps Kirby could lope back and get that one, but Kirby played 40 feet deeper than Hunter does, which allows Hunter to get to an average of one shallow liner per game that Puckett wouldn't even bother to chase. And nobody would have ranged so far into the gap at the All-Star game, leaped 12 feet in into he air (including his glove) at full speed and brought down that rocket off the bat of Barry Bonds. It makes "The Catch" seem like child's play.

The third trait is his arm. I don't know any other center fielder who dives forward to get everything possible on a throw and can get a fast guy tagging up from third from medium deep center field. I've seen Hunter do it a dozen times at least.

I've watched a lot of baseball and I've never seen anybody better defensively, including Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime. That is why I'm so passionate about keeping him, unless Ryan is blown away with an offer he can't refuse.

Before he became a star, he became famous for running through a wall in AAA. He's always played this way. He's learned new ways of controlling his body to make more plays. But he's not playing for the cameras. He's playing for outs.

I think you put your finger on it when you stated that neither is right handed. So you lose right handed pop in the middle of the order, and your offense suffers, at least until Marte is ready. By then, we would likely be looking up at the White Sox and Indians and waiting for next year.

Also, I disagree that Patterson or Reed could give you what Hunter gives you in center. They could give you about what Ford would give you. And I think I'd rather have Ford than Patterson anyway. perhaps a Ford/Reed platoon would be OK, but I don't like the loss of range there.

I would go for Marte and Cameron. But my guess is the Padres want Cameron for his defense and the Red Sox have nobody to offer that could give them an adequate replacement. So now we're talking about a four-way deal. I don't know. It's fun to speculate, but it's probably tougher to pull it off than we might imagine.