Tom Haudricourt, in keeping his finger squarely on the pulse of Brewer Nation (and what a thrashing, insolent beast it is!), has provided us with a bit more illumination into the Bill Hall situation:
...
"He looks like a natural (in the outfield), so I don't expect it to be a huge learning curve. He's so athletic a kid that he can handle that. I think he'll work hard to be an average or above-average outfielder, either in center or left field."
I've suspected all along Hall could handle center, but if evaluations by actual baseball professionals gave the team a different opinion, I would be willing to (grudgingly) accept that. Maybe. But no, they KNOW he can play center, and still prefer to have him play left.
Sure, that makes perfect sense. Why play Hall in center and one of your four corner outfielders in left when you can BUY an center fielder in an inflated market and consign your best asset to languish in mediocrity?
Nevertheless, pessimism is a stinky cologne, and as such I'll try to remain positive. At least the possibility of Hall playing center remains open, even though the team apparently views it as more of a contingency plan. Also, at least Melvin & Yost are being relatively candid about the decision-making process. We even now know the deadline:
I just hope it's the right one.