Good-bye Gauthier, Bye-Bye Bauman

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have parted ways with two veteran players: Receiver Chris Bauman and Offensive Lineman Alex Gauthier. Both were scheduled to become free agents on February 16th.

I honestly do not understand the point of releasing two would-be free agents a mere two weeks before they were probably on their way out the door anyway. Seems like an odd move.

There was some clamouring among the fan base for the team to move Heaven and Earth to re-sign Bauman. He had one helluva month to end the season in 2010, and it looks like he may have turned a corner. Of course, it's entirely possible that he just caught lightning in a bottle and will go back to being the unreliable player he was during most of his tenure in Hamilton.

Gauthier might just be the age factor, or as Drew Edwards states, the Cats may go with two Americans on the Offensive Line instead of the one they went with in 2010.

I'm not too upset about either player leaving town. Matt Carter seems like he could fill in fine for Bauman, and if the Cats are going with two Import O-Linemen, Belton Johnson looked very good when Jason Jimenez was injured last season.

To be perfectly honest, I think the loss of both will be unnoticeable.