Oh, sorry Children, I didn't hear you come in. . . sit down. I want to talk to you today, because I think there is an important lesson you need to learn. Simply put, be careful what you wish for. Yesterday evening Hunter Pence was officially traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. You may recall I advocated such a trade, and I'm glad it happened, but honestly, I will miss Hunter Pence.
Hunter was not an elite hitter the likes of former Astros Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman. Never had 200 hits in a season or 30+ homers in a season, but what he gave you was a top tier hitterwho had a nack for hitting when it mattered. If the Stros were down by 2 runs with no one on base or up by 3 runs guaranteed Hunter was gonna strike out chasing that slider down and away. But if the game was tied and there was a man on second or if you were down by two with the bases loaded hunter would smack a ball to the wall and make it all the way to third just to make sure the bases got cleared.
He played hard on the base paths too. Back in '08 he twice ran so hard and fast that he blew through Dave Clarks stop signs at third (you pretty much have to if you want to score. Clark stops everyone unless the short stop has the ball, then he thinks you have a shot) and used the base runner in front of him almost like a shield as he practically put them on his lap and slid through home plate and the catcher. He's not a base stealing threat, but he can swipe a bag when he has to. Like people used to say of Bagwell, he's not greased lightning, but he's smart on the bases.
In the outfield he was a force. Hunter never met a wall he didn't want to slide or crash into to make an out. It didn't matter if we were down by 6 runs or up by 6 runs, every play was the bottom of the 9th, bases loaded and two outs. Since coming to the league in '07 Pence leads the league with 56 outfield assists. You see him in right field and think, "Hey, I can run on that guy. I'll make this single a double," (or double a triple, or try to score etc.) and it always ends up the same way: Throw-tag-YER OUT!
It's this style of play, where every play is the difference between winning the World Series and going home losers, but with the enthusiasm of a little leaguer seeing Yankee Stadiumm or Fenway for the first time that makes Pence such a valuable commodity. There are better hitters, fielders, base runners, etc. There are better ball players based on pure skill. That's inarguable and statistically factual. But, that being the case, there are also NO ball players who are CONSISTENTLY better than Hunter Pence. His brand of baseball enables him to perform at such a high level, and no one ever says about him, like they do about Hanley Ramirez or jose Reyes, that he takes a play off, or isn't giving his all, and it translates to results. Phillies Phans, you just got another jewel to add to your crown; Treat him right.
So, with Pence now gone, let's look ahead to the (dark) future. We've still got Michael bourn, Wandy Rodriguez, and Brett Myers on the trading block. If we trade all of them only Carlos Lee, Humberto Quintero, and Jason Michaels will be making over $475K and we'll have trimmed $31mil in payroll this year. Hopefully this means the rebuilding has begun in earnest. It started by bringing up Jordan Lyles, continued with the callup of Jose "Mighty Mouse" Altuve following the Jef Keppinger trade, and last night we purchased the contract of JD Martinez, and I won't go over his stats right now, but safe to say he's a mashing corner outfielder who has been chomping at the bit to make it to the show. Welcome to it kid.
So remember Children, be careful what you wish for, you might get it. If you get it, and it stings a little, sometimes that's for the best. Lastly, it's always darkest before the dawn. If that's too many cliches for you just remember: Father knows best. :) Now go outside and play.
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