Thrilled To Have Pence
I. for one, am ecstatic that the Phillies have picked up Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros without having to give up Vance Worley or Domonic Brown. Pence is a good player and you can just tell he loves playing the game. I have always admired the guy’s hustle. He immediately becomes the best hitter on the Phillies roster in terms of batting average.
Pence is hitting .308 with 11 HR and 62 RBI. He’ll make a huge difference hitting behind Ryan Howard which also allows Shane Victorino to move up to the two-slot in the batting order where he has been more effective in the past. Once Placido Polanco comes back, the Phillies lineup will be even stronger.
“I’m really looking forward to just trying to be a part,” Pence said. “Give it my heart and soul like I always do. One thing I try to take pride in is hustle, grind and preparation. It’s really cool to be wanted like that.”
Obviously, Vance Worley has meant a lot to this team this year. Worley has gone 7-1 with a 2.02 ERA in eleven starts this season. The Phillies are 9-2 when he starts. His role has been even more important with the injuries to Oswalt and Blanton. especially since it looks like Blanton will not return this season.
In my opinion, Domonic Brown is expendable. As Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. said, “We believe Domonic Brown is going to be an outstanding player, but he’s learning on the job.” That’s fine if you’re trying to build a team but the Phillies are having a year where they can win it all. Brown is hitting .246 in 54 games with 5 HR and 19 RBI. His play in right field has been rather shaky. Don’t get me wrong, I hope Domonic Brown lives up to expectations but I am skeptical.
As far as giving up prospects for Hunter Pence, I see no problem with that. There are so many factors that go into a guy making it big in the majors. They need to stay relatively injury-free. They need to have a mental toughness that is hard to measure. The highway to the big leagues is littered with prospects that have never made, it so it’s really a crap shoot at best. You hate to let prospects go, but more will always come along.
In the Dirt 