My boss, a Mets fan, walked into my office (cubicle area) two weeks and threw out the name Carlos Beltran.“So, looks like you’re pushing hard for Beltran,” he said.
As a Phillies fan — and a Philadelphia fan period — I began to remember that awful taste I had in my mouth when the Eagles traded Donovan McNabb to the division rival Redskins.
I didn’t want Beltran. Rental or not, injury-prone or not, I did not want him. I immediately said, “I want Hunter Pence.”
Little did I know that we’d actually go after him and grab him in a big deadline deal.
I waited anxiously all Friday hoping to hear that the deal was finished, and as I kept updating my Twitter account to see if the news was “official,” I began to see some Phillies fans complaining.
It got worse as the day went on.
Fans kept talking about how Hunter Pence isn’t any good; how Domonic Brown is much better; how the Phils would be better going after Matt Kemp; and how the Phils should not “sell the farm and the future” for an “average” player.
I saw Tweeters twisting stats, like the one about Pence only batting .280 in the since June 1 and Brown was batting .303.
Does that mean Hunter Pence won’t help the Phillies?
You can’t just look at a stat like that and say a player like Pence can’t help the Phils. Best example being, Albert Pujols is batting .275 in his last 30 games. Domonic Brown is batting .296 in his last 30. So, by that Twitter-logic, Brown is a better option than Pujols.
We all know that is not the case. So don’t throw 30-day or 2-month stats at me. They factor in, but they do not tell the whole story. Let’s look at the 2011 season. Pence is batting .308 with 62 RBIs on an awful team.
That’s only going to get better as he goes from the worst team in baseball (35-71) to the best (66-39). He’s reportedly going to bat fifth behind Ryan Howard, and with Placido Polanco coming back and likely batting in the two-hole, this lineup can be dynamic.
That, and the best thing of all is, Pence will be here for more than just this season. This wasn’t just a move for 2011. It was a move for the future, too.
So for everyone who was worried about the future, do not. A team that sits around a doesn’t make moves and keeps/rebuilds the farm system every season is just the Pirates of the last 17 years. You cannot win if you do not make a move when your window is open. Had Philly balked on this trade and kept Single-A prospects Jonathan Singelton and Jarred Cosart, what would have happened to these players?
Yes, they could develop into stars, but look at the Phillies situation over the next three years. Ryan Howard is hogging first base for the foreseeable future, so Singletown is stuck in the minors. Cosart may have a chance to come up, but with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in control of this lineup for years to come (I’m assuming Hamels gets a big deal this winter), what does it really matter if the Phillies send away a pitching prospect.
Let’s say that again: “Pitching prospect.”
How many pitchers are in the minor leagues? How many ever make it?
I’d hate to sit around at Citizens Bank Park in five years and see Cosart pitching in a park that only flies World Series flags from 1980 and 2008. It will be much nicer to sit around and watch a struggling, aging squad in 2015/16 with a few more flags up there, namely 2011 and 2012.
So take it easy on Hunter Pence. He’s not the best outfielder in MLB, but he’s certainly the right piece for Philadelphia. Kudos to Ruben Amaro Jr. for making yet another deadline blockbuster and it will be great to watch Pence make his debut in Philly tonight.
Maybe by 10 p.m. tonight, those bitter Philly Tweeters will see why Pence is worth every prospect traded.
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