FREE HUNTER PENCE!!!

March 13, 2007, 9:47PM
Garner says Pence isn't top candidate for RF job

Pence is actually heating up (if that's possible) over his last 8 games:

17 hits, 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3 HRs

.586/.625/1.379 = OPS 2.004

7 Runs & 8 RBIs

1 SB, 1 CS

3BB vs. 2K

So where is he batting in the order:
#6 = 89% of the time
#5 = 5% of the time
#2 = 5% of the time

GET A BRANE MORANS

From today's BP Newsletter:

STAT OF THE DAY

Top 5 2007 NL Center Fielders, by VORP

Player, Team, EqA, VORP

Aaron Rowand, PHI, .320, 19.1
Carlos Beltran, NYN, .317, 18.2
Hunter Pence, HOU, .342, 11.0
Ryan Church, WAS, .298, 9.8
Josh Hamilton, CIN, .286, 8.0
--

more like hunter pimps!

This week's aggregate score so far:

Astros 8, Rangers/Giants/D'backs 53. I cannot remember a worse stretch of Astros baseball since I moved back to H-Town in 1997.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1998/lidgelleaguejj2.jpg

I wish I had found this earlier, it's not so relevant now. He's had a pretty great May: 14 appearances, 1.10 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 22 K, 4 BB

NL Rookie of the Month

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4861878.html

I have no idea what is going on here:

http://images.chron.com/photos/2007/06/05/6559476/600xPopupGallery.jpg

butt luv

Did I imagine an article that referenced Dan Wheeler's thinly-veiled racist comments fairly recently?

I have no knowledge of such an article. Did you see him shove Chris Sampson in the dugout Wednesday night?

sorry about Everett's break, but it does force them to maybe play a productive guy at short?

Orlando Palmeiro!

Well, Loretta is playing short tonight, so he's definitely an offensive upgrade. You lose a lot of range there, though. They brought Eric Bruntlett up from AAA, so we'll be see how much playing time he'll get. He's probably somewhere in between Everett and Loretta both offensively and defensively.

Everett had been hitting a lot better the last three weeks or so. His batting avg. had risen nearly 50 point in that time.

So I'm sitting here typing the above message, listening the Mariners-Astros game on the radio. Milo Hamilton was going through a list groups and parties that were out at the ballpark tonight and he just announce there was a group of people at Minute Maid tonigth celebrating the birthday of NED FLANDERS, as well as another group referred to as "MONTGOMERY BURNS and Friends."

And the thing is, this isn't the first time I've heard the Montgomery Burns thing. My guess is somebody in the Astros' group sales office is pulling a funny on the old man.

Also, Biggio just tied Nap Lajoie for 6th on the all-time doubles list. Overall, he's at 2,988 hits.

Up until about a week ago, I had never heard "Lajoie" pronounced out loud. According to the Astros broadcast team, its LA-juh-way.

I'd always heard LA-HO-AY, but I bow to the superior linguistic efforts of the Astros.

Plus, Milo probably saw him play.

Is there a left-handed reliever in the Major Leages worse than Trevor Miller? Oh my gosh, Garner just keeps running him out there over and over and ever freakin' time he pitches he gets his brains beat out. His ERA is only 7.50! Opponents are hitting .301 against him. He comes in tonight in the bottome of 9th inning with 2 out and a runner on 1st and promptly gives up a walk-off run-scoring double to Chone Figgins (his 6th hit of the night).

This team's management keeps talking about turning things around but they're so slow about making changes when it is so obvious where the changes need to happen. What difference does it make if you have a lefty in the pen if his ERA is 7.50? There's got to be somebody at AAA who can do better than that. Get rid of this bum.

BTW, Biggio got hit # 2990 tonight.

The countdown is on.

Haw haw.

For the love of God, he looks like the "there is no spoon" kid.

Biggio tonight:

Hit # 2991 and 2992.

Biggio: #2993.

#2994
#2995
#2996

That last one was a double that drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th.

So, he has 4 to go and the Astros have three games in Milwaukee before their next homestand. I think he's scheduled to sit one of those games out. I calling it a 50/50 chance he'll do it at home over the weekend. If he doesn't do it in Milwaukee, I'll be attending the games this weekend until he does it.

So what happens after 3000? Does Biggio's playing time get reduced?

Hunter Pence's .609 Slugging average is #4 in MLB (behind A-Rod, Magglio and Prince Fielder).

Re: Biggio - he's got a season line of .238 / .279 / .390, so for the Stros' sake, I sure as hell hope his PT is reduced once he gets his stats.

As for Pence, he's actually not on the list, if you look @ qualified leaders. He's only got 214 PAs (as opposed to the 300+ PA most of the dudes on the list have), but he's bound to show up in a week or two - I'm assuming he'd need to average 3 PA / game played to actually qualify, meaning he's 9 PAs behind right now. The fact that he has a grand total of SEVEN walks to his name to date, tho, makes me think he's gonna hit the skids soonish & fall back down to a more expected level of sluggery.

Minor League Totals (3 seasons of A and AA):
308 games, 1175 ABs
.302 / .376 / .556 = .932
229 Ks vs. 139 BBs
SBs: 29 of 43 SBs (AA = 17 of 21)
Fielding: 1 error vs. 183 put outs (109 games with fielding stats recorded), 11 assists (3 double plays)

don't call him a Francoeur
he knows how to walk!

Well, the CW at the start of the season was that Biggio would play almost everyday untill he got to 3000 and then would share time with Chris Burke and/or Mark Lorretta.

BUT...I'm less confident that plan will be followed through now, based on Garner's insistence on keeping Biggio in the lead-off slot even when he was hitting under .220 with an OBP around .250.

was HBP 3x in one game...

perhaps more telling: was drafted by Beane/Depodesta in 2002-2003 and opted not to sign.

Hey, I don't know if anybody noticed, but the Astros hired a general manager today.

Never forget to bring a Towles.

uh, yeah. ed wade? sorry, dude.

http://jrtowles.net/bracelet.jpg

These cool wrist bands are an exciting way to promote the unique message JR and staff had come up with. In a score book for baseball an "IBB" is an intentional walk. What a wonderful thought to have an "IBB" by your name in the book of Life, as you travel on your "Intentional Walk with Jesus".

GAY

SIDES HURT SO BAD RIGHT NOW

uh, yeah. ed wade? sorry, dude.

Yeah, I've got mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, he signed and developed a lot of talented players that are now major contributors at the Major League level (Howard, Utley, Hammels). On the other hand, the Phillies never made the postseason during his tenure as GM (although I personally believe that may have more to do with Larry Bowa). On the third hand, he's a Tal Smith protege, which means the Astros went through this whole dog and pony show of interviewing 11 candidates just to hire the guy that Uncle Drayton's right-hand man already knew everything about.

Since I'll be in Houston this week for a conference, I'm going to go to Craig Biggio Rainbow Sleeve Jersey T-Shirt night on Friday.

boldbury (and/or other resident ILBB Houstonites), wanna go? I'm not sure how good the game's going to be, but I bet it'll be better than "Managing Stakeholder Feedback," "Using Data to Make Critical Design Decisions," and every other ultra-exciting panel I've got to attend.

Wade is responsible for virtually every good player on the current Phillies roster. Gillick traded Thome for Rowand about 15 days after he was hired, but just about everyone else (Ruiz, Howard, Utley, Rollins, Thome who begat Rowand, Victorino, Myers, Kendrick, Burrell ... as an assistant Wade pushed hard for the acquisition of Abreu ... I mean, that's a pretty good team and comprised mainly of players developed by the Phillies internally. He made some bad moves, but what other GM can claim to have developed so many decent major league players in such a short time?

wanna go?

Maybe. Who are you?

<i>Maybe. Who are you?</i>

Hah, sorry. ex-"d4niel c0hen" or some variation thereof ca. old-ILX (mostly posting on this board, mothballed yardworker, etc.), been generally lurking since the switchover for a bunch of reasons. Email me at danielcohen at gmail dot com if you wanna talk plans. Getting on a plane in a few hours.

Brad Lidge traded with Eric Bruntlett to Phillies for Michael Bourne, Mike Costanzo, and Geoff Geary.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5283755.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Hunter-Pence-on-glass-doors-World-o;_ylt=AifNFrHt0bhdSDBG.rAktRIRvLYF?urn=mlb,76154

blerg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2008/04/ipt/1207822149.jpg

mets extra innings is taking its toll on me what say you hunter?

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2008/04/ipt/1207822149.jpg

^^this is why you're batting .150!!!!

NOT HOLDING BAT RIGHT

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CwJUnQaUAAAMf0c.jpg:small

is mike pence his dad thanks

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ee8mV8TUcAAwK8u?format=jpg&name=small

*twitches nervously*

DF... with nowhere to assign him, I guess he's just cut?

.096/.161/.250
2 HR
6 RBI

probably send him to the alternate training site/sacramento if no one claims him

Hunter Pence is out in McCovey Cove today on a boat holding a "Let's Go Giants" sign.

— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) September 27, 2020

<3

Video!

http://www.mlb.com/video/hunter-pence-s-boat-party

https://www.mlb.com/video/hunter-pence-s-boat-party

(Gotta leave the 's' on.)

I think Hunter Pence's Boat Party is a great name for a band.