So, it finally happened. While I was at dinner. Of course, during my shift. I went to eat dinner with The Wife once the game had started thinking, "Well! Nothing's going to happen during the game." And then it happened.
The Astros have traded Hunter Pence to the Phillies for RHP Jarred Cosart, 1B/OF Johnathan Singleton, P Josh Zeid, and a player to be named later. Apparently the Astros are also paying the Phillies $1m to keep them under the luxury tax threshold. We'll have more on Cosart/Singleton/Zeid later.
Before you get all pissed off about sending money to the Phillies: Shut up. It's not like Jim Crane is going to come around and ask you to throw in, like it's church. It's not your money - what do you care?
Still, I'm upset. We're all upset. It's appropriate to feel the way Sean Pendergast feels, wondering what's happened to the Astros:
How bad are the Astros? They traded their best player who's 28 & still 2 full seasons from free agency..and it's the unquestioned right move.
That's okay. It's a sad day. Likely you think of Hunter Pence as the Last True Astro. A throwback to hope. That would be a largely false emotion - one that's more telling about the Astros than it is about Pence. The Astros were 331-379 in Pence's 2007 starts, and from 2008-yesterday. And they flipped him for Philly's two top prospects. It's sad. But it was necessary.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
