Hunter Pence has been traded

[SkubeBats]

It soundlike that Hunter was traded to the Phillies.

[frikativ54]

It soundlike that Hunter was traded to the Phillies.

Very happy about this. The Astros get two top 50 prospects and two PTBNLs for a guy who is terribly overrated. And plus, I'm not a Hunter Pence fan at all, as he was extremely rude to me when I met him. So glad the Astros are looking toward the future and finally rebuilding. It's been a long time coming.

[Shipp_96]

I'm just ticked that the rich got richer in Filth-a-delphia. Meanwhile, good old Neil Huntington is sitting there in the 'Burg, looking clueless at a blank wall as the Pirates continue to slip further out of 1st in a very winnable division.

First, the Nutting's wanted to see how the Cardinals series shook out...OK, the Bucs won the last game in dramatic fashion to stay in first. Then, he wanted to see how they faired against ATL. Minus a BS call, a split was respectable. I don't know, Bob or Neil, how about getting them a bat NOW instead of waiting for them to slip, then saying "oh well, not our year!"

But as I have said FOREVER, the Pirates are the real life Major League movie, but in reality it is not funny.

LOU BROWN (AKA Clint Hurdle): The rookies are developing alot faster than we thought, and we got two to three potential all stars here (ironic how that turned out this year). I think we can make a run now!

GM (AKA Neil Huntington): You really believe that, don't you Clint?

LOU: You bet your @ss I do!

GM: Bob Nutting will never allow that to happen...

Sorry for the rant, but seeing Pence not even be a realistic target for them gets my goat.

[OaklandAsFan]

Sorry the Athletics have the Pirates and every other team in baseball beat in the Major League movie parody category.

[Shipp_96]

I have to disagree with you when it comes to the A's. I lived in the Bay for 7 years, and went to three straight playoff series compliments of Oakland in the early 2000s. I know they also reached the ALCS after I left the area. Hardly comparable to a team that has NOT BROKE .500 in 19 years!

I agree the A's let WAY too much home grown talent go, I agree their stadium is horrible and the whole San Jose move / Giants BS is sad and petty. I also agree that after Art Howe and Ken Macha, Bob Geran was a JOKE and only got the job cause he was Bean's puppet. Sadder yet is Terry Francona and Ron Washington both left the A's, only to go to World Series as Managers.

But please do not compare them to the Bumbling Buccos ownership and GM.

[eGameUsed]

As much as it pains me to say, I think the Astros made the right move. The new ownership has stated they are planning on spending $60 Million max per year and go young. Unfortunately, in the next 2-3 years, Hunter would be paid $18 Million per year (see Jason Werth $$).

Hunter may not have had the biggest numbers, but he played with more heart than any other ball player I have seen in 20+ years. He was a great person in the Houston community and was one of the best at treating the fans right. Hunter signed autographs before every game, took pictures with fans, and made multiple community appearances. He recently visited and is promoting a couple of kids that lost their parents in a tragic accident. Philly has definitely picked up a star.

I am a huge Pence fan and he has been the focus of my collection since Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell retired. I will also follow Hunter and wish him the best.

Thanks,

[hrvatwill]

I only live three blocks from Minute Maid, so I attend a lot of Astros games even though I am not an Astros fan. He was about the only thing worth watching this year, I am going to miss him very much.

It may be the best long-term move for the franchise, but I will probably be gone from Houston by the time the propsects make an impact at the major league level. So selfishly, I am not excited about the trade, as there is much less reason for me to take in a ballgame done the street.

Oh well, I am a long suffering Pirate fan along with Shipp_96, so I really feel for Astros fans at the moment. Rebuilding for the future can be a very ardous process, and is not very fun in the present sense of the word.

Hang in there 'stros fans!

[ziggy]

He is not the smartest, he throws like a girl, he has an ugly swing, he even runs awkward, he falls down on almost every play in the outfield, however he is a very good player...He is good for .285 and 25 HR.

[eGameUsed]

This is pretty funny. Hunter is a die hard Reebok guy. On Sat 7/30, he wore someone's Nike maroon cleats, official Phillies cleat colors. He didn't look comfortable. On Sun 7/31, he was back to the Reebok Zigs, spray painted as best as he could to blend in.

[Number13]

Wow,

That is a great professional spray paint job. LOL!! Couldn't he have gotten cleats to match from Reebok in time for the game? I'm not up on uniform regulations, but did his cleats have to match?