The Pecan Park Eagle

“Who did you expect? Lance Berkman? Fagetabout it! ” – Carlos Pena.

According to Baseball Reference.Com, Carlos Pena is a 34-year old 6’2″, 225 lb. all lefty DH, who also plays first base in the field. A native of the Dominican Republic, Pena turns 35 next May 17th, which, if he’s still with the Astros by then, will be his 35th birthday anniversary.

Over the course of his 12-season (2001-12) career in the big leagues with Texas, Oakland, Detroit, Boston, Tampa Bay, the Cubs, and then, back to Tampa Bay, Pena has registered a .234 batting average, a .472 slugging average, 277 home runs, and 791 runs batted in.

Pena had his best year in 2007 when he banged out 47 HR, 121 RBI, and a .282 BA for Tampa Bay. It was the only time in his entire history that he ever hit over .248 in a full season. He led the American League in homers in 2009 with 39 – and his 100 RBI that season for Tampa Bay were his third straight and last time to compile 100 or more RBI in a single season.

Did I mention that he also strikes out a lot? Pena fanned 182 times in 2012 and, at least, 158 times in each of the past five seasons.

And now Carlos Pena joins the Astros after a .197 BA with 19 HR and 61 RBI in 160 games for the 2012 Tampa Bay Rays on a one-year contract that will pay him $2.9 million in 2013 with incentives that could boost his payday by another $1.4 million for the run.

So, what am I missing here? How does a guy who can barely nudge Mendoza at .200 be worth over three million dollars a year to a team hoping to avoid a serious run at the season-loss record of the infamous Cleveland Spiders?

Oh well. – At least, this should make Lance Berkman’s decision-making process a whole lot easier.