Flyin' HI No More: Goodbye #8

The Flyin' Hawaiian is gone.  In a season of misery and disappointment, peppered with dashed hopes and gutless performances, the front office cut off one of the team's limbs.

It's being termed "The End of An Era," but its much more than that.  It's goodbye to a friend.

As one fan put it, "I can't watch them anymore, I can't.  I care about the team because I care about the players.  If they trade the players, I stop caring."

Shane Victorino was one of the most popular players on the Phillies. He was beloved by fans and was very active in Philadelphia charities.

He recorded 3 Gold Gloves in CF and was twice voted into the All-Star game by fans, who love his spirit and his spitfire intensity.

However, the Phillies weren't going to give him the long-term deal he'll seek in free agency.  So, pragmatically, they took advantage of the short-term opportunity for some return on his imminent departure.

Teammate Jimmy Rollins responded to the trade on Twitter:

"Wishing my Lil Hawaiian brother all the best & continued success. Although he is no longer rockin' the P he has definitely left his mark!"

I was there in 2008, when the most dramatic moment of the NLCS  was 1 at-bat by the Flyin' Hawaiian.  The Phils had a 2-0 series lead, but were playing their 1st in L.A.  The Dodgers pummeled Jamie Moyer early with 6 runs in 1 1/3 innings.  Then, Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda sailed a pitch over Victorino's head as payback for Brett Myers' close shaves in Game 2.  Everybody knew payback was due, but Victorino took offense that it came at his head.  With his typical fire, he protested with vivid animation:

"Not at my head, bro!"

I took these pictures of the bench-clearer at the '08 NLCS in L.A.

What followed was an unforgettable, electric benches-clearing confrontation between the Phils and Dodgers.  Today, one journalist deemed it one of baseball's best-ever pitcher-batter showdowns.  Forever forward, Victorino has been vehemently booed in Los Angeles.  This was true that night and the final game he played in L.A. as a Phil.  I was there for the game in October '08 and the one in July '12.

Ironically, Victorino returns to the Dodgers, a team he is hitting .346 against in 2012.

The irony is manifold:

1) The Dodgers cast Victorino off when he was their property in the minor leagues, after they had selected him 194th overall in the 6th round of the '99 draft. The Phils rescued him from the trash heap of 'could've-been', convinced him he that had major league talent and propelled him to the starting role, replacing then-fan favorite Aaron Rowand with #8.  Now, the Dodgers take him back, officially admitting their error in judgement.

2) This is the team Victorino and co. stopped short of the World Series in '08 and '09, 8-games-to-2. Now, the Dodgers are on their way up, while the Phils will either retool for another run or have begun a rebuilding phase with this move.

3) These are the fans that love to hate him, inexplicably, because a) Kuroda threw at his head and b) he is practically impossible not to like.

I remember watching the 2008 NLDS Game 2 vs. Milwaukee at my sister-in-law's house.

C.C. Sabathia was en route to the biggest contract a pitcher has ever signed with the Yankees.  However, then, he was still the best thing the Brewers had.  He was their 'X' factor.  They had famously thrown him on 3-days rest repeatedly to reach the postseason as the Wild Card, and he had just as famously delivered.  Superstar Sabathia, 6'7" 290-pound, was Goliath vs. 5'9" 190-pound ordinary major-leaguer Shane Victorino.

Victorino came up with the bases loaded and hit a grand-slam.  I, like so many Phillies fans, jumped for joy, hope swelling within my heart.  My dad suffered constant heartbreak with his beloved team.  This was the initiation of something else, something opposite, and it was signaled by that one Victorino swing:

"When I first hit it, I said, 'I've got to get going,' " Victorino said that October day. "As I was running, I looked at [leftfielder Ryan] Braun stop and I was like, 'Wow, did that really just happen?' There was just excitement in the air to know we got an early lead on a guy like CC."

Shane, wife and child at Victorino Foundation charity 6/12.

It was then that I knew 2008 was destiny.  I made my travel plans for Philly and attended the final game of the World Series, watching the Phils win it all, fulfilling a lifelong dream.  The green light to my unforgettable journey that Fall was the Grand Slam at-bat by #8.  I will miss him, the city will miss him, its charities will miss him, his teammates will miss him, and he will always be a Phillies player in our hearts.

Ryan Howard reflected: "As a teammate, you are going to miss him, hearing that voice from across the room. You want the best for him."

"He's been part of everything we've accomplished around here," said his manager Charlie Manuel.

The switch-hitting Victorino batted .279 with 181 doubles, 63 triples, 88 home runs, 390 RBIs and 179 stolen bases in eight years with the Phillies. In 46 postseason games, Victorino hit .269 with six homers and 30 RBIs.

With Victorino a free agent at the end of this season, one can't help but imagine he and the Phils considering reuniting.  To quote a classic movie:  "Come back, Shane!"  Although it is a practical impossibility, it did happen with the Phils and Cliff Lee.  So, who knows?  

Hunter Pence

Trading Pence was about salary dumping, because the Phils are instantly worse without him.  His contract is for $10.4 million this season and exceeds $13 million in 2013. Pence is hitting .271 with 17 homers and 59 RBIs this season. He leads the Phillies in hits, HRs, RBIs, runs scored and walks.

Hunter Pence: going, going... gone.

"Thank you Philadelphia for all your support and passion. Excited to see what awaits me in San Francisco!" Pence wrote on Twitter.

However, his true reaction was much less glossy:

"Very surprising," Pence said with a glazed look in his eyes. "I don't think anyone anticipated the season that has gone on this year. It was a perfect storm of injuries and things that didn't go right for us. That's the business of the game and you have to understand that. We had a great run and now I've been sent on."

"I had nothing but great memories here in Philadelphia," he said. "I am nothing but thankful for the opportunity to play -- unbelievable teammates and really the organization is a class act all the way from the top down. The fans made it an absolute blast to play for, so it was a great experience."

The moves restocked some of the Phils depleted farm system and addressed the immediate and gaping bullpen hole.   They saved almost $6 million in 2 hours and cleared the luxury tax limit for this season by minutes. 

Furthermore, GM Amaro Jr. made plain his intent to replace the departed outfielders from outside the organization with off-season free agent acquisitions:

"Maybe more than one," Amaro said.

What the Phils Got From S.F. for Pence

The Giants' #2 prospect, catcher Tommy Joseph, now the Phils top position-player prospect.  Plus, mediocre RF Nate Schierholtz (.257, 8 HR) and single-A power right-handed pitcher Seth Rosin.

What the Phils Got From L.A. for Victorino

25-year-old righthanded Relief Pitcher Josh Lindblom (3.02 ERA), double-A right-handed starter Ethan Martin*, and a player to be named or cash.

"We have some holes to fill and some things to improve on, obviously," Amaro said. "I think this gives us a better chance to do that."

*ScoutingBook.com:
"Recent results notwithstanding, the powerful, savvy right-hander still looks a lot like the Giants' young Tim Lincecum, with a usually-straight fastball and a nasty hard slider coming from a compact frame. He's still not very close to ready, and really needs to get his walks under control, but when he does add some experience to his talent, he could be yet another in a long string of powerful arms that came out of the Dodgers system."