Will Wily Mo Pena be around for the long haul with the Arizona Diamondbacks?
Jun 29, 2011, 7:59 PM | Updated: 9:11 pm
The Arizona Diamondbacks mantra this season should be ‘live in the moment.’ Between their unexpected rise towards the top of the National League West and their plethora of come from behind victories, you never know what to expect with this club.
That mindset also applies to the franchise’s approach to Wily Mo Pena’s future in Arizona.
“I think you keep him right now,” general manager Kevin Towers said Tuesday on Sports 620 KTAR’s Doug and Wolf. “It’s a little bit tougher in National League play because we rely a lot on our outfield defense. Parra’s saved some games for us with his glove and his arm. I imagine he’ll be used a little bit like last night. It’s nice to have that big bopper that can put a crooked number with one swing of the bat.”
Manager Kirk Gibson shares a similar wait and see attitude to his new found slugger.
“We kind of analyze it as we go,” Gibson told the media Wednesday. “When we think it is appropriate to make moves to make our team better we make them. Right now he certainly makes us a better team.”
Pena was called up on June 19 to fill the role of designated hitter during the D-backs’ Interleague road trip and hasn’t disappointed. He’s provided the team with power both in the lineup and off the bench as a pinch hitter while earning himself a place in the hearts of fans. The problem is, defensively he is a liability in the field.
Once Interleague play ends next week the D-backs will no longer be able to hide Pena’s flaws while featuring his bat. That is, if they want to get him more than one at bat a game.
That doesn’t seem like something the front office is overly concerned with. They’re just living in the moment and enjoying what Pena brings to the table.
