Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence’s start to the 2008 was slow and painful. He labored to a .161 batting average through his first 14 games, then was on the bench for back-to-back series finales against the Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies in mid-April. He returned to the lineup having lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders and proceeded to go on a tear as the Astros won six of their next eight games.

But once again, Pence fell into an 0-for-14 slump, and manager Cecil Cooper again called for an off day to rejuvenate him. The move worked, as Pence responded with three home runs in Houston’s series sweep of visiting Milwaukee over the weekend. Pence, who entered the series with one home run in 96 at-bats, homered twice in the opener, then blasted a walk-off two-run homer in the finale on Sunday.

Cooper has recognized that Pence has a more fragile mindset in his sophomore season. He’s been a regular in the bottom half of the Astros lineup, a move that has benefited everyone involved. Cooper has a stable of proven veterans in Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and new acquisitions Michael Bourn, Kazuo Matsui and Miguel Tejada to anchor the top of his lineup, so shifting Pence to the No. 6 spot was a logical move.

Pence was pressing in the more prominent spot in the Astros’ lineup, batting .214 with just one walk and 14 strikeouts in 56 at-bats as a leadoff and No. 2 hitter. When Matsui returned from the disabled list on April 18, Pence was able to return to the No. 6 and No. 7 holes, where he’s found that blending in has been much easier. Pence has a 1.047 OPS when he bats sixth, which should be his usual position for the remainder of the year.

With the speed-power combo at the top of Houston’s lineup, Pence has garnered a lot less attention from the opposition. And obviously, given the healthy state of the Astros’ franchise, Pence hasn’t been looked upon to be an immediate savior. On the contrary, he has the luxury of veteran assistance as he adjusts to everyday life in the big leagues.

Batting average aside, look for numbers that exceed what he did in 2007 (.322 with 17 HRs, 69 RBIs, 11 SBs in 108 games), but that fall short of the 162-game rates he set forth. My projection is a .300 average, 22 homers, 85 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 150 games - figures that would never be mistaken for a sophomore slump.

In other news …
Roger Clemens has released a statement that denies any kind of specific wrongdoing in response to allegations of affairs with three women, including then 15-year old country singer Mindy McCready. He apologizes for “personal mistakes” he made, but fails to clarify what those mistakes were. He cannot fathom why his personal life has been brought to the forefront, but maybe it has something to do with his counsel’s aggressive defiance of Clemens’ alleged steroid use.

Clemens can deny, and has denied, all day long, but the fact is, he has brought all of this on himself. His character, or lack there of, is a big issue in his defamation suit against former trainer Brian McNamee. Clemens has reached a crossroads in the case and, pride be damned, figures to drop the suit any day now.

A rocky first inning by starting pitcher Derek Lowe, and the Colorado Rockies were able to pounce on the Dodgers and snap their eight-game winning streak, 7-2 on Sunday. Colorado opened the game with three quick runs and answered each of L.A.’s two scoring innings - the fifth and the eighth - with runs of their own. The Dodgers (17-14) fell to four games back of NL West-leading Arizona, while reigning division champion Colorado (12-19) is nine games off the pace.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was named National League Player of the Week on Monday after lifting L.A. to six straight wins. The 23-year old outfielder hit .407 with 11 RBIs and six stolen bases to earn his first career weekly honor.

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland has vowed to make a drastic overhaul of his team’s lineup when it takes on the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. The Tigers’ aggregate numbers have been O.K. (4th in the AL with 158 runs, 2nd with 36 HRs), but Leyland has had a problem with Detroit’s inconsistency and relative underachievement by the game’s most talented lineup.

More opinions …
Tim Valentine says Clemens is “getting gangsta with his.”

New Dawg Blog doesn’t envy Clemens, who has the New York Daily News breathing down his neck.

Home Run Derby calls Pence’s Sunday walk-off against the Brewers its Home Run of the Day award, even if it came on a bad swing to snap an 0-for-5 performance.

Library Girl loves a lot of things about baseball, the Houston Astros, and Pence.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.