Many of you might be wondering if this blog will change its name from "The Space Race" to "The Pence Race".

That’s because we have illustrated our posts for the past few weeks almost exclusively with pictures of the Astros rookie. Some of our more casual readers, who are not exactly daily followers of the goings-on at Minute Maid Park, might ask themselves if this hoopla around the newcomer is justified at all or not

We have now confirmed that (God forbid us from sounding big-headed) we were right in focusing that much towards the young outfielder. Pence has been recognized as NL Player of the Week, in a tie with Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde.

Pence has batted an astonishing .591 average, a product of 13 hits in 22 at-bats, driving in 5 and scoring 9, while rotating between the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup.

The idea behind Pence’s arrival was that of giving the team a much-needed dose of energy. And that has been the case so far. This kid plays with so much drive and intensity, and that has been recognized by his more experienced teammates, and by those who see him play each and every day. He’s enjoying every moment of his stay in the Major Leagues, and you can see that. And luckily for us, that feeling has been rubbing off on everyone else.

May this be the first of many recognitions in The Show for him.