I have a bad habit of getting unnecessarily attached to things.

I was near tears when my first car (a hand-me-down tan Volvo S70) was carted off to make room for my newer, age-appropriate Jetta. I still look up at the window of my freshman-year dorm room to see if the light is on. I had a hard time replacing my old ketchup stained, white MacBook with a shiny new MacBook Pro last winter because I didn't want to "hurt its feelings."

Basically, when it comes to sentimentality, I am a mess.

And the worst is when I get attached to people that I don't even know. Like Major League Baseball players.

When I was a sophomore in high school, the Astros traded Willy Taveras, my first real-life favorite baseball player, to the Colorado Rockies. He wasn't the popular choice for a favorite player, as this was still the great days of the Killer B's, but I've never exactly been one to go along with popular opinion.

But I guess people are more likely to be attached to firsts — first car, first dorm room, first "cool kid" computer — and I ended up asking for a Colorado Rockies T-shirt for Christmas that year. I was sure that no other center fielder could compare to Willy in my heart.

And then Hunter Pence happened.

While I never forgot about Willy (you never forget your first love), I didn't really look back after Hunter got off the bus from Round Rock. He represented something so rare these days — enthusiasm and work ethic — and he quickly captured the hearts of nearly everyone in Houston.

He's all arms and legs, has trademark googly eyes, and a mechanically-incorrect-but-laser-sharp throw. Basically, he's awkward. Which makes people like him even more.

Last summer, I came home from a month of studying abroad in Greece and essentially made a bee-line for Minute Maid. I'd spent the month eating up my hotel-allowed bandwith on MLB.TV, so I knew the Astros weren't doing so hot, but was not deterred.

Knowing that players usually choose the music played when they go to bat, I was curious as to why Pence had selected Katy Perry's hit "California Gurls." He's not from California and he's not a "gurl" so I just wrote it off as an inside joke that I would never understand. It was revealed later that he had chosen it as a way to boost morale in the clubhouse. The more ridiculous the song, the looser the clubhouse atmosphere would become.

In the face of a stressful time, Pence did what he could to help his team.

And then came last year's trade deadline. Roy Oswalt: Gone. Lance Berkman: Gone. The new face of the 'Stros? Pence.

Pence found himself as the face and personality of the franchise — a role that he embraced. He and Michael Bourn were the reason Houstonians paid any attention at all (and not much, at that) to baseball. All eyes were on them.

Pence made the Astros more than just a joke of a baseball team — he founded the Hunter Pence Baseball Academy, made more meaningful appearances than any other player, and played hard every day. Always with a smile on his face.

And the Astros are about to give that all up.

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the Astros aren't only listening to offers for Pence, they're actively shopping him and showing a determination to move the team's lone 2011 All-Star before the July 31 trade deadline.

Pence and Bourn are pretty much the team's only players worth anything at the trade deadline. And if in-limbo general manger Ed Wade would listen to me, I'd tell him this: Let Bourn go, but please, please, please do not sacrifice Pence.

Pence has said not only that he wants to win, but that he wants to do it in Houston. Someone who wants to be an Astro? Good luck finding more of that.

And as great as Bourn is (two-time Gold Glove winner, one-time All-Star), he is now represented by Scott Boras. Remember him from the Carlos Beltran fiasco of 2005?

The Astros intend to start the 2012 season with a payroll around $60 million (the Yankees top the list with a $201-million payroll this year), and cuts need to be made, but let's think about it another way.

This is not Boston or New York. Houstonians will not come to games for the sheer joy of watching baseball. Houston came close to becoming a baseball town in 2004 and the second half of 2005 when the Astros gave people something to watch. These days, people come to games for two reasons: Either the team is doing well, or people just want to see Pence and Bourn.

Obviously, the first reason is not in play this season.

So what happens if both of them are gone? Will people head to the ballpark to see Carlos Lee stand around in left field? I'm thinking no.

Houston fans like familiarity, and as of right now, Brett Wallace, Jason Bourgeois and Chris Johnson aren't familiar enough. Add to that the never-ending revolving door of catchers, shortstops and second basemen, and Houston will check out even more than it already has.

Maybe I'm too sentimentally attached to Pence, but it's already heartbreaking enough to hear the echoes at Minute Maid because it's practically empty — and to realize you're genuinely shocked when the Astros actually win a game.

Pence should be the Astros' future. He represents the team well on the field and off, wants to be an Astro and has the potential to be the face of the baseball in this town for years to come.

I just hope the organization — incoming owner-to-be Jim Crane included — appreciates what they have.