Carlos Pena, wearing No. 52, now mans first base for the Sacramento River Cats.

"Talking to that kid is like talking to Buddha," says Mark Saxon, who covers the A's for The Oakland Tribune. "I see my life in a little different perspective after every time we chat."

Alas, Saxon hasn't had a chance to chat with Peña in quite some time. Three weeks after the American League named Peña its Rookie of the Month for April, then-struggling Oakland sent him to Triple-A Sacramento along with Frank Menechino and Jeff Tam.

AUDIO: MLB.com's Mychael Urban talks with Carlos Peña

"It seemed like everything happened so fast," Peña says. "It was like a whirlwind."

Peña hit seven homers -- including a walkoff piece in the season's second game -- and racked up 16 RBIs in April while playing brilliant defense at first base, and the A's were right in the thick of the AL West race with a 16-11 record on May 1. But with the first three weeks of May came a 4-for-40 slide that dropped Peña's average to .218, and it coincided with Oakland's rapid descent into the AL West cellar.

Carlos Pena   /   1B
		Height: 6'2" Weight: 210 Bats/Throws: L/L

With the season appearing in danger of becoming lost, the A's decided to shake things up. The demotions of Peña, Menechino and Tam came a day before a trade that sent Jeremy Giambi to Philadelphia, and a flurry of moves followed in the ensuing week or so. By the time general manager Billy Beane stopped tinkering, another member of the Opening Day roster -- starting pitcher Erik Hiljus -- was a River Cat as well.

"Billy is the boss," Peña says, "and as the boss he's responsible for doing what he feels is best for the team. He felt that changes needed to be made and he made them, and judging by the way the team is playing right now, only a fool would argue with that he did."

Peña is no fool. But he is human, and he has an ego. And he admits that being sent down gave that ego a bit of a bruise.

"I was very surprised and very disappointed," he says of his initial reaction to the news. "Of course it makes you angry. If it doesn't, that means you don't care enough and probably shouldn't be in this game. At first I was very angry; that's human nature. But after the emotional reaction came analysis, and in analyzing the situation, I see it as nothing more than another one of life's inevitable setbacks. And with every setback comes an opportunity for growth.

"That's what this has become for me: an opportunity to grow, both as a baseball player and as a person."

"That's what this has become for me: an opportunity to grow, both as a baseball player and as a person."

-- Carlos Peña

Acquired in a six-player trade with Texas in the offseason, Peña was asked to grow into a big leaguer in a hurry. The A's gave up four prospects to get him and reliever Mike Venafro, in large part because they wanted Peña to step right in and replace departed Jason Giambi. And despite a miserable Spring Training in which he batted .212, Peña was handed a starting job on Opening Day.

"The showed a lot of faith in me," Peña says. "Not just in making the trade for me, but by sticking with me after the spring I had. I appreciated that, definitely."

By mid-May he had lost the starting job. As his slump worsened, Scott Hatteberg's playing time increased. And the last thing a prospect needs is time on the bench.

"Carlos needs to play every day," Beane said the day he demoted Peña. "This will allow him to do that."

After going hitless in his first 10 at-bats for the River Cats, Peña went on a tear similar to the one with which he opened the season in Oakland, driving in 24 runs over 22 games. He's cooled off of late and was hitting .248 through Tuesday, but his power numbers remain impressive. In 33 games he had eight homers, nine doubles and 26 RBIs. He's also walked 21 times with 35 strikeouts.

"I'm working on everything, just trying to do my best," he says. "The main thing for me is to continue to have fun, continue to work hard and continue to stay true to myself. If I do that, everything will turn out the way it was meant to turn out."

And by that he means with him back in the big leagues. A number of knowledgeable baseball people, including the last star to man first base in Oakland, are predicting greatness for Peña's future.

"He's a great kid and he's going to be a hell of a player in this game," Giambi said when the Yankees visited Oakland earlier this year. "He's got a great swing, and the way he goes about things with his work ethic, he's going to be a great player in this game, no doubt about it."

Doubt is not something in which Peña dabbles. A supremely confident young man who sees life's cup forever full, he's convinced that he'll emerge from the latest humbling stronger than ever.

"I've seen many, many blue skies turn gray, but the sun will eventually return," he says. "And so will I. So will I."

Mychael Urban covers the Oakland A's for MLB.com and can be reached at murban@oaklandathletics.com. This feature was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.