Corner Outfielders

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Erik Karabell made this comment today on espn.com:

� The Mets might want to take a look at Chris Aguila in the outfield after he hit his 17th home run for Triple-A New Orleans Monday, knocking in five runs with a 5-for-5 night. Aguila has eight home runs and 20 RBIs in his past 10 games. Yes, this is the same singles hitter who did very little in the Marlins outfield as a part-timer from 2004-06, but he's playing well and hitting for power now.

[Guest attgig]

looking at the NOZ's minor league stats, seems like this guy Valentino Pascucci is hitting pretty well also.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That web page is no longer listing all players on the Zephyrs, as I discovered this morning.

You can get the full set of stats at Baseball America's web site, or here.

[Vic Sage]

I looked up Pascucci's numbers, and it showed a player that made progress at every level until 2004, when, at age 25, Montreal gave him a cup of coffee. He didn't do mucn for the `Spos, and was then released after the season, and disappeared for 2 years (05-06), before popping up again in the Marlins system at AAA Albequerque with another solid year. Then he started this year slowly for the Phillies' AAA Int'l league time before hooking on with the Zephyrs, where he has been tearing it up.

I wonder where he was in 2005-06, when he was in his prime? Was he hurt? Selling insurance? what?

Anyway, as a RH-ed corner OFer/1bman, he seems a more likely help for this team than Abraham freakin' Nunez.

[metirish]

="Vic Sage"] I wonder where he was in 2005-06, when he was in his prime? Was he hurt? Selling insurance? what?

From Wiki.

] He hit his first career home run on September 15, 2004 and also played in the final game of the Expos' history on October 3. He was released by the Washington Nationals on December 10, 2004, and has not played in the big leagues since. Pascucci spent the 2006 season with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League.

What did he do for the '05 season?


oh hold on , that would mean he was with Chiba for 2005 and 06.

[Guest attgig]

little sny article on aguilla

]"No stats questions, please," New Orleans Zephyrs outfielder Chris Aguila politely requests before proceeding with most interviews. The comment initially might seem perplexing, considering that Aguila leads this season's Zephyrs lineup with 16 home runs and 35 RBIs. Yet, after speaking with the powerhouse left fielder, it becomes obvious that his modesty ─ not embarrassment ─ is the source of his imploration. "I look at myself as a good team player, a good guy to have in the clubhouse," Aguila says. "As far as performing on the field, I don't think there's a particular thing I think I'm just great at, so I just want to try and go out there day in and day out and help the team win." The Redwood City, Calif. native deserves more credit than he gives himself. At 29 years old, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound right-handed Aguila serves as one of the most seasoned and successful members of the New Orleans squad, and one of the few players with Major League experience. "He's been here since Day 1 [this year] and he's been able to contribute a pretty solid presence in the lineup," hitting coach Jack Voigt says. "[Aguila has] played really good defense, he's thrown a number of runners out and he's been a solid player that's got Major League time. You can see when he plays why he has played in the big leagues." Coming out of the 1997 MLB draft as a third round pick of the Florida Marlins, Aguila spent part of three years in the Majors, an experience he says he is very grateful for. From 2004 to 2006, he amassed a .234 overall batting average with 51 hits, 16 RBIs and 26 runs scored. Now a 12-year veteran in professional play, Aguila, who is of Filipino and Samoan descent, applies the lessons he learned playing with the Marlins to dominate with his current club. "I learned that [in baseball,] things are just out of your hands," he said. "My best advice is to just leave it in God's hands and have faith in yourself as a player. [Playing with the Marlins,] I had to realize that all you can do is prepare yourself and work as hard as you can." These words of wisdom have obviously worked well for Aguila, as the left fielder was recently named the Pacific Coast League's Hitter of the Week for the week ending June 1. Batting an impressive .500 (12-for-24) and hitting five home runs in three days, including in back-to-back games, Aguila became the first Zephyr to be named the PCL's Hitter of the Week since outfielder Chip Ambres last June. "He wasn't really doing anything different [during those games] except getting ready to hit a little sooner," Voigt said. "He is a player who is always able to make corrections and get right back to where he needs to be. Those minor adjustments that he made really worked for him this past week." In addition to his workmanlike approach, Aguila strives to establish himself as a true team player on and off the field. "He's very much routine-oriented," Voigt noted. "He knows what he needs to do, and he knows how to get it done. If he's having trouble, he asks for help and he takes suggestions very well. [At the same time,] he's also a very personable guy, he's team-oriented, he wants to win, he's competitive and he's serious about his job." Aguila's strict adherence to team loyalty likely stems from his strong family background and values. Whether he is discussing his first baseball memories of playing with his brother and grandfather at the age of four or spending his time away from baseball with his wife, Aguila always makes a point of placing his family at the forefront of the conversation. Perhaps his most intriguing family hobby, Polynesian fire knife dancing, is also the one he holds dearest. "[Polynesian fire knife dancing is] something that I got involved in when I was in fifth grade," he said. "I started with my family ─ my mom, my dad, and my brother ─ and continued it through high school. Being close to my culture and where I come from is very important to me." After discussing his family, Aguila is not shy about what he hopes to accomplish in the next few years. True to his humble nature, however, he offered an optimistic yet practical response. "I am hoping to just finish healthy and to always work hard and prepare myself for anything," Aguila said. "[i really want] to try and go out and improve every day, to continue to work hard and live in the moment. And I'll just take it one day at a time from there."

[Guest attgig]

and one on Pascucci

]Val Pascucci exists. Until recently, I had spent so much time around the office advocating the guy and playing phone tag with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate's media relations department that my colleagues began to suspect something fishy. Maybe Pascucci was a myth, a figment of my imagination, they suggested. Maybe I unconsciously created a 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-handed masher in a desperate attempt to find a solution for the Mets' offensive inadequacies. But unless I'm the victim of a vicious practical joke, I now know Pascucci is alive and well, knocking home runs in New Orleans and keeping an eye on the big-league team. "Everybody watches the parent club a little bit," he says. "I try to catch them on TV or watch SportsCenter at the end of the night to see how those guys are doing." In 2008, Mets first basemen have hit .236 with a .698 on-base plus slugging this season, the third-lowest figure among National League teams. Left fielders have hit .248 with a .621 OPS, 26th out of 30 Major League clubs. Pascucci, who has experience in both positions, is hitting .288 with a 1.065 OPS in Triple-A. The 29-year-old Minor League veteran has more home runs in 32 games with the Zephyrs than the total produced by Mets left fielders and first basemen in 2008. Yet even with a slew of players on the disabled list, the Mets have yet to call up Pascucci. Instead, they've gone to Fernando Tatis, a 33-year-old journeyman who was a productive Major Leaguer around the turn of the millennium, and Nick Evans, a 22-year-old with fewer than 200 at-bats above Class A. "I knew they needed some sort of right-handed bat off the bench, or even in the lineup," said Pascucci when asked about the Mets' needs. "I thought it might work out, but they called up Tatis and Evans." Pascucci must be getting used to that feeling. He has torched Minor League pitching since 2003 but only seen 62 Major League at-bats, a rough stretch with the Expos in 2004 that produced a .197 average and a pair of homers. In nearly 1,500 Triple-A at-bats, Pascucci boasts an on-base percentage over .400 and an OPS around .930. "You just never know how baseball's going to work out," says Pascucci. "Some guys have great Minor League careers and never get a shot. You can't really control it; the GMs and managers and everybody else make those decisions. The only thing you can control is what you do on the field, so you just try to do your best and put up numbers and hope someone takes notice." Deric McKamey, Director of Minor League Analysis for BaseballHQ.com, says Pascucci's case for the bigs has been hurt by "well below average" speed and defense. "He punishes left-handed pitching," says McKamey, "but there isn't a great demand for a right-handed hitting first basemen who can't help you in other ways." That may be true, but if there's a team that needs Pascucci, it's the one he's affiliated with. Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado has struggled mightily against southpaws in 2008, batting .214 with a .247 OBP and 24 strikeouts in 70 at-bats. Delgado's primary right-handed backup, Damion Easley , is hitting .280 with a .286 OBP against lefties. In a small sample -- 33 at-bats -- against portsiders in New Orleans, Pascucci has hit .364 with a .450 OBP and a Ruthian 1.420 OPS. And he claims to offer more than just a powerful bat. "I've played quite a bit at first, right and left, and I'm pretty comfortable," he says. "And I think people underestimate my speed a little bit. Last year I stole nine bases, and this year, I've run down a few balls in the gap." Pascucci has gone much further than that in pursuit of his Major League dreams. After finishing the 2004 season with the Expos, he went to Japan to play for Bobby Valentine's Chiba Lotte Marines, where he learned to better recognize offspeed pitches. In 2006, he represented Italy in the World Baseball Classic and every day played catch and talked hitting with former Met Mike Piazza. The best hitting catcher of all time told Pascucci that if he kept driving the ball, he'd make it back to the Majors. More than two years later, Pascucci is doing just that. He's just waiting for the call. "You never know, it's baseball," he says. "Sometimes it's just being in the right spot at the right time, and having someone on your side." Playing in an organization bereft of power at first base and left field, Pascucci appears to be in the right spot. And he's finally starting to get some people on his side. Beyond this column, Pascucci has been endorsed by John Peterson at MetsGeek.com and Tim Marchman of the New York Sun. Near the end of our conversation, I confessed to Pascucci that I was trying to start a movement and asked if he had any nicknames that might endear him to Mets fans. He said he's always been called "Scooch," but that struck me as a nickname more befitting a speedy pest of a player, not a 6-foot-6 thumper. He added that teammates have occasionally deemed him "Boss" because of his Italian heritage. I'll ignore the stereotyping and go with that one. A boss is a powerful man, and Pascucci is certainly that. Boss pointed me to a YouTube clip capturing a Japanese cheer in his honor. I've embedded it below. Listen closely. Until Pascucci is hitting home runs in Flushing, that song is all the proof I need of his existence. I'm going to make it my ringtone. Now that I know he's real, I can say without hesitation that Valentino Pascucci should be a part of the 2008 Mets, as a right-handed bat off the bench and platoon partner for Delgado. And maybe sometime soon, fans will sing his name at Shea Stadium.