NL Beast

I was as surprised as anyone else this week to hear that Abraham Nuñez would join the Mets in place of Nick Evans, who obviously is not Major League ready. Surprise was my first emotion. Anger quickly supplanted that. Why am I angry? Nuñez has Major League experience (1,029 games worth) and is solid defensively. While his .242 average is hardly fear-inducing, it’s adequate for a defensive replacement.

But the last thing the Mets need right now is another utility infielder for defensive purposes. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the Mets aren’t hitting, and are missing two of their most productive offensive players in Ryan Church and Moises Alou. With Endy Chavez and Fernando Tatis not hitting and Marlon Anderson and Angel Pagan on the DL, the Mets are in desperate need of an outfielder.

This begs the question, what would have been wrong with Jesus Feliciano or Valentino Pascucci? The 29-year-old Puerto Rican centerfielder Feliciano is tearing it up for Triple-A New Orleans, hitting .322, .365, .391 with 28 RBI in 61 games. Nuñez was hitting .187, .297, .200 in 48 minor-league games this season.

Then there is the case of Pascucci. I’ve been on the Pascucci Bandwagon since he joined New Orleans earlier this season. Not only does Pascucci fit as a right-fielder, but he is also the right handed first baseman that the Mets are so desperately in need of to spell Carlos Delgado. Pascucci is hitting .301, .416, .624 in 38 games with New Orleans this season, but, most importantly is hitting .378, .489, .919 with 5 HR and 12 RBI against left-handed pitching. Delgado, against lefties, is hitting .224, .272, .382, with 26 strikeouts and just 3 walks.

These numbers do not lie. So, then, why would Omar Minaya bring up Nuñez and ignore Pascucci and Feliciano? It’s obvious that Minaya puts more stock in Nuñez’s MLB experience than he does in the numbers. Once again, numbers do not lie. What kills me about GMs like Minaya is their stubbornness to subscribe to the Moneyball philosophy that has consistently shown its superiority to the “old guard.” That’s the Moneyball philosophy that numbers do not lie.Sure, there is a talent difference between Triple-A and the Majors, but it’s not a significant one. It is just so incredibly frustrating to watch this Mets team self-destruct every day when a couple of moves (bringing up Pascucci, putting Ryan Church on the DL) would certainly improve the team.

It’s just incredible how Omar could ignore these numbers and go with Nuñez over Pascucci. One possible explaination could be what I’m going to call Chris Coste syndrome. Coste, of course, didn’t reach the Major Leagues until he was 33. Coste excelled in the minors, but got no respect because he was too old to be called a prospect and had played much of his career in independent-league ball. Pascucci has had a small taste of the big leagues, playing for the Expos for about a month in 2004. But after being released by the Nationals later that year, he played in Japan before trying to make his way back to the majors. The Coste syndrome is absolutely in play here.

I’m always wary of fans who claim that they are smarter than the GM, but it’s hard to believe here that Omar has a better argument than I do. I hope you prove me wrong, O.

-Jonathan Kraft