Jorge Toca All-Stars...Featuring Val Pascucci

When the Mets were struggling during the middle of this season with injuries and overall suckiness, nothing frustrated me more than the Mets refusing to give Pascucci,29, a shot to play. Pascucci put up great numbers throughout AAA, and was exactly what the Mets lacked: a corner OF who can hit for power from the right side. It comes down to this: who would you rather have up at plate- Marlon Anderson? Endy Chavez? Nick Evans? or Pascucci? I mean, look at these numbers: .290 batting average with 27 HR and 80 RBI. Not to mention that Val hit .362 against lefties for the season. It's obvious the Mets had no faith in Pascucci, but their reason why is more suspect.

Since his arrival in AAA in 2003, Pascucci has proven to be a consistent source of power and OBP. He has not hit less than 23 HR while maintaining an OBP between .370 and .420. Even with all that power, Pascucci does not strike out much and maintains a high number of walks. There is no logical reason why a guy with those numbers cannot get a look in the bigs. Pascucci can even play both 1B and OF, which makes him an ideal bench player/platoon guy. And here's another thing, Pascucci has been passed through the Expos, Marlins, and Phillies before arriving with the Mets this season. So obviously the Mets opinion of Pascucci is no different than what other teams think of Val.

So what will it take for Pascucci to get into the bigs? I'm not really sure at this point. I think he needs to leave the Mets organization and find a weaker team with less holes where he will get an opportunity to get a job out of spring training. Unfortunately for me, Pascucci has virtually no shot at getting the call from the Mets because they are in the middle of a pennant race and they have shown no confidence so far that Pascucci can get the job done. So why start now?

Good luck Mr. Pascucci...Jorge Says No! will be pulling for you. I hope to see you with the Mets next season, but if not, I totally understand. And by the way, you have an absolutely awesome name. Valentino Pascucci...how great is that?