Once again,
Monday proved that there’s always something going on in the minors. In triple-A Chris Aguila had a monster night,
while thousands of miles away in
Stars of the Day:
AAA: Chris Aguila
& Michel Abreu
AA: Off
A+: Claudio Vargas/Ramon Castro
A: Off
@ Tacoma Rainiers (13-10) 15, New Orleans Zephyrs (14-10, -2.5) 9
The Zephyrs
traveled 2,600 miles in spite of airline delays making one of the tougher
travel days in American baseball all the more difficult. Joselo
Diaz (1-3, 4.67) might have wished he’d stayed in
Perhaps LF Chris Aguila needs to give his teammates lessons on how to nap on planes. (I could also lead this seminar or perhaps those in related disciplines including: how to nap on boats, buses and trains.) Aguila (.355/.438/.645) was 4-4 with two homers, 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. (I definitely couldn’t do that.) Maybe, especially with Moises Alou’s cloudy future, it’s about time to start paying attention to Aguila. Sure, he’s 29, but as his 11 extra base hits prove, he’s not just hitting singles. He’s controlling the strike zone as evidenced by his 12 walks and 15 strikeouts in 76 AB. The righthanded hitting outfielder has hit righties (.367/.458/.633 in 49 AB) and lefties (.333/.400/.667 in 27 AB). Aguila has hit well in the PCL before only to falter in limited AB upon reaching the humid expanses of the “The Stadium Formerly Known as Joe Robbie.” Michel Abreu, who was 3-4 with a double and two runs scored has also learned about the value of a nap. I kid of course, but is it a coincidence that two the Zephyrs most experienced hitters had success on a very difficult day to stay fresh and focused for that night’s game?
Off. B-Mets Manager Mako Oliveras shows off a strong command of coach speak (“I know these kids are trying hard…I have a feeling it’s going to be a very good season.”) in this piece in the Press & Sun Bulletin.
St. Lucie (A+ -
Palm
Beach Cardinals (17-8) 9, St. Lucie Mets (4-21, -13.0) 5
Sometimes
it’s not how you finish, but how you start.
On Monday, the Mets sent Claudio
Vargas to the mound and Ramon Castro
behind the plate in St. Lucie. Vargas, who
the conventional thinking went, would report directly to
Castro lasted longer than Vargas (not that it was a competition) going 2-3 with two singles, while catching seven innings.
The Cardinals scored seven runs off Eric Niesen (0-3, 5.73) in the three innings following Vargas’ departure, turning a close game into a rout.
Lucas Duda (2-3, 2B, 2 BB), DJ Wabick (2-4, R, 2 RBI), and Brahiam Maldonado (2-4, 2 RBI) all had nice evenings with the lumber.
Off
Toby Hyde has written Toby’s Mets Minor League Report
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