"No, Pagan. You're not the Droid we're looking for."
No doubt Angel Pagan has all the heavenly gifts needed to be an elite Major League player. But Angel's fall from baseball grace is that his head is often in outer space. Injuries and a bad rep for a lack of focus plagued the early part of Pagan's career. Last year, Angel seemed to finally turn the space cadet corner when he nicely filled the very big shoes of Carlos Beltran.
Throughout 151 games in 2010, the switch hitting Pagan batted .290; drove in 69 runs; hit 31 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs; stole 37 bases; and played fantastic D.
In 2011, Pagan's offense has been streaky with his average dropping about 25 points. However, Angel's biggest trouble spot has been his mental return to the planet Alderon, which could lose him some ground in the eyes of Darth Alderson.
Watching Angel's D this year has been the most disturbing. He's a center fielder who does not take charge, loses focus, and in the second half of season, has made some of the weakest, most erratic, and ill-conceived throws Mets Blob has ever seen at a Major League level. Mets Blob would not be shocked if we learned at the end of the season that Pagan has some injury or issue with his throwing arm...if not, WTF Angel?
After one of his gaffs, Angel's facial expression resembles a house cat who was just shown a card trick, rather than a Major Leaguer who knew his mistake. The Blob was a big fan of Pagan finally getting his due as an everyday starter and hoped this diamond in the rough would finally get his time to shine. But at 30, he's far too old to have his head jammed that far up his ass as often as he does.
Last night Pagan had a great game at the plate going 3-4, but he also mixed in another crazy ass throw from the outfield. A strong finish in this last week of the season is key to Pagan's future in NY. With his contract up, the Blob would not be surprised if Angel has seen his last season as a Met.
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