Castillo: Keep Me Out Coach, I am not ready to Play

In Jerry Manuel's nearly seven years as a big-league manager, no player had ever come to him and begged out of the starting lineup. Until yesterday. Manuel said Luis Castillo, in a surprising move that actually could benefit the Mets, asked to stay on the disabled list just hours before he was set to be activated and start at second base in what turned out to be an 8-3 loss to the Astros last night. Manuel said Castillo told him the first-place Mets are playing well and that he didn't want to mess up their chemistry by unseating the platoon of veteran Damion Easley and rookie Argenis Reyes. Castillo will stay with the Mets and work on improving his strained hip flexor while remaining on the DL for what he said would be just a couple more days. Castillo has been out since July 3, and the Mets are 31-15 in his absence. "The team is playing good, so I guess I need a rest," Castillo said, insisting the decision was his alone. The Mets had already distributed a press release announcing Castillo was coming off the DL and that a corresponding roster move was in the works. All that changed in the afternoon, though, when Manuel said Castillo was brought into a meeting to discuss the situation. According to Manuel, that's when Castillo dropped the stunning news. Castillo's personal numbers (.261, 13 stolen bases, 26 RBIs in 65 games) weren't terrible before he went on the DL, especially considering he was coming off arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. The statistics posted by Easley and Reyes were similar to Castillo's, but the difference in the Mets' overall record is dramatic: 30-34 with Castillo vs. 16 games over .500 in seven weeks without him. "I didn't see it coming, but at the same time, in having a little history with Luis, I know how much he likes the team to win," Manuel said.Source:NY Post