Luis Castillo finally shows up to camp. Though technically it's the actual day for position players to show up. BUT this is a player who has given the Mets almost nothing since he signed that ridiculous 4 year contract.
Everyone seems to think you're going to get Castillo circa 2003. That Castillo is long gone. This gimpy Castillo is what we have to deal with and he is the reason we don't have a real 2B on this team.
David Wright, Daniel Murphy and others showed up early for camp and don't you think someone with something to prove like Castillo should have been there too?
The Mets have suitable replacements and there is still one floating out there on the market.
Alex Cora - Very good defensively and not a very strong bat but for this position you don't really need a strong bat. He was signed for $2M this winter so he's going to get some playing time and I think he may even take the starting job from Castillo.
Jose Valentin - No one knows if he has anything left but he was signed to a minor league deal. If he has anything left he might be the Mets answer to a righty off the bench since they chose not to truly participate in free agency after the one big signing. In 2006 he was a key cog for the team and maybe he has some of that magic left.
Daniel Murphy - The kid can hit but can he field the position? He played OF in college, 3B and 1B in the minors with a little 2B sprinkled in. Murphy also played 2B in the Arizona Fall League where he was decent, but perfect, not great, just decent. He actually volunteered to play 2B in the minors because the need for a 2B in the majors at the time and he was decent. Could the Mets go with a decent 2B who can hit? I think they can if the rest of the team is better but they didn't improve the offense or defense at all. Personally I think he should be at 1B, Delgado should have been let go or traded for a young pitcher and Manny in LF but that's another discussion.
Orlando Hudson - Good defense, good hitter, good leadership skills. Still a free agent because the economy, collusion, Madoff or whatever you want to believe is going on in baseball.
Unfortunately we have to live with watching Castillo this spring and during the season and hopefully he has something left. It's a shame to watch a very good player turn into a slap hitting, gimpy, 2B with a whoa is me attitude. Castillo, I hope you can do something to redeem yourself in the eyes of the Mets fans and also be good enough to get traded somewhere
year contract.
Original Story:
http://flushingfaithful.com/luis-cast...
Everyone seems to think you're going to get Castillo circa 2003. That Castillo is long gone. This gimpy Castillo is what we have to deal with and he is the reason we don't have a real 2B on this team.
David Wright, Daniel Murphy and others showed up early for camp and don't you think someone with something to prove like Castillo should have been there too?
The Mets have suitable replacements and there is still one floating out there on the market.
Alex Cora - Very good defensively and not a very strong bat but for this position you don't really need a strong bat. He was signed for $2M this winter so he's going to get some playing time and I think he may even take the starting job from Castillo.
Jose Valentin - No one knows if he has anything left but he was signed to a minor league deal. If he has anything left he might be the Mets answer to a righty off the bench since they chose not to truly participate in free agency after the one big signing. In 2006 he was a key cog for the team and maybe he has some of that magic left.
Daniel Murphy - The kid can hit but can he field the position? He played OF in college, 3B and 1B in the minors with a little 2B sprinkled in. Murphy also played 2B in the Arizona Fall League where he was decent, but perfect, not great, just decent. He actually volunteered to play 2B in the minors because the need for a 2B in the majors at the time and he was decent. Could the Mets go with a decent 2B who can hit? I think they can if the rest of the team is better but they didn't improve the offense or defense at all. Personally I think he should be at 1B, Delgado should have been let go or traded for a young pitcher and Manny in LF but that's another discussion.
Orlando Hudson - Good defense, good hitter, good leadership skills. Still a free agent because the economy, collusion, Madoff or whatever you want to believe is going on in baseball.
Unfortunately we have to live with watching Castillo this spring and during the season and hopefully he has something left. It's a shame to watch a very good player turn into a slap hitting, gimpy, 2B with a whoa is me attitude. Castillo, I hope you can do something to redeem yourself in the eyes of the Mets fans and also be good enough to get traded somewhere
year contract.
Original Story:
http://flushingfaithful.com/luis-cast...
