Quote: Castillo’s Talk with Santana
Mets 2B Luis Castillo, on his talk with Johan Santana from last 
season, as quoted by the Bergen Record, New York Post and Daily News…
“I remember the day when I got traded, Johan talked to me in the locker room. We talked for 20 minutes. I explained everything. And he told me he wanted to play for the Mets. Within a week, I told Minaya, he’s a good pitcher and he likes the Mets…He’d like to play here, like to play on the Mets.”
…castillo and santana are very, very good friends, so it is not much of a surprise that luis wanted johan in New York…
…by the way, i received a lot of criticism for repeatedly saying all off-season that santana preferred to pitch for the Mets, even though i was just relaying what i was hearing from people who know him…so, i’m glad to read quotes like this after the fact, and see recent reports from ESPN and quotes from the player’s agent that essentially say the same thing…
…i look forward to watching castillo, who is said to be feeling great since having his knee cleaned out last fall…the buzz around castillo has been that he was a bit overwhelmed towards the end of last season, playing in new york, moving his family, being in pain and having to deal with ‘the collapse,’ while people looked to him to pick up the slack for Jose Reyes…this year, though, that is all behind him…plus, he’s been through a rough pennant race…and though he and his teammates lost, it was an experience he can step up from and be a leader, especially with a kid like reyes…
…castillo plays hard…very hard…and i think he’s going to have a good influence on the batting order this season…as long as he stays healthy, and doesn’t sulk…
