the bottom line is that the guy cant hit the ball out of the infield.. Watch him… He never does…i’m surprised that teams dont move an extra outfielder to play near second base. The guy is terrible. He is another example of the Mets brass falling in love with a player in 1980 and getting him well past his prime. Oh lets see… Vince Coleman or Shawn Green ring a bell? Bobby Bo #2, ,Glen Rice, Penny Hardaway (oh yeah, the knicks do it too.. but believe me this is the last time i equate the Mets front office with the Knicks). I’d say the same for Moises Alou, but I do recall that he was the only Met who hit in September last year.

As an aside…. I hate when willie bunts Reyes to second base… why give up the out, especially with the lack of production with runners in scoring position from Wright and Beltran (give me a fly ball with a runner on third and less than 2 outs… just once…). Why not steal first, then bunt him over. It boggles my mind. It takes you out of any chance of a big inning by giving up that one out.

Another thing about Willie.. I think that Willie has Omar thinking that you need some kind of defensive prowess at second base… just because willie was a solid guy with good range, doesnt mean that the Mets need the same. There have been some abysmal defensive second basemen over the years and no team has lost because of said second base defense. Give me some production out of second base, especially since we are below average in Catcher, First base and Corner Outfield production. Give me a Jeff Kent at second base any day of the week… who needs Harold Reynolds… Its second base…

the first 7 games bonds was 3-29 hitting .103

it was a clear sign that there are 162 games in a season.

However, please start seeing some of the warning signs the “Castillo haters” are mentioning. Here are Castillo’s at bats this year:

3/31: BB, Bunt single, BB, 4-3, 4-3
4/2: Infield hit to SS, sacrifice, 3-1, popout 4, 1-3
4/3: ground ball single, K, popout to shallow center, line drive single, 4-3
4/5: 1-3, K, 4-3, 3 unassisted, popout to SS
4/6: 3-1, popout to shallow center, K, 3 unassisted
4/8: BB, 3 unassisted.

He has hit THREE balls out of the infield all year.

As one of the other posters mentioned, his fielding stats are pretty bad. Not Gotay bad, just bad.

Now: I recognize your points. It’s early in the season. Past seasons show he’s not a bad player. Reyes hasn’t been on base, so he can’t do the little “Castillo-esque” things that he’s valuable for. Etc., etc., etc.

But, when you factor in his lack of anything at the dish, his balky knees, etc… AND the factor that Willie shows an undying loyalty to veteran players…

PLEASE tell me you acknowledge our reason for concern. That way, you and Jerry can part as friends!

Not that I don’t like Pagan, but they seem very similar to me, and I feel bad for Endy having to ride so much pine.

In 2007, Castillo was 10th in the MLB in OBP for 2b, 6th in SB, 7th in average.

Besides slugging percentage, how is he not a top 10 2b in the major leagues. It is 2b. I apologize that our team couldn’t go out and sign Chase Utley or trade Fernano Martinez for Orlando Hudson. Sheesh. Not to mention Castillo is no slouch on defense. Even with the shotty knees he is among the best in league at turning the double play.