However, there is something Willie could say which neither glosses over it nor fries the player and this is the big problem with Willie and the media/fans. He won’t have an open conversation nor provide any details. What he should say is:

“Luis has proven he’s a quality hitter who’s gotten off badly and still has some nagging injuries that may be contributing as well. What we’re doing to try and help that is X, Y, and Z. In fact HoJo the other day offered up X and this is why you’ve seen more line drives of late. I’m also giving him one day a week off and by batting him 8th I think he’s still a contributor while working through this.”

If he said something like that then the media/fans at least know Willie recognizes the problem and is trying to do something. With his generic answers (and not just on this but everything) people either think he is out of touch with what’s happening, aloof, no fire, or skirting the issue. None of these are what fans want to see and is why people get on him. He has this faux nobility thing going on that if he reveals one detail of his thinking he’s weak or something.

In general, I like the hiring and I’ve generally been a Willie supporter but him continuing to act this way when things started falling apart last year and the beginning of this year has tarnished him in my mind. Problem is, I doubt he can change.

I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss Castillo’s low OBP. Unlike Reyes, Castillo has no power and the thought of him on 1st doesn’t strike fear into opposing pitchers. If he’s not getting on base, he has aabsolutely no value.

His on base percentage is higher than Reyes at a low but far from terrible .342. And he has quite a few stolen bases and a good BB/K ration. He’s done a decent job of moving other runners forward — his greatest strength when he’s hot. He also had some good streaks of batting like his old self. He will fall back into place.

Delgado and even Beltran have been on a steady decline for the past few years. That’s a different story that Castillo’s funk.