Castillo: Don't Trade Me and I Won't Suck

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Castillo: Don't Trade Me and I Won't Suck

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 21 2008 05:49 AM

]METS' CASTILLO DRIVEN TO SECURE 2ND CHANCE By JOEL SHERMAN November 21, 2008 This is a story about second base and, Luis Castillo hopes, second chances. To their fans' anguish, Mets New York Mets officials have persistently said they plan on having Castillo as their second baseman in 2009. In part that is because the Mets are obsessing on pitching to the exclusion of addressing just about anything else. Also, in order to deal the $18 million over three years left on Castillo's deal, the Mets would have to either eat chunks of it or take on an equally bad contract. But there is another reason the Mets have not prioritized removing Castillo, and that is because, The Post has learned, Castillo requested an offseason meeting in which he implored Mets officials not to trade him and also pledged to re-dedicate himself to offseason training to assure he is in top condition next season. In the October meeting with GM Omar Minaya and top lieutenant Tony Bernazard, Castillo accepted responsibility for his out-of-shape, poor 2008 and stated a desire to make amends - in New York. Mets officials were pleased that Castillo did not want to flee from the problems. Instead, he stated a desire to play and win as a Met, and change the fans' booing opinion of him, as well. "He wanted to let the front office know that he was disappointed in how the year went, and promise to do everything he could to get in shape and be the kind of player he had been for 10 years," Minaya said. Minaya and Bernazard stressed in the meeting that Castillo must project a more positive demeanor, and that he cannot allow himself to show up in as poor shape this spring training as he did following knee surgery last year. The Mets' head trainer, Ray Ramirez, has been overseeing Castillo's offseason regimen. "[So far] his weight, body fat and in all things you would want to see, Mr. Castillo is doing well," Minaya said. Castillo also plans to play Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic with an eye on having his body and swing honed when camp opens, unlike last year. In a disastrous 2008, Castillo was hurt, underperformed and ultimately lost his regular job. He also became one of the main faces of fan dissatisfaction with the club. His agents were so concerned that he had become unviable in New York that Seth Levinson, Sam Levinson, Keith Miller and Peter Pedalino called him into an October meeting in their Brooklyn Heights office to begin plotting an exit strategy. Except during the four-hour meeting, the agents were shocked to learn their client did not want a fresh start elsewhere. Instead, Castillo used Carlos Delgado Carlos Delgado as an example of a Met who, through improved performance, changed his perception among the fan base. Castillo was confident he was still close enough to the three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner who earned the widely criticized four-year, $24 million deal with the Mets; so confident that he beseeched his agents to set up the sit-down with Minaya and Bernazard. "As New Yorkers, we all know that when the fans latch on to a scapegoat, they don't let go until their prey is dead," Levinson said. "Louie absolutely understands that the climb to the top of the second-chance mountain will be long and difficult." And it still might not be attempted with the Mets. They continue to consider deals for the 33-year-old second baseman. But following their face-to-face with Castillo, the Mets also are more encouraged that right-knee surgery following the 2007 season contributed, in part, to Castillo's poor conditioning in spring and that a negative snowball began there that led to a .245 campaign and the hatred of the fan base. Mostly they are encouraged that Castillo wants to push that snowball in the other direction - in New York. joel.sherman@nypost.com

metsmarathon
Nov 21 2008 06:32 AM

"when the fans latch on to a scapegoat, they don't let go until their prey is dead"

and i think i've found a new sig line...

metirish
Nov 21 2008 07:11 AM

] not to trade him and also pledged to re-dedicate himself to offseason training to assure he is in top condition next season.

I am usually skeptical when I hear an athlete talk about re-dedicating himself for the new season , still my feeling is that Castillo will be here so I hope he does get back to form.

Edgy DC
Nov 21 2008 07:35 AM
Re: Castillo: Don't Trade Me and I Won't Suck

My response by paragraph.

Paragraph one: good poetic start by Shermie.

Paragraph two: Waah. Take Met fans and thier jive anguish out of the equation. This is Sherman actually stoking the anguish by reaching out to it. Bad.

Paragraph three: Edgy's first rule of journalism: passive voice is for weenies.

Paragraph four: good stuff. The Post found a fact, apparently.

Paragraph five: And a source! This should be higher up!

Paragraph six: Take that, anguished fans! Met brass puts their players feet to the fire!

Paragraph seven: Anguished Met Fan might ask why that's less the rule and more the exception. Where was Ramirez last season?

Paragraph eight: Anguished Met Fan is only modestly pacified. If the batting average isn't where Anguished Met Fan (AMF) wants by May, AMF will not care what his body fat index is, and will find some other moral failing to indict Castillo on. AMF, in fact, still intends to boo Castillo on opening day.

Paragraph nine: "Unlike last year." Cheap shot. State the facts.

Paragraph ten: Were in full on editorializing, but hey, it's a column. Poor and weak are fairer than disastrous. Keith Miller can tell you about disastrous. At least Castillo reached base at a modest clip.

Paragraph eleven: Fan perception is too much of an issue here. Hit to hit, not to change fan perception. The park will sell out either way.

Paragraph twelve: Mixed metaphor, but appropriately savage, Mr. Levinson. I'd like to sit next to Levinson at a cocktail party.

Paragraph thirteen: How it should be. Consider viable alternatives. Understand that they may not crop up. Be prepared to support your player if they don't.

Paragraph thirteen: Snowball? Eh. A few notes about conditioning they gloss over. One, Castillo has never been the thinnest guy for a speed player. Two, excellent fitness and knee surgery often don't go together, and the Mets should have considered that in making the four-year deal. Caveat emptor, man.

Frayed Knot
Nov 21 2008 07:54 AM

A healthy Castillo performing more or less at his (very consistent) level up to and including 2007 is still a useful piece.
Not a great one and still overpaid, but useful none-the-less.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Nov 21 2008 09:04 AM

Obviously this is more encouraging than reading an article detailing how dedicated Castillo is to Whoppers With Cheese, but I don't think 2nd base is going to be an area we'll ever be able to stop fretting over for awhile. And I suspect Castillo's game, even at its best, isn't spectacular enough to get fans to forgive in the way Delgado did. That's sad but true.

The thing that gets me about next year is that there are just too many lineup slots where we just don't know what to expect.

Centerfield
Nov 21 2008 09:28 AM

This is what I'm sayin'. Trade Delgado. Go get Mark Texiera.