Luis Castillo: Don’t Sell Him for Nothing
BY ALEX FAGAN
STACHE WRITER
Fresh off of offseason knee surgery, Castillo came into the 2008 campaign out of shape and out of touch with his swing, which led to numerous injuries and a batting average below .250. However, Luis has yet to hit the wall physically in his career, as he seemed to be the victim of nagging injuries, things that can hamper even the best athletes. A big part of avoiding these injuries is staying in top form, something that Luis admittedly did not do last season.
As a track runner, I can tell you that even forgetting to do one stretch or forgetting to warm up can lead to a persistent nagging injury, and although it was believed that Luis would be 100% by the 2008 season, that proved to be false. Even one small hitch can cause a setback and one small setback can lead to months of discomfort if centered in a sensitive area (such as Castillo’s knees). Another less significant factor was the decrease in Jose Reyes’s aggression last season. In prior seasons, Jose would take off seemingly every time he got to first base, but last season he toned it down a bit. Castillo, of course, took a lot of pitches in anticipation of Reyes taking second base. This left him in many 0-2 counts, leaving with little chance to get on base.
In a November New York Post article, Omar Minaya revealed that Castillo has been dedicated to training this offseason in an effort to avoid the struggles of last season, and it appears to be going well. Having an offseason to workout following a full season will be a huge lift for Castillo, who last offseason had only a few months to be physically ready, and almost no time to be mentally ready for the oncoming season. Based on this news I expect him to come into the season with a good swing and serviceable knees. And much like a catcher is more comfortable working with pitchers after a full year together, I am sure Luis will benefit from a season batting in a lineup that as it stands now won’t see much change heading into 2009.
Now the question obviously becomes “what can a healthy Castillo do for this lineup?” Well just look at his 162 game average: .292 batting average 37 steals and a .367 OBP. We saw last season that Luis is still capable of putting up numbers like this, when he played last season, he did steal 17 bases in 87 games, that tells me that he can still move, and the .355 OBP he posted was nothing to scoff at. What was missing was the batting average, and it is not surprising that this is what took the biggest toll from his injury. Hitting requires a balanced and focused body, when one important area is just slightly hampered it can have a drastic affect, even on the best of hitters.
In 2005 Carlos Beltran had an abysmal season because he was pressured into playing with a nagging hamstring injury, but we had to stick with him because of the money committed. He then came out in 2006 and hit 41 HR and could have won an MVP were he able to play in September. We need to have the same patience with Castillo, if we support him and if his efforts this offseason pay off we will all be in for a pleasant surprise at second base next season.
Posted in Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, MLB, Mets | 
Tags: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, Mets, MLB
I am sorry, I know its the trendy thing to do to bash Luis Castillo, but not for me, what I saw in the dugout was enough to not want him to come back. Even if he is healthy and back to whatever made him good, he is still a player who could barely hit the ball out of the infield. Teams play him like a pitcher. Infield hits and bloops, does not do anything for an offense. If he comes up at the end of a game only needing a fly ball to get a tying or winning run home, you cant send him up there. Besides he was a player I noticed on a consistent basis not cheering for his team and looking like a mal content. yeah he couldnt play and maybe got benched im sure none of us would like it but if your still getting paid to play, then cheer your team on and not sit there with a puss on when the games counted at the end of the year. I dont want him, get him off the team. There is a reason we cant trade him besides money, nobody wants him, and if nobody wants him why should we? keeping someone no one on the team wants except for Johan, cause they are best buds, that no other team in baseball wants, makes no sense………
oh yeah one more thing I cant wait till he stinks by May and Alex Cora will be the starting second baseman, and this article and the mets front office will be really wrong, and it will be to late, way to not make improvements Omar
I’m no big fan of Castillo but Amazin, to say “Infield hits and bloops, does not do anything for an offense” is to not understand the game. Number one and two hitters need to get on base, whether by bunt, bloop, walk – however. Not every player on a team needs to be a power guy. You get a guy who can move a guy over to third with ground ball to the right side, he’s helping the team. You get a guy who gets a bloop single with Reyes on second, he helps the team. They set the table for Wright, Beltran, Delgado – your big guns. A healthy and productive Castillo is certainly a help to any team. The question is whether he can be that again. I hope so, because it looks like he’s our 2nd baseman.
So far so good