Here we are in August, with a sub-par July behind us. You could say the Mets finished on a high note, but then you’d be partially lying. The Mets took a series win against the Rockies and some momentum into their series with the Diamondbacks, and promptly lost the first and third games. However, there were alot of promising bright spots in July, and it also meant one month closer to the return of our stars, or one month closer to the end of the season, depending on if you’re a glass half full or half empty person.
The Player Of The Month For July Award goes to…Luis Castillo!
There’s not too much of a surprise there, is there? It was hard not to notice Castillo’s hot hitting in July, as it seemed like he was posting multiple hits every single game for a long while. He was driving in runs and getting clutch hits, and he was even playing good defense. Courtesy of CBSsports, here are Castillo’s July Stats.
| Category | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | AVG | TB | SF | SH | HBP | IBB | GDP |
| July | 23 | 76 | 17 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .478 | .447 | .368 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Those numbers look good, don’t they? A .368 average in any month is impressive. He grounded into only 2 DPs! 4 sacrifice hits, a .478 OBP, and a 16/4 BB/K ratio are all impressive numbers. He managed to drive in 9 runs and score 17 times, while posting 28 hits in 23 games for the month. Castillo also managed to post a .980 FLD percentage on the month, making 2 errors but taking a part in 12 DPs.
I’ve said before, and I’ll keep saying it. Luis Castillo no longer deserves anyone’s ire. Castillo’s playing his heart out at a time when this team needs it the most and at a time where the team can’t afford to give him any rest. He may not be a 100 RBI guy, but Luis Castillo is a solid player who is key to this team on both sides of the field, and he deserves the highest form of appreciation. So Kudos to Luis Castillo!
Of Note In July
In July, The Mets batted about .250 as a team and posted an ERA under 4. Neither of those numbers are exact. The numbers aren’t spectacular, but one could make the argument that the Mets did all they could. However, I honestly believe they can play at the level of baseball they played against the Rockies consistently.
The Mets were 12-14 in July, a month shortened by the All-star break.
Just for fun, I wanted to make a note of this. Luis Castillo won the first Player of The Week of my choice, and he also won the first Player Of The Month of my choice. That’s a fun fact for you.
Lets Go Mets! I look forward to August baseball and hopefully the return of some injured stars.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
If Castillo never dropped the pop up, he’d be having a God given season on the field and with the fans. He’s sure given reason for all of us to forget about it. That’s the Mets MVP.
Although Pagan was excellent in July, he didn’t become an everyday player until the second week of July. Therefore, I agree with Castillo as the Player of the Month for his contributions throughout the entire month. In addition to his high average, he only struck out four times. FOUR! With that kind of success making contact, even if he doesn’t get a hit, he can move up a runner on the bases or hit a sacrifice fly. You can’t do any of that with a strikeout.
Although Castillo was your first player of the week and first player of the month, if he’s player of the year, that’ll basically tell you what type of season the Mets had. You’d never expect Castillo to get these awards with Reyes, Beltran and Delgado on the team. However, only in 2009 would Castillo even be considered for numerous awards.
Excellent choice. What cracks me up is even recently as a week ago or so I’ve read in the chat box somepeople STILL pissed that Omar didn’t release him, eat his contract to get Hudson………seriously the only number lower then Hudson is HR, in all other catagories he’s doing better this year.
The pick is correct. It’s also a testament to how lousy a season the Mets are having. Luis Castillos is our team MVP. That’s how far we have fallen.