There once was a ballplayer. He ended the regular season without getting a hit in the final 9 games of the year. In spite of this, his team made it to the World Series. His hitting woes continued in the Fall Classic when he went hitless in every game, going 0-21, one of the worst Series performances ever. As a result, his team lost in 7 games. Perhaps one simple base hit would have garnered a Championship. It would have been easy to target this player and blame him and him alone for the Series loss. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Gil Hodges remained perhaps the most loved of all the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Now imagine if this had been 50+ years later and this was the Mets. Safe to say, Mets “fans” would have run this ‘bum’ out of town.
I am upset with why Mets fans must always pick out one single player to be our ‘whipping boy.’ It seems like each year we choose someone different to point a finger at and blame for everything that is wrong with this club. This is ridiculous. And somewhat embarrassing to real fans.
We collapsed in 2007 and immediately Willie Randolph had a bulls-eye on his back. It was clear that Willie and only Willie was to blame for all of our issues. Once we get rid of him, everything would surely turn around and we’d become winners. So, we fired Willie. We sent him packing, him and his 544 winning percentage (2nd highest in Mets history) and replaced him with Jerry Manuel. Surely now we would win. But wait. That didn’t happen. We collapsed yet again in September. I guess Willie was not the problem after all.
Next on our hit list was Aaron Heilman. It was clear that he and he alone was the root cause for our failed bullpen. The fact that Manuel overworked the pen was irrelevant. Yes, Heilman’s ERA was an awful 5.21. But Pedro Martinez had an ERA of 5.61. Yet, no one pointed a finger at Pedro. It was all the fault of Heilman and Heilman alone. Surely, once we get rid of him things will improve and we can become winners. So, with Heilman gone, the 2009 Mets went on to have the 12th worst ERA in the NL, 14th in strikeouts and 15th in walks allowed. Oh yes. And this was in Citi Field, a supposed pitchers park. I guess Heilman was not the problem after all.
Then, it became Omar’s turn. Yes, he has made some moves we disagree with but the positives far outweigh the negatives. This team is a lot stronger now then it was before he took over the GM role. With the exception of Frank Cashen, I can not think of a better GM in our history. I’m sure when the day comes when he is forced to leave, things will immediately improve, just like they did after we got rid of Randolph and Heilman.
And Luis Castillo? Luis Castillo??? You’ve got to be kidding. Do people–and supposed ‘fans’- really believe that Luis Castillo is what’s wrong with this team? We’ve had better. We’ve had worse. An upgrade at 2nd would be nice. But when I look at this team, I see many more pressing issues then getting rid of Luis Castillo. We have a huge hole at 1b. We don’t have any solid catching. Our bullpen needs some work and lets face facts: After Johan, our pitching stinks. Does anyone really believe that Mike (he has potential) Pelfrey, John ( 5 1/3 IP) Maine and Ollie (which Ollie will show up today) Perez really instill fear in Rollins, Utley and the rest of the National League Champions?
But yes, it’s all Luis Castillo’s fault. The fact that Castillo was 2nd on the team in Batting Average and Steals and 3rd on the team in OBP doesn’t mean a damn thing. It’s all his fault. Of course, he gets crucified for his defense. His fielding percentage was 982 and he made 11 errors. By comparison, our beloved David Wright had a fielding percentage of 950 and made 18 errors. Oh, there’s an idea. Maybe if we don’t win next year, we can put David Wright in the crosshairs. But that won’t happen. Once we get rid of Castillo, I’m sure everything will improve.
One thing that we seem to forget and that frequently gets overlooked is this: There are other teams out there. There are 29 other teams who want the same thing we do. Maybe we are not doing something wrong but rather they are doing something right. Maybe, just maybe, they are better then us and it’s no one’s fault.
There once was a ballplayer. Although fans loved him, he never truly mastered the strike zone. In his first 4 years, he walked only 96 times but whiffed 354 times–almost 4 strikeouts for every walk. He had a measly 308 OBP. These stats definitely leave something to be desired–Especially when you take into account that this guy was a lead-off hitter!!! Unacceptable. Imagine how different history would have been had ’fans’ run this guy out of town, too. He never would have been there in the 10th inning to hit that groundball to Buckner.
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OUTSTANDING!!!
Tie Dyed -
Nice of you to go to bat for Luis. He’s a good Dude. Played his heart out last year and clearly made amends for that terrible gaffe against the Yankees.
Notwithstanding, I am in the camp in favor of trading him. It has more to do with the composition of our team than with his shortcomings. We need to get younger and stronger and Luis is neither – he’s entering the twilight of his prime. His offensive game is severely limited – he had 12 doubles last year and opposing outfielders pinch so as to eliminate the possiblity of his driving in a runner from 2nd base.
Absolutely, there is a place for Luis Castillo on a major league ballclub, just not our ballclub as currently constituted. If he is traded, I wish him the very best. If he’s not traded, then it is incumbent upon management to supplement the roster so that we can take advantage of his attributes.
Great, as a 50 year old life long Met fan I could not have said it better.
Don’t forget to add the health care crisis.
Good article, combining our failings in human behavior and an historical perspective.
Luis Castillo worked his arse off prior to last season to show what he could do on the diamond. He produced big time. In the best of all worlds, it would up to Mets fans to show their appreciation.
If this team could ever hit when Luis Castillo is on base, Mets fans would love him. Id like to see how many times they left him on base this year compared to other number two hitters. If they bring in some clutch hitters to help him score runs he is going to have a very productive season (If they keep him).
That’s a great question. For a player with nearly a .400 OBP, you would have expected to see a lot more runs scored from him. Castillo really did bust his butt out there this year, and it’s sad to not see him get some credit for it.
Awesome! Superb! Hilarious! Sad but true!
Excellent!!! i agree with you totally i think the series with the yankees where he dropped the ball is the main reason met Fans want him out.
The hatred for this man started since the day he showed up in Flushing. I never understood it.
it has nothing to with the dropped ball vs. the spankies, it has to do with with the fact our fraud of a gm signed him to a 4 yr extension following a not so great effort on the season,2007. castillo was also going in for double knee surgery following the less than impressive season, and omar the moron decides to reward him with said extension. he played well this past seaon, big deal, he earned his contract. still muffed a lot more than one easy play(spankies). omar and dopeons are the reason this club goes year to year instead of building an organization with a foundation, and vision.
Fantastic post! I can’t even imagine what would have happened if Mookie (my all-time fav’rit Met) had been run out of town.
I apologize for bringing up a Yankee player, but the same fans who booed A-Rod for not coming through in the postseason are elevating him to godhood now because of his excellent playoff run this year.
We fans are a crazy bunch. I’m curious to see who’ll be responsible for the Mets’ failures next year (should they have any…I hope not!). Has anyone blamed Mr. Met for anything yet?
My guess would be Reyes. We have complained about him a little over the past 3 seasons. So called fans have ridden him and this year, our decline started when he got hurt. Everyone else got injured, too, but if you look back, our decline in the standings started the same time Reyes wwent down
You’re right that the Mets have many bigger issues to fix than 2B. With a better pitching staff and some power in the lineup, the Mets can be a solid team with Castillo continuing at 2B. Tradng Castillo should not be the top priority by any means.
Great article. I enjoyed the sarcasm but everything you said is true
Great article tie dyed. I totally agree with you and wish fans would act more like fans where our own players are concerned. Castillo had a solid season,but all everyone cares to remember was that dropped popup.
Incidentally, if you want to know who is a good candidate is for next years victim, I say it’s Jeff Francoeur. Half of the Mets fan base already hate him even though he did nothing as a Met to deserve such scorn. Next season, one game costing error or baserunning blunder or even a big whiff and the floodgates of fan resentment will be open and the deluge will begin.