Collins On Castillo: I Haven’t Seen Him, You Guys See Him Yet?”

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• Mr North Jersey February 18, 2011 at 4:33 pm

  Being a Wright and Reyes fan I am proud to see them come in early but even if they didn’t as long as everyone is ready to play when the season starts I am not going to read too much into someone not showing up early.
• Greg Pomes February 18, 2011 at 4:57 pm

  You’re 100% right, no urgency at all from these 3 guys. Beltran and Castillo don’t surprise me but I’m a little surprised Bay didn’t come to camp earlier.
  • t agee February 18, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    Why? He got a huge deal too. Maybe for the first year. Media obligations and all that stuff but afterwords? Not likely.
  • 86mets February 19, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    At least Beltran is being a team player by talking with the GM and manager and letting them know that he is willing to move to RF for the team if he can’t handle CF on his knee. By not showing up when he led management to believe he would Castillo is painting himself as selfish which in turn will grease the skids of his departure. I won’t complain when that day comes by any means, but this behavior is disappointing nonetheless. Such a great example for a veteran to show the young players in camp. To a certain extent ditto Jason Bay also.
• Jerry M February 18, 2011 at 5:01 pm

  John was Casillo Annoyed or did you mean Collins?
• Donal February 18, 2011 at 5:08 pm

  Didn’t Collins also say that Castillo was at the Dominican training center?

  And wasn’t Beltran working out in PR while opening his baseball academy? Is it possible he was working with a specialist to help him with his knee?

  Why do we need drama on February 18th? Pitchers are barely even tossing right now.
• Jason Robotham February 18, 2011 at 5:22 pm

  The anti-Beltran madness has gotta stop. He is in camp today which makes him early, so it seems as though he would fit in with the other players you praised rather than drawing an unfair comparison to Luis Castillo of all people.

  As for your assessment that he is not showing a sense of urgency in his walk year, people on site in PSL might disagree:

  “Newsday’s Ken Davidoff reports that Carlos Beltran has arrived in Mets camp in better shape than he was at any point last year and has even been running without a brace on his right knee.”
• martin February 18, 2011 at 5:40 pm

  voluntary means voluntary.
  • Des February 18, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    Profound, Martin. Voluntary means voluntary.

    Let’s not get excited for another ten days. Then crunch time for the team’s preparation begins.
• francis February 18, 2011 at 6:21 pm

  these are professionals in their 30′s. i think they know how to prepare for a season better than anyone who has ever been near this site.

  bay’s sense of urgency was on display the day after he crashed into a wall in LA. he should have been in a hospital, but he was in left field instead.

  although, i wouldn’t be surprised if bay and / or beltran end up reporting late to camp citing recovery / rehab.

  i guess we’ll see soon enough.
• Marla Hooch February 18, 2011 at 6:22 pm

  Stop the madness.

  These men have families. On Saturday they leave their homes and their families and the next six months time spent with those families are limited. I do not CARE how much money they make, a Dad is a Dad is a Dad. Kids don’t care that Dad is making 20 million dollars all they know is he’s not there. We are going to be disapointed that they didn’t leave their chidren earlier then they had too?

  Pointless…………

  Call me when they are late for camp………….
• Marla Hooch February 18, 2011 at 6:42 pm

  Jeter, Arod and Texeria have not shown up at the Yankees camp yet, wonder if their fans are writing blogs about it?
  • Mack February 18, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    Jeter, Tex and Arod didnt end the season on the DL, hurt, or on the bench. Maybe you are not reading enough blogs.
    • LGNYM February 18, 2011 at 8:18 pm

      Actually Tex DID end the season hurt. Injured his hammy in the ALCS and was taken off the playoff roster.
      • Marla Hooch February 19, 2011 at 2:03 pm

        Oh and a history of a slow start……….
    • Donal February 19, 2011 at 9:17 pm

      Jeter is coming off his worst season statistically and just signed a deal to make him one of the highest paid infielders in the league. He’s also The Captain.

      Shouldn’t he be setting an example?
      • Metsie February 20, 2011 at 12:43 pm

        Setting an example of what though?

        Hasn’t he already set an example of what it takes to be a successful baseball player and leader of a team?

        Would showing up early help all the other players be as productive as Jeter?

        Would Cliff Lee showing up a week early help turn the rest of the pitchers that report into Aces?

        The whole point of showing up early to camp is for players who may need some extra work to get it. And get more individual schooling from the coaches than they would if the entire roster was here and the coaches time had to be split among them.

        If everyone showed up early it would actually defeat the purpose of coming early.

        The significance of when they report may have an impact on who the manager decides to keep. But not so much because they showed up early but because it gives the manager a chance to see something from another player who did show up and put him in the mix.

        The team doesn’t lose anything by a guy showing up on time, only the ON TIME player is hurt as he gives himself fewer opportunitites to show the manager he belongs.

        Now that doesn’t mean coming early isn’t a smart move for a player.
        Every spring Pitchers and catcher report earlier than the regular players and as a result the pitchers usually are ahead of the batters in early spring. It takes the batters some time to get used to hitting ML Pitching but even with that extra week the pitchers get the batter have usually caught up by the time the season starts.

        This is really much ado bout nothin!

        If Castillo hasn’t come early well the only one who will lose because of that is Castillo! A guy we really don’t want to keep anyway!

        As for Bay, it would be nice if he came early due to his poor season. He came early last year though and look how great that worked out for his numbers.

        It really doesn’t matter when they show up to ST, what does matter is what they do once they get there!
        Only players who are fighting for a position really need to get there because you wouldn’t want the coach to fall in love with your competition while you were not around!
• L.J. Phipps February 18, 2011 at 7:45 pm

  I am just hoping for the first time in what? Five years? The Mets can field and keep a healthy team and have a consistent product on the field. Of course I would like to see the Mets win it all, but I think it is fair to say I would like to see them win 87 to 90 games this year. It all depends on them being healthy. Beltran, Bay, Young, among others. Lets Go Mets 2011!
  • Mr North Jersey February 18, 2011 at 7:47 pm

    Nothing wrong with being optimistic.

    Lets Go Mets 2011!
• LGNYM February 18, 2011 at 8:17 pm

  I don’t think its that big of a deal. Sure its nice to have guys show up early…show that they are eager to get to ST/start the season, etc…but I don’t think its a real issue or that players who don’t show up early should be criticized. There is plenty of time in ST to get ready for the season.

  And Reyes and Pagan got there what like Wednesday? Really we’re just talking about a matter of a 3 or so days, I don’t think it makes much of a difference.
• Brian. February 18, 2011 at 9:01 pm

  This is a non-story
  • martin February 18, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    of course. most fans are tremendously concerned about things that have very little to do with winning baseball.
• mets2012 February 19, 2011 at 5:59 am

  zzzzzzzzzzzz
• Metsie February 19, 2011 at 9:41 am

  I wonder how many people here show up on sunday to work despite not having to be there until monday because they are so dedicated?
  • Marie February 19, 2011 at 11:31 am

    LOL. Point taken. I guess Collins is the Tom Coughlin of baseball. Some Met fans need to get a grip and get a life.
    • Metsie February 19, 2011 at 12:42 pm

      Yes they do! lol And they also need to know and realize that whatever they might do by coming early is a mere pittance in importance than what the player did during to off season to get in shape and prepare for the marathon season.

      Guys like Reyes who need to keep his legs in shape and build up his obliques, Beltran doing his needed regimen of building up strength in his knee and spend time in a cage to keep his eye sharp.

      People think they just go fishing and golfing in the offseason (which they do!) but when they are not doing that they are (the good ones) working out and keeping fit and working on all the parts that need working on.

      How well they dedicate to that is more important to their season than the 4 – 10 days they show up early.

      Bottomline is if they didn’t work and do those things in the offseason the extra days wouldn’t be enough to help them anyway!
      • alwaysnextyear February 19, 2011 at 1:57 pm

        well, so far the reports are that Beltran was running without his brace (different story as to if he plays with it on). And Cerrone reported that he was crushing balls in BP, and almost hit him with a 400′+ shot.

        so yeah, it looks like he might have come to camp in OK shape.

        It isn’t like the old days, when guys came in all fat and out of shape, and needed a month to get back into playing shape.

        most of the position players could probably work out for 2 weeks of drills, a few practice games, and start the season be early march.
        • francis February 19, 2011 at 2:05 pm

          yeah, but where’s the sense of URGENCY ?
          • Bayonne Mets Fan February 19, 2011 at 2:06 pm

            i think you should be banned for your absolutely atrocious, unfunny jokes.
          • Metsie February 19, 2011 at 2:48 pm

            Hey Francis are you at work right now?
            If not WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF URGENCY???!??!??!?!?!!!??!!??!??!
        • Mr North Jersey February 19, 2011 at 2:08 pm

          heres an excerpt courtesy of Rubin that should explain more.

          Will you wear the brace?”I have to wear the brace, but what happened is the brace I was wearing last year, I have to readjust it because my quad got bigger and it doesn’t fit properly.” Is the new brace lighter?”No. The same.” But you said the brace wasn’t the factor limiting your mobility?”No. For me the problem was I didn’t spend a lot of time doing what I do — being in the outfield, hitting in the cages. Physically right now I feel great. Hitting-wise, I feel good. I don’t feel like I’m compensating at all. All the training that I did, I did it without the brace because I wanted to make sure my quad was responding well. And it responded well. When I play, I probably will have to wear it, but that’s not going to be an issue for me.”
          • alwaysnextyear February 19, 2011 at 2:23 pm

            sounds promising.

            it’s easy to forget that in 2009, up until he got hurt, he was having a huge year. And last september, he was crusing the ball.

            so it doesn’t look like his skills have gone anywhere, so if his leg really is OK to play, could have a big year (and he is playing for his last contract, so most likely he isn’t letting a minor ache or pain stop him from playing!)

            a normal Reyes and Beltran season, any kind of improvement from Ike and Bay rebounding to something passing for his normal year, and this lineup can score a lot of runs.
• francis February 19, 2011 at 1:50 pm

  did they show up ?
• martin February 19, 2011 at 3:46 pm

  you are making up the part that collins was “irked”, because you are trying desperately for an angle.
  • Chris February 19, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    Yeah, the quotes prove Collins was actually doing cartwheels.
    • martin February 19, 2011 at 6:45 pm

      is the only alternative to cartwheels being “irked”. why would anyone be irked at a guy who is planning to show up for work at the exact time he is expected to?