17
2011
Mets Not Interested In Eckstein
An article by 
According to Jon Heyman, the Mets have made it clear to second baseman David Eckstein that they are not interested in his services. This is not surprising given the fact that the Mets are itching to dump Castillo, one of the few players with almost the exact same type of play as Eckstein.
Both of them have absolutely no power, are past their prime and hold little offensive value anymore. Their only major offensive upside is that both of them are arguably the two toughest players in baseball to strikeout. Both being on the down side of their careers and are barely clinging to the hopes of a starting job, they do not seem to be the type of player Alderson wants on his roster.
Although Eckstein and Castillo both have nearly identical types of play, Eckstein has two things that separate him from Castillo. Eckstein hits at least 20 doubles per year and also influences the younger players by running out every play. Castillo hit four doubles last season and is one of the biggest cancers in the Mets clubhouse.
Given Alderson’s sabermetrics approach to the game, a guy that only strikes out eight percent of the time he comes up to bat would seem appealing to him. But given the fact that the Amazins have already seen first hand that Eckstein’s type of play, through their less than pleasant ordeal with Castillo, his services were seen as useless for the 2011 Mets.
About the Author: Clayton Collier
Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 28 | .600 | - |
| Nationals | 34 | 35 | .493 | 7.5 |
| Phillies | 34 | 37 | .479 | 8.5 |
| Mets | 25 | 40 | .385 | 14.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 47 | .319 | 19.5 |
Last updated: 06/18/2013
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Eckstein is the reason why the Mets got Castillo in the first place. They wanted him in ’08 after he signed with (I believe Toronto) Omar pannicked and gave Castillo bad deal
I think there was also the fact that Eckstein wanted $8 million to play out of position to do the same thing that Castillo would do for $6 million in his natural, former gold glove position. Omar went with the lesser of two evils. He should have gone with neither of two evils.
Really, for your deslusional info, the Mets got Castillo in ’07. It had nothing to do with “gewtting” castillo.
Where do you get that Castillo is a cancer in the clubhouse? No one on the Mets seems to feel that way, just annoyed fans looking for more reasons to jump down Castillo’s throat.
True. Its one thing to say Castillo is just not good at baseball anymore, but there is no need to defame the man as a person.
Unless someone has examples of Castillo being a problem, I’ll keep my reasons to want him gone entirely on his poor performance.
When Castillo was “late” (on time) to camp and everyone did a war dance around a bonfire, it came out that he had a family emergency he wished to keep private (damn him for being human) and an article surfaced on how Reyes loved him and on how much he was helping Tejada last season literally try to take his job and other such dispicable traits. I spent five minutes looking for the article but gave up because I got bored and because I can guarantee that no one else could find anything of substance proving otherwise, anyway.
Yeah I would agree it is a pretty baseless statement.
About the only thing you can say about Castillo in a negative light is he was unhappy about losing the starters role last season and didn’t shy away from saying so.
But even that was nothing more than saying I believe I’m still good enough to be a starting 2B.
People just have not had their fill of rolling heads (truth is they never will!)
Once Castillo and Perez are gone they will focus on the Wilpons again and even if that happens they will find someone else to get rid of to satisfy their inner Defarge!
“I can’t be here anymore,” the second baseman told The Post before last night’s series opener against the Phillies at Citi Field. “I know I’m not going to be here next year.”
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/what_lu_ser_Z0mVynnPcV1VXoSUP0200K#ixzz1GrjB4liT
* * *
So imagine the collective shock that the Mets, fans and even announcers alike shared a little after 10 pm last night, when this happened. (On a side note, has an announcer ever sounded this excited after a win for a 4th place team with no chance at the playoffs, regardless of how dramatic it might have been?) In classic sucky attitude fashion, Castillo couldn’t even muster a smile amid all the high fiving and pounding that was going on.
* * *
Benches cleared as the Mets led by Beltran and Hessman charged the field, all except Luis Castillo who sat alone and stared at the melee almost looking through it while his teammates were in a moment of solidarity.
Yeah he’s not a cancer we should have him sainted and included in the Mets hall of fame.
Haters gon’ hate.
Hey, wait. Anyone else notice that this K guy uses one side of his mouth to quote how silly it was for the announcers to get so excited then uses the other side to disparage Castillo for not being excited? Classic illogical blindness.
That would be an interesting point if I didnt cut and paste all those quotes from the Post, Newsday, and Daily News. Keep drinking that Koolaid though, I hear the kiwi lemonade is really good.
Wait, so I drink kool-aid because I like Alderson and didn’t think much of Omar. Now I drink Kool-aid because I defended Castillo’s character. I just might actually turn red. You should get your story straight with Bayonne. Whose side am I on?
And just because you copied and pasted from tabloids doesn’t mean it’s not in fact an absurd statement to quote how silly it was for the announcers to get so excited then disparage Castillo for not being excited in the same sentence.
All these people throwing around hackneyed KoolAid references:
You do know where that actually comes from, right?
I never used the phrase myself, but I would love to know how it came about.
Jonestown.
The cult members sustained themselves on bread and a sugar water drink similar to KoolAid. I think the Heaven’s Gate cult did the same.
The reason it is remembred is that the entire community committed suicide by drinking the stuff when it was spiked with cyanide.
So, ya, certain parties are equating not demanding Alderson’s resignation with a mass cult suicide. Classy.
wow, I knew about the Jonestown tragedy but had no idea that’s what gave rise to phrase. Wild stuff. Almost as crazy as the Ring Around The Rosie kids song that came from bonfires of burning bodeis from the bubonic plague and using flowers to mask the smell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones
that is an untrue urban legend about ring around the rosie.
Joe,
Jim Jones gave his followers grape flavored Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. There was no bread involved and actually the audio of the entire episode from beginning to end can be found on youtube or used to be there.
So I don’t know where the hell Donal got the bread from but then 95% of the time I don’t know where the hell Donal gets his stuff from to begin with.
Oh, look, Bayonne doesn’t read that closely, fails to understand, and insults the person he misunderstood.
shhh, Bayonne. Its grown up time. Just be quiet and learn.
You say you copied these quotes from the Post Newsday and the NY Daily News but the only link i see is the post.
Your 1st quote:
“I can’t be here anymore,” the second baseman told The Post before last night’s series opener against the Phillies at Citi Field. “I know I’m not going to be here next year.”
nypost.com/p/sports/mets/what_lu_ser_Z0mVynnPcV1VXoSUP0200K#ixzz1GrjB4liT
Is a disgruntled Castillo after learning that he won’t be a starter the rest of the season. He goes on to say,
“If they think that he’s (Tejada) the best player, that’s OK,” Castillo said. “I just don’t want to be a backup when I’ve been playing every day for my whole career.” Castillo should of kept his mouth shut rather than pout publicly but if that makes him a cancer is a matter of one’s opinion.
Your 2nd quote:
“So imagine the collective shock that the Mets, fans and even announcers alike shared a little after 10 pm last night, when this happened. (On a side note, has an announcer ever sounded this excited after a win for a 4th place team with no chance at the playoffs, regardless of how dramatic it might have been?) In classic sucky attitude fashion, Castillo couldn’t even muster a smile amid all the high fiving and pounding that was going on.”
nysportsdigest.com/2010/08/mets-win-walk-off-style-thanks-to-luis-castillo/
The only place this quote comes up is at the above url. If you say it came from either the Post, Newsday or the Daily News then I can’t find it and this site stole it in it’s entirety.
This article though is talking a big leap in speculating that Castillo not smiling when the camera’s were on him after he was mobbed by his teammates meant he had a sucky attitude.
Your 3rd quote:
“Benches cleared as the Mets led by Beltran and Hessman charged the field, all except Luis Castillo who sat alone and stared at the melee almost looking through it while his teammates were in a moment of solidarity.”
I can’t find this quote in any of the newspapers you mention or on any blog anywhere it would be nice if you could point to where you got this from so one could see the source.
In the end though I don’t see anything from a credible (and I use the term loosely) media outlet that suggests Castillo is not well liked among his teammates.
Don’t worry k maxx, when all these hypnotized brain dead Sandy you know what lickers, find out Castillo is gone then they’ll be told to scream what poison he was. Until they get that word their line has to be he’s good since their flase god hasn’t cut him. They hate you for having your own brain and letting it make its own opinions. something they ovbviosuly can’t do.
Hi Iz so basically your argument is anyone that questions why Castillo is a cancer must be because they are “hypnotized brain dead Sandy you know what lickers”?
OK well your entitled to your opinion but i was hoping you had something better to add to the discussion than the typical reply often seen when unable to speak to the topic.
If you do happen to come across anything from the media outlet that suggests Castillo is not well liked among his teammates share it here.
Castillo Is a cancer in the clubhouse. He was somewhat of a good influence with his ability to work the count and wear down pitchers, but once he lost his starting job he was just a big sour puss. when he came up to bat as a bench player he would become a free swinger in a desperate attempt to regain his starting job.
Castillo, like K Maxx mentioned, had several incidents showing that was in fact a cancer in the clubhouse.
In fact, I recall hearing on SNY shows like Loudmouths and the Subway Pregame show refering to Castillo in such a fashion. It was not a baseless statement.
So, you didn’t hear it from someone actually in the club house? Somehow guys whose job it is to stir up controversy are better sources than the guys who actually work with Castillo?
Is being a bad baseball player not enough? Do you need him to be a total villain?
“In fact, I recall hearing on SNY shows like Loudmouths and the Subway Pregame show refering to Castillo in such a fashion. It was not a baseless statement.”
If those guys knew anything why are they writing for a newspaper and not playing or managing in the game?
Those guys on TV don’t know a damn thing about who is a cancer.
All they know is they get paid more to say something on TV and the network really doesn’t care what as long as dopes watch it and spout it off as fact!
Actually they do, SNY reporters are in the clubhouse talking with the team, same flights, same hotels. They know the team. The players tell them things off the record all the time. That is where we get ideas of who is and isn’t liked in the clubhouse.
Rumors that you see on MLB trade rumors or other sites, they come from executives or players themselves that prefer to remain anonymous.
Great, have the sources? Can we actually listen to or read these reports?
I can’t get actual shows from that or any clips, do you really expect me to scour through hours of clips to find one reference?
I have heard Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez, Burkhart, Carlin and others say that “oh I talked to Beltran today” or “an undisclosed source” or “anonymous source”. Remember when there was an “anonymous player” that told Oli off for not going to the minors? Those are reporters witnessing or bieng told this.
Remember when Bernazard was fired “anonymous sources” told reporters that he ripped off his shirt that one time, and screamed at them constantly and what not.
Rumors do not come from thin air. People like Heyman and Olney aren’t just magic swamiis that predict what will happen. They have sources on the inside. Players, executives, friends of players etc. that give them the details of what is going on. Then they make opinions and reports based on such.
And I’m just asking to see where your claim of Castillo being a clubhouse cancer came from. That is a pretty strong claim.
How often are “anonymous sources” wrong or right?
I will admit that Castillo was not always a cancer in the clubhouse when he had his starting job, but when he lost it he just moped, which is well documented on multiple occassions, like the three examples K Maxx listed.
When Pagan lost his starting job to Gary Matthews Jr. he didn’t complain, he put his head down and took every opportunity to show where he belonged. Then, when Beltran was going to comeback, Pagan instead of complaining once again put his head down and worked to beat out Francoeur.
Castillo lost his job to Tejada. Tejada was doing absolutely terrible with the bat. Castillo could have taken his pinch hits and time he was in the game to show Manuel that he belonged at 2nd, but instead he chose to whine to the media. “I just can’t be here” “I’m not gunna be here next year” all he did was frown and try to have Manuel pity him. He was a negative force on the clubhouse. In doing that, he brings down team morale and affects the team in a bad manner.
And being liked or having a group love fest in the clubhouse is meaningless!
Look no further than the 86 Mets!
What was one of the biggest stories that year aside from winning?
The fight between Strawberry and Hernandez that Ray Knight had to break up!
They don’t have to like each other they simply have to drive each other in when they are on the field!
I’d like to know from all these people that say Castillo’s is a cancer in the clubhouse, how many times have they ACTUALLY been in the clubhouse to witness this?
I don’t care if he is a moper or a cancer. I want him gone because he sucks.
LoL I think you just used fractions to reduce Castillo to the lowest common denominator.
Now can you convert him to a decimal?
eckstein is the most annoying player in baseball, and also has by far the worst arm i have ever seen.
‘Mets Not Interested in Eckstein’
All I can think is ‘thank the gods’.
Thank goodness. There’s a reason why no one has picked up Eckstein up to this point. He’s done. Ever since he was traded from Toronto, his production has declined (mainly in OBP, SLG & OPS). Didn’t help matters when he sucked in the 2nd half and down the stretch when the Padres were falling apart.