Luis Castillo Inspires Cautious Optimism

Last year, the Mets went into camp with the second base position secure. Luis Castillo was going to be the man. He was going to anchor the position that had been giving us fits since Robbie Alomar.

2008 turned out not to be Luis Castillo’s year. He played the whole season with pain in his knees and missed considerable time to the disabled list.

Despite every Mets fan worth their salt hoping that a different name would start at second in 2009, Luis Castillo is back. And I, for one, feel like that’s a good thing. Castillo’s knees are healthy, he’s lost a little weight, and his bat seems a little quicker this spring. I have been warmly optimistic that Luis Castillo will have a near career year in ‘09. And so far the spring numbers are proving that:

In 25 AB, he’s got a line of .320/.500/.520 with 8 Runs scored, 8 hits (including 3 doubles and a triple).

Mind you, 25 ABs is an awfully small sample and a lot of those at bats could have come against inferior pitching - that’s why this post is title “Cautious” optimism. But all the same, anything that helps Castillo’s confidence and the New York fans confidence in him will greatly help him and the Mets down the line.

Will he make a liar of my by the All-Star Break? Maybe, but right now I’m feeling pretty okay - even Good - about Luis Castillo starting at second base for my New York Mets.

Sidenote: My new favorite player Daniel Murphy and his possible left field buddy Nick Evans have been quietly tearing up the Grapefruit league (.366/.426/.488 and .325/.400/.600 respectively in about 40 AB). There’s little question that these two can hit. It’s just an issue of consistency at the Major League level.