WFAN’s beat reporter Eddie Coleman calls into the Steve Somers show to give us the latest news on the Mets. Specifically, he gets into the situation with Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes. Who’s going to hit leadoff? He also mentions that Ramon Castro lost some weight and appears to be in better shape. That seems to be the theme of this year’s spring training for the Mets. Click the link below to listen:
You can see the last piece of Shea Stadium coming down in this video from Yahoo:
The video was taken on February 18, 2009 at 11:25am. So long Shea…
The goat of the 2008 Mets team arrived in camp today. He’s been working out all winter at the Mets academy in the Dominican Republic. According to Newday’s David Lennon, Castillo declared himself “a new man”.
That has yet to be seen. But Castillo sure has something to prove this season. Lennon reports that Castillo lost 17 pounds over the winter, which is a good start. He looked like a little meatball last season with gimpy knees. He’s listed at 5′ 11″ but he looks more like 5′ 9″ to me. Lennon writes that Castillo played at 210 pounds last season. That’s ridiculous for a guy his size. Apparently, there isn’t a weight clause in his Mets contract.
The worst thing about seeing Castillo show up at spring training is knowing that Orlando Hudson still hasn’t signed with a team. What a shame that the Mets’ hands are tied by Castillo’s contract. It was reported months ago that Castillo contacted Omar Minaya begging not to be traded and promising to get into shape. Well, now’s the time to prove it. Because if Orlando Hudson shows up at Citi Field ten times this season in a Washington Nationals uniform, it’ll be hard for us Mets fans to watch.
After playing in only 87 games last season and hitting 47 points below his career average, Castillo needs to have a monster season or he’s gone after 2009. Minaya won’t stand for another season out of him like last year. He’s starting his second chance.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
I’m not saying that I agree with it, because I don’t, but Larry Dobrow of CBS Sports put out his first MLB power rankings today and listed the Mets at #7. There are some egregious errors on here like having the D-Backs ahead of the Mets on the list.
But I agree with the Phillies and Yankees and 1 and 2 respectively. The Phillies are the defending champs. How could you start them anywhere else? They deserve the top spot… for now. And the Yankees have added some incredible talent this offseason: Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira. They’ve got a big-time roster.
The Indians are ranked too high at #9 and the Marlins are too low at #18. The Marlins are going to be in it until the end. I hear that Hanley Ramirez has bulked up this offseason with some visible muscle. He could very well be the NL MVP this season. He can carry that team.
The biggest disagreement that I have with Dobrow is that he has the Nationals at #24. There’s no way that they should be ranked higher than the Royals, Rockies, and Astros. Maybe they’re better than the Padres and Mariners. Maybe. I assumed before I finished reading the list that the Pirates and Nationals would be at the bottom of the list.
What do you think of the list? Comment below.
The Mets Report 