Last night, Luis Castillo proved that the Mets are truly cursed. Just when you thought all the injuries were over with, Castillo showed that there were new and better ways for players to go on the disabled list. In fact, he didn’t even hurt himself on the field. Luis fell down the stairs while stepping into the dugout and sprained his ankle. 16 players have hit the DL for the Mets this season, some more than once, and now we can make that number 17 as Castillo is limping once again. Well at least, with a limp, we’ll all recognize Luis once again.
Later on today the Mets will announce that Castillo is “Day to Day” and that the ankle injury is only a slight sprain. A few days rest will do him just fine and he’ll be back in the lineup by the end of the weekend. By this weekend, Castillo will re-aggravate the ankle while doing running drills. He will then see the team doctor again, get it looked at, and we’ll be told that he’ll need another day or two. The Mets will then take Castillo on a flight for the road trip, only to send him back to New York a day later when they realize he can not walk off the airplane. When he gets back to New York he will be sent for an MRI, finally, only to find out that he’s had a broken ankle the whole time and should have been put on the DL. Soon after, Castillo will be seen sitting in the dugout in a full body cast. The Mets will tell us that the body cast is not related to the initial ankle injury and we’ll all wonder what the hell they are doing. The media will ask the Mets questions about their medical staff and how they misdiagnosed the injury, and the Mets will insist that they were correct in their initial evaluation, simply that Luis Castillo was pregnant and was suffering from nothing more than swollen ankles.
That is the Mets front office and medical staff in a nutshell.
Here is a nice video that I found on youtube. It’s from Family Guy and portrays Bobby McFerrin falling down a flight of stairs. I just pretend that it’s Luis Castillo and it makes me laugh. Try it … it will help you forget the absolute disaster that the 2009 Mets have been, even if it’s only for a little while.
Yes, I am aware that the video is 10 minutes long. It’s a 10 minute long video of a guy falling down the stairs that is played in a repetitive loop. What’s funny and sad at the same time about this, is I find more entertainment in watching this 10 minute video of Bobby McFerrin falling down an endless staircase than it is watching the Mets. It actually makes a pretty good beat if you listen to it. Maybe the Mets should make this the 2009 theme song. In fact, there is even more irony to this.
The Mets, as a team, have been seemingly falling down this endless staircase for a couple of years now. Everything about the franchise has been tumbling further and further down the stairs, from the ownership all the way down to the feelings of even the most optimistic fans. Players have been getting battered and bruised, fans have been getting angry and numb, the front office has been falling on its face, and the owners have been getting swindled.
The basement is near. As the tumbling continues and the band aids continue to do a bad job in trying to cover up the gaping wound that is the Mets, the team will start to enter National territory. Yes, the competition is on to see who will lose more games … the Mets or the Nationals. I wonder if the Wilpons even notice. Maybe they’ll give Omar another extension.
2 CommentsI’m disgusted.
That was one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. So let me get this straight … Luis Castillo, you’re a veteran, right? How long have you played in the major leagues, let alone how long you’ve played baseball? Listen … I have to introduce you to my friend. His name is the hand. This is a hand:
Now, Luis … you have two of them. You were born with them and you use them to catch baseballs. For some reason though, you didn’t know that you had two hands, did you? I mean, in little league, they taught you to catch the ball with two hands … no? You were there for that lesson I’m sure. Maybe you forgot because you’re so old. Maybe you’re creaky knees distracted you from remembering the fundamental way to catch a baseball.
Do you think it makes you look cool when you catch with one hand, off to the side? Do you think it sets a good example for younger players, who look to you for veteran leadership, and how to play the game right? Let me ask you this … how cool did you feel when you dropped that ball to lose the game last night? Not so cool I bet. Next time, use two hands.
The problem though, is no one should have to tell you, Luis, to catch with two hands. You’re not a rookie. You’ve been around a long time. In fact, the only thing we expect from you is to play good defense, because we know you swing a wet noodle for a bat. You can’t even catch routine pop ups with two hands. If you can’t do that … what good are you for this team?
So the Mets lose the most heartbreaking game thus far, and lucky for you Luis, this was not game 6 in the World Series. Only Buckner can feel worse than you right now. Still though, this wasn’t too far behind in the moron category. At least Buckner had an excuse, he couldn’t bend down. You just chose to try to catch a ball without using two hands.
That’s the first thing they teach you, right Luis? Two hands? Just checking.
Not only do the Mets lose … Frankie Rodriguez gets a blown save and a loss as well … all because of you and your horrible play in the field. If it were up to me I’d make a change in the rulebook and put the ‘L’ and the blown save next to the 2nd baseman. That would be you Luis, because you blew it.
Am I being harsh? Maybe. I just don’t like you though. I never wanted you and your 4 year deal here. Watching one more game with you at 2nd base would be one game too many. I can’t wait until you’re as far away from New York as humanly possible. If I were GM I’d trade you for a jar of Vaseline. That’s all I’d be able to get for a guy with the motor skills of a dead roach.
The Mets better not go trade their prospects in a panic now. If they do something stupid like they did with Kazmir a few years back, I’ll look back to this moment and I’ll blame it on you. The only person I blame more than you is Omar Minaya … for signing your stupid ass.
Anyhow, I’ve had it.
Two Hands, Damn It.
House of Horrors
With the Mets playing baseball in Atlanta the past two days, you wouldn’t expect them to win any games. Turner Field, as any Mets fan knows, is a house of horrors for the Metsies. To our delight, the Mets came out with two wins under their belt, one from a pitcher who has a long history of losing to the Braves. Livan Hernandez had a career 3-15 record with a 5.52 ERA vs. the Braves. With the combination of that track record along with a Mets team who just seem to die bad deaths in Atlanta, you would think it was a sure loss for Livan and the Mets. How it ended up though, was quite different. Livan threw only 75 pitches through 6 1/3 innings, allowing only one run, helping the Mets along to their 2nd win in as many days against the Braves. Hernandez earned the win, which was only his 4th career win against the Braves.
Livan Hernandez, by the way, is a better pitcher than Oliver Perez … and much cheaper. Just thought I’d add that in … just because.
Stomach Churner
The two wins in Atlanta were far from easy wins. I don’t know if it’s just years of history to a Mets fan that makes me think the roof is going to cave in at any moment … but I was definitely expecting something strange to happen, which would cause the Mets to lose a heart wrenching game. I must say … the Mets did make it hard on themselves at times … but they did notch the wins and that’s all that counts. The Mets won all of 1 game at Turner Field last season, and this season already have 2. That’s a big improvment, even if Pepto Bismol is required while watching.
One Handed All Stars
The Mets defense, this season, has been suspect. Routine fly balls have been dropped all over the field by the likes of Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church, Ramon Castro, Gary Sheffield, and the latest culprits, Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado. The connection between these dropped balls and misplays has been lack of concentration, and more so, nonshalant one handed catches. To the credit of Daniel Murphy, he corrected this immediately after, and has been seen using two hands to catch fly balls since. Yesterday though, Carlos Delgado nearly cost the Mets a game in the ninth inning, with his one armed hand of stone, dropping a routine pop up which dropped into fair territory.
What a moron.
It allowed a run to score and it pushed the tying run to third base, and Chipper Jones walking to the plate. Luckily, we have a closer named Frankie Rodriguez, who picked up his teammates. If it were Billy Wagner you can bet we would have seen Chipper launch a walk off home run to win the game … but Frankie got him to fly out to Church, who used two hands to catch the ball.
You have to wonder how quickly Delgado will correct that bad habit, if at all. In a post to Adam Rubin’s blog, he has an interesting take from Delgado after the game:
“Carlos Delgado found it appropriate to remind everyone that he had two hits and two RBI in Tuesday’s 4-3 win against the Braves. Of course, had the first baseman not dropped Omar Infante’s routine pop-up on what would have been the game’s final out, and had two unearned runs not scored as a result, Delgado’s two-run ninth-inning single would have been a footnote.”
I’d wager that Mr. Delgado keeps on going out there, displaying the same bad habit. Personally, I don’t care how many hits he gets or how many home runs he hits … I care about him being accountable and setting an example for the rest of the team, who clearly looks to him as the leader. If he’s the leader, he’s setting a really bad example.
Luis Castillo also let a routine ground ball roll right under his legs in the 8th inning. JJ Putz picked up Castillo, working around that error unscathed. When the final out was recorded, Castillo was seen slamming his glove into the ground in frustration. In the top of the ninth, the Mets pushed a few insurance runs across. The SNY camera’s pointed into the Mets dugout for reaction, and while the team was alive and cheering, Luis Castillo was seen sulking on the bench, emotionless. Not the kind of behavior you like to see from anyone on a “team”.
I may get criticized for this, but I simply can not wait until both Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo are off this team. They are both everything that is wrong with the Mets, they are both all about themselves and only themselves. It will be a happy day for me when I don’t have to see them in a Mets uniform anymore.
With the Phillies coming into town for a two game set tonight, we can only hope the winning ways continue. Johan tonight vs. Chan Ho … there is no excuse for the Mets to not score runs again for their ace. This should be an easy win. Tomorrow, Pelfrey throws, and luckily for us Mets fans, we don’t have to witness another Ollie bailout.
Hopefully, the Mets will have another two wins vs. a division rival, come Friday.
No CommentsUnderground sources have confirmed the clandestine nature of the New York Mets. The superstar players on the Mets are not who you think they are.
(And you thought they made all those millions for playing baseball-Ha!)
The true identities of these “ballplayers” were revealed to us here at FanFury by a guru double agent who shall remain anonymous. We’ll just call him Jack Flack for the hell of it. “Flack” has afforded us with this highly confidential information in an effort to alert the fan base. As loyal fans pouring your heart, soul and dollars into this team, you all deserve to know the truth.
The covert operation being implemented will be brought to light over the course of the next coming days, leading up to Opening Day.
Luis Castillo is Pvt. Benjamin Buford ‘Bubba’ Blue
If you thought you were looking at a wounded soldier, limping around the field on 2nd base, you were right. Luis Castillo is Bubba, but if Forest Gump were a Mets fan, he wouldn’t be his friend. Last season, Luis was injured and instead of working hard in the off-season to rehab, he let himself go. Instead of getting himself in shape, he just ate shrimp.
“Anyway like I was sayin’, Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbeque it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it … there’s um, shrimp kebab’s, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried, there’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich… that’s, that’s about it…”
The fans, the front office and even his fellow teammates have gotten sick of hearing about Castillo’s injuries, and his shrimp. He is what a shrimp would actually look like if a shrimp could wear a baseball uniform and hobble around. Watching him swing a bat is as painful as getting shot in the buttocks. He even looks as if he’s swinging a shrimp instead of a bat. You can’t even call it a swing; it’s a pathetic flail, a child cries every time his bat flounders through the strike zone. It’s that ugly. Management asked Luis to bunt more … the sobbing children wasn’t good for PR.
The only thing not shrimp like is Castillo’s contract. He’s stolen more money from the Mets than shrimp have been stolen from the sea, from a real shrimp boat. Mets fans just want to throw him back into the sea. Luis got that contract based on past performance.
“Now you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but Luis could run like the wind blows.” 
That was then, this is now. It was a bad contract that should have never been given to him, which we’ll have to deal with now.
“My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.”
All we fans have gotten out of that 25 million dollar contract is “a million dollar wound … and we still haven’t seen a nickel of that 25 million dollars.” Hopefully, Luis starts living up to it. Maybe he will. Maybe he’s healthy. Maybe his buttocks don’t hurt anymore. Maybe he’ll play well.
Maybe, just maybe the fans won’t have a reason to be so harsh on Bubba.
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1 CommentPrior to last night’s game, Jerry Manuel made an announcement. He really likes Daniel Murphy. (The kid is easy to like) 
Murphy will be the team’s number 2 hitter while Luis Castillo will hit 8th in the order. I can just picture Jerry speaking to Murphy, sounding a lot like a quote from ‘42nd Street’:
“You’ve got to go on, and you’ve got to give and give and give. They’ve got to like you. Got to. Do you understand? You can’t fall down. You can’t because your future’s in it, my future and everything all of us have is staked on you. All right, now I’m through, but you keep your feet on the ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out, and Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster but you’ve got to come back a star!”
Upon receiving this news, Murphy finally went up and introduced himself to Luis Castillo.
“Nice to meet you, Luis, I’m Daniel Murphy and I bat 2nd”.
The Dialogue between Jerry and Castillo probably went a little different. Somehow I’m picturing a little bit of ‘Pulp Fiction’:
“You see, this profession is filled to the brim with unrealistic motherfuckers. Motherfuckers who thought their ass would age like wine. If you mean it turns to vinegar, it does. If you mean it gets better with age, it don’t.”
“The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That’s pride fucking with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps.”
“ You feel that sting, big boy, huh? That’s pride FUCKIN’ with you! You gotta fight through that shit!”
That’s a hard pill to swallow. Castillo can’t be in love with his position in the lineup, but I am loving Jerry Manuel’s way of doing things. We have a thinking man’s manager. The man experiments, evaluates and makes decisive judgments on what is best for the team. Manuel won’t always make the right decisions, obviously, but he does what he feels and he’s not afraid to hurt a few egos. Gangsta.
I for one will be happy to see Murphy getting more at bats while Castillo gets buried a little. No matter what, the bottom of the Mets order is going to be very weak. It’s better to give the kid a boost of confidence and see what he can do at the top of the lineup. Castillo and his OBP will work just fine if he keeps taking walks, clears the pitcher, phantom bunts and all.
Just keep hitting, Daniel. Just keep walking, Luis, and keep those egos in check.
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