Let me start by saying I love and respect Willie Randolph, yes, I do.
OK, that's out the way....why in the heck did we "need" Luis Castillo back in the #2 hole after winning 5 games in a row with Ryan Church there?
The facts:
Ryan Church leads the Mets in hits and is batting .338
Luis Castillo is batting .226 and has a (gulp) .245 slugging percentage
Need more fodder for the discussion? OK.
The Mets are 5-0 with Castillo batting 8th, and 2-7 with him batting second.
Bottom line is there is next to no production coming out of Castillo. I want him out there, I love his defense, I like his grit, and he does have some skills that help the team on offense...but...he sucks the life out of the top of the order.
I will take his 6-10 pitch at-bats in the 8 hole any day of the week, let him try and work his way on base, slap a few hits, get some walks, steal a few bases, be a pest, and stretch out the opposing starter. Those are all great attributes in a #8 hitter; as a #2? Not so much.
With Reyes, Wright and Beltran all poised at the to top do major damage, Ryan Church fits in perfectly at #2 as a legit gap hitter with power. Need to move Reyes over? Church will do it. Look for the hit to score Reyes from first or second? Church can do it. Castillo slapping something over the shortstop's head is not going to plate Reyes from first.
To me it's that simple. If it 'aint broke, don't fix it.
3 comments:
For the record, Mets are actuall 5-0 with Castillo batting 8th. He sat out 3 games. Also, according to Yahoo, Castillo is actually a little better coming from the 8 hole than from the 2 hole.
Here is the link to prove it. Go to the bottom where it lists his stats according to where he bats in the lineup.
But I do agree that Church should be batting 2nd, and Castillo 8th.
Sorry... here is the
link.
Thanks! Update made!
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