Castillo being rested…

Anthony DiComo, of http://www.mlb.com/ has an article about the Mets playing it safe with Luis Castillo. One day of rest was normal, and two became a minor concern. But, with Castillo being rested for the third time in four days Sunday afternoon, there was genuine worry. Jerry Manuel decided that now is the best time to prevent further damage, so Damion Easley, and not Castillo, started at second base Sunday, marking the third time that has happened in the past four games.

(Easley has been playing well, which makes this decision a lot easier)

"I don't see Luis moving as well as I'd like to see him move right now," Manuel said. "I know he's not quite 100 percent and we're going to do what we can to keep him fresh, and hopefully he'll come around and be able to there every day for us at some point."

(Numerous sources are reporting that Castillo may be headed to the disabled list. Major League Baseball needs a 7-day or 10-day disabled list for teams in situations like this, who think they have a player who is day-to-day, and then the player winds up missing more time than expected. The Mets are probably not interested in losing Castillo for 15 days, but, may be more apt to rest him, and call up a replacement, if Castillo was on a 7-day or 10-day DL.)

Aside from the knee troubles that have bothered him throughout his Mets tenure -- he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last off-season -- Castillo has also had problems with his left hip and left quad throughout this season. The injuries have conspired to keep him off the lineup card on a regular basis. Some of that has been for healing, and some has been preventative. Castillo has taken roughly one game off per week in an effort to avoid further injury. But now, one game off no longer seems to be enough. Though addressing the disabled list as a future possibility, Manuel didn't predict an extended absence for Castillo. He said only that Castillo would remain out until his strength and his resiliency returned. "That's what I'm waiting on," Castillo said.

(Omar, please, learn from this year, with El Duque, Pedro, Alou, Castillo, etc. GET YOUNGER !!! Stop signing 35 and over players, and be very careful with the 30-34 year old players, especially if you were thinking of offering a contract longer than one year.)

After signing a four-year, $25 million contract last off-season to remain with the Mets, Castillo has played in 59 of the team's 73 games, hitting .266 and stealing 11 bases. But after a relatively hot stretch in May, Castillo has hit only .246 in June, slugging .262 and reaching base at a .314 clip.

All of those numbers rank among the bottom of the league at any position -- not just second base. "He had one period where he's really played like he's capable of playing," Manuel said. "We're going to have to try to find a way to keep him playing a little better, and a little more active than he is right now."

(If the Mets aren’t already dreading having Castillo in year one of a four year contract, they will be.)