Yesterday marked the debut of Jose Castillo, the Giants' latest attempt to bolster an injury depleted infield. First I want to admit that I don't know very much about Castillo. I must say he is a lot heavier than I expected for a middle infielder. Can anyone enlighten me? Was he always this big? Could this be part of the reason that he was released by 2 teams since last season? Like I said.....I just don't know.
In admittedly a very limited sample size, I was not too impressed with Castillo's defense as the starting SS in yesterday's game. There was one groundball to his left that I was pretty sure he should have gotten to and a second one, also to his left, that I thought was a done deal. He missed both. On the harder of the 2 chances, he over-jumped on a dive and the ball went under his glove. On the easy chance, he just didn't reach down far enough and again, the ball went under his glove. Jose's reaction time seems to be a little slow and his movements sluggish, resulting in poor range. He did start a couple of DPs (on balls hit right to him) and seems to have an adequate arm. As I said.......first appearance.........small sample size........but so far I am not impressed with his defense.
At the plate, Jose was 1 for 4 with a double, but he had some really UGLY swings. He doesn't seem to have much plate discipline and swung at some pitches that weren't even close. As a result, he struck out twice. Look at the last photo in this series. Remind you of anyone? I have a bunch of photos of Pedro Feliz in exactly this same position. Brain dead hacker anyone? Again, first time out.........and I will reserve final judgment...........but the initial returns are not promising.
8 comments:
That picture looks a lot like Feliz chasing a low and outside pitch. When you talked about his ugly swings, I remembered the picture right away.
I have read all of your entries this spring, and want to say thank you. I also have a couple quick questions. From what you've seen, do you think Lewis deserves a regular job (or close to?). Or should Nate be given much of the playing time in the OF? (I know that this organization may not give much to any of the young OFs). Also, where does Davis fit into the picture? I have a feel for the players (strengths & weaknesses), but just not much of an idea of how they could contribute if given a regular opportunity. Thanks in advance.
My personal opinion has always been Nate in RF......Davis & Lewis as backups.......Roberts gone. If it came to a choice between Davis & Lewis.......I would take Davis. Lewis has great speed and a good bat, but he has no idea of how to use his speed. He gets horrible jumps, both in the field and on the base paths. He has been caught stealing already today, that's now 5 in 7 tries. Just awful for a player who is that fast. Other people love Lewis......but I am not a big fan. If he DOES play regularly, the Giants should pretend that he has no speed and give him the "do not steal" sign every time he is on base.
Then again...Lewis just hit a HR in Tucson. And that's why people like him.
What - no trip to Fresno???? (Just kidding)
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all your posts this spring and love the photos.
I think it is going to be a long season - we will just have to follow some Krukow advice and do a big "hang in there with them".
Thanks again for the great job and safe travels back to SF
A
You know.....a Giants fan is a Giants fan. It didn't matter to me when they lost 100 games in 1985....I still followed them religiously and in fact that was my first year of partial season tickets. I didn't like the losing.......but they are my team.......I won't back off just because they are a bad team.
Many people on the net are saying they won't "support" the team until Sabean is gone. If you are a fan.....you still go to and watch games. You have no choice.....it's in your blood. Bay Area fans have always jumped ship when the teams are bad. This year will be no different with the Giants. But the real fans will still be there.....all 25,000 or so of us.
and also us fans watching every game from home. We all can't afford season tickets. We shouldn't need to go to the games to be considered fans. I love the whole stadium experience but I actually prefer watching the Giants on TV.
So sad your blog is going to end soon. Thanks a lot for taking the time to do this.
By "go to and watch games", I meant go to games and/or watch them on TV. Although.....I see no reason why any local fan can't go to 2 or 3 games a year. But that's just me.
oh sorry. I guess I missed that little part. But I was referring to the comment, "But the real fans will still be there.....all 25,000 or so of us."
I actually do go to barely 2 or 3 games a year. But it won't make me less of a fan if I don't go to a single one. But that's just me.
I don't mean any disrespect. I think your the coolest fan ever for taking the time to do this blog. I'm just sharing my opinion.
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