"The parking spot is the prime one in the players' lot, the closest one to the clubhouse, and oddly enough it's reserved for Luis Castillo. And it's been vacant since camp started. There is nothing technically wrong with that. Reporting date wasn't until Saturday for position players in Mets camp, and even that meant only letting the team know that you're in town. Even today is just for physicals, with the first full workout scheduled for Monday. But for Castillo being on time is clearly late - maybe too late. When a question about Castillo was asked of manager Terry Collins on Saturday afternoon, he rolled his eyes, bit his lip and tried to be as politically correct as he could this time - having failed to hide his disappointment a day earlier. So who's right here? Castillo is within the rules. But in a camp filled with question marks, this might be the easiest one to answer. Castillo already was on the fringe of the roster, his $6 million contract hardly enough to secure him a spot on the roster. Now, with a chance to impress the new regime and take his job back, Castillo seems to have conceded it already. "I'm a real believer in sending a message to the organization as a player," Collins said Friday, quickly veering the subject to Johan Santana, whom he praised for participating in drills and stretching with the team even though he can't return to action for at least another four months. Castillo's absence is a clear message to Collins - and represents another hobbling step backward for the second baseman. The thing is, with a new manager and general manager it might not have been that hard for Castillo to prove himself worthy. He clearly was at odds with Jerry Manuel last year, benched for 20 of the 30 September games and he openly expressed his desire to be dealt or cut loose." Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/p...Castillo_not_helping_his_cause_with_Mets.html
