Farewell Ramon Castro! (Don't let the door hit ya, as it could cause injury)

The Mets caused a lot of controversy among some fanboys by trading Ramon Castro to the White Sox for a bag of balls or something. The battle lines are drawn, and now Castro is more popular than ever. Do the fanboys, who are taking out there grievances on Mets new starting catcher and not-Brian Schneider Omir Santos, who they believe to have cunningly cemented his role in the line-up through recourse to devious late inning heroics that have led to several high profile (and highly satisfying) wins, have a case? Ironically, Santos is loathed for his propensity for well timed hits, the very thing (if not the only thing) that Castro was proficient at, other than drawing pay for sitting in the trainers room.

No one but the Flying Spaghetti Monster knows why Omar paid HEAD's way out of town, exactly. It could have something to do, as Rotoworld notes, that Castro "might be the one under-35 player in baseball with no desire to trade a bench role for a starting job." It could have something to do with the 2 year, $4.6 million dollar contract that Omar signed him to, or that he is 33 years of age. But it was clear the Mets wanted one of their mediocre backup catchers gone, and the spinner stopped on the perpetually injured, possible sex offender, occasional supplier of pop with the humongous noggin. I didn't mind him as a player when he could drag himself onto the field, especially relative to the options, but I can't for the life of me understand the sudden romanticizing of his Mets tenure. Outside of Wiggington, it is the strangest case of overrating-homerism that I have seen in memory. As a backup catcher, he couldn't stay healthy, particularly in the late part of the season (READ: collapse-time). Does anything say "dispensable" quite like that?

To say goodbye and let the healing begin, let's look at the highlights of HEAD's fabled Met tenure:

2000
Seen as Marlins catcher of the future while in the minors, but slowed by a knee injury

2004
*Pleaded no contest to misdemeanor indecent assault charge stemming from an alleged rape the facts of which were enough, at least, to convince the Pittsburg police to file felony charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault and unlawful restraint against Castro. Evidently a perfect fit for the Wilpons' family values theme and they signed him in December!

*Limited to just 32 games due to a toe injury: (Ramon Castro was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after removing himself in the second inning of the Reds' 7-6, 10-inning victory.)

2006

*Injuries further reduced his role in 2006, limiting him to 126 at-bats.
*Spends August and September incapacitated, starting a proud tradition.

2007

*Strains hamstring late in spring training, "loses" job to Schneider.
*Spends August and September, not collapsing, but recovering from back injury.

2008

Various right ankle and quadriceps injuries in August result in DL time, gone in September and part of August too, so at least he's not involved in collapsathon!


Here is the fullest injury history I could find, as culled from SBNation:

May 29, 2009		Traded to White Sox
May 12, 2009		Missed 2 games (quadricep injury).
May 10, 2009		Quadricep injury, day-to-day.
September 12, 2008		Missed 12 games (quadricep injury).
August 27, 2008		Quadricep & ankle injury, 15-day DL.
August 12, 2008		Missed 3 games (right ankle injury).
August 9, 2008		Right ankle injury, day-to-day.
August 7, 2008		Missed 3 games (sprained right ankle).
August 3, 2008		Sprained right ankle, day-to-day.
June 2, 2008		Missed 2 games (left elbow injury).
May 31, 2008		Left elbow injury, day-to-day.
May 9, 2008		Missed 32 games (strained right hamstring).
March 30, 2008		Strained right hamstring, 15-day DL.
November 16, 2007		Re-signed as a free agent by the New York Mets to a two-year contract.
September 15, 2007		Missed 29 games (lower back pain).
August 18, 2007		Lower back pain, 15-day DL.
August 14, 2007		Lower back pain, day-to-day.
September 27, 2006		Missed 56 games (ribcage injury).
August 24, 2006		Transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL (ribcage injury).
August 4, 2006		Ribcage injury, 15-day DL.
July 30, 2006		Ribcage injury, day-to-day.
January 10, 2006		Re-signed by the New York Mets to a one-year contract.
June 2, 2005		Missed 16 games (strained right quadriceps).
May 16, 2005		Strained right quadriceps, 15-day DL.
April 2, 2005		Contract purchased from Norfolk (AAA).
December 23, 2004		Signed by the New York Mets to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.
October 19, 2004		Opted for free agency.
October 4, 2004		Missed 110 games to the end of the regular season (toe injury).
July 31, 2004		Transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL (toe injury).
June 1, 2004		Toe injury, 15-day DL.
December 19, 2003		Re-signed by the Florida Marlins to a one-year contract.
September 30, 2003		Not on playoff roster.
March 1, 2003		Re-signed by the Florida Marlins to a one-year contract.
June 8, 2002		Missed 18 games (strained right elbow).
May 18, 2002		Strained right elbow, 15-day DL.

So the result I reach is that this was no big loss. Was it regrettable that Schneider couldn't be the one to go? Sure. But the Mets realize they have a shitty starting catcher getting paid $5 mil or something who couldn't hit his way out of a Girl Scout meeting, see something in Santos (along with many fans), and figure what the hell, give the rolly polly little fella a chance, we are screwed for next year anyhow! Can Santos stay off the DL and hit the occassional homerun? Will Omir bother to block the plate? Will his heroics continue? Who knows, but he's sure fun to watch. As for HEAD! good luck collecting that paycheck buddy! Don't worry, your August break is just around the corner.