Ya Really Dropped the Ball On That One

Luis Castillo, who once upon a time bragged a big league-record errorless streak for second basemen of 143 games (which ended on a routine play) totally dropped the ball Friday night.

With two gone in the bottom of the ninth during the first game of the Subway Series against the New York Yankees, Castillo botched a routine pop-up in short right field off the bat of Alex Rodriguez. This allowed the tying and winning runs to score, thus ending the New York Mets wild, back-and-forth game by a score of 9-8. Just like that.

Luis Castillo Gets Four and a Quarter

After hanging out in Big Apple for the last half of 2007, second baseman Luis Castillo has decided to stick around, reaching a preliminary agreement Sunday night on a $25 million, four-year contract with the New York Mets.

All he has to do is pass his physical and he's good to go. The lightning-fast, three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glover hit .296 with 10 stolen bags and 20 RBIs for the Mets, who acquired him from the Minnesota Twins at the end of July.

His sparkling defense up the middle shines alongside his quick-as-a-bunny infield partner, Jose Reyes. The double-play duo is nearly unmatched in the big leagues, save for the Philadelphia Phillies.

At 32 years old, Castillo's most memorable moment as a Met, though he hit .316 in the month of September, was most probably when he struck out for the final out of the season after the Mets' monumental collapse from a seven-game NL East lead.

[FOX Sports]

Cool It, Luis Castillo

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, built in 1982 and home to the Minnesota Twins, is a steady 65 degrees covered by a 10-acre roof of Teflon-coated fiberglass, 1/16" thick.

Then, there's that pesky turf everyone and their mom complains about.

Little did former Twins second baseman Luis Castillo know, he would have to get used to playing in the National League heat.

The new Mets middle infielder left Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs in the top of the eighth inning with heat exhaustion.

So Long, Luis... For Sure This Time

It's official.

The NL East-leading Mets have made the trade with the Twins, filling a gap up the middle with speedy second baseman Luis Castillo, who loves nothing more than to flash the leather and beat out infield hits.

The 31-year-old, three-time Gold Glover will be the peas to shortstop Jose Reyes' carrots. Castillo was batting .304 with 15 RBIs in Minnesota's the leadoff spot this season.

In return, the Twins gets big league offspring/catcher Drew Butera, who is to report to the AA New Britain Rock Cats, and outfielder Dustin Martin, who will land with the Class-A Fort Myers Miracle.

[Star Tribune]

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