Just one day after the Luis Castillo Era began in Philadelphia, it appears that it already may be coming to an end. According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, Castillo was scratched from the lineup of today’s game due to a serious case of not-being-present-at-the-ballparkitus.
He had nine games to earn a spot on the Phillies' 25-man roster since signing a minor league contract yesterday.
It's down to eight, maybe seven…
Why?
Castillo is not in camp.
He apparently could not make the journey from Miami in time, despite reaching agreement with the Phillies on Sunday night.
It’s not a good start for the former Met, whose audition to earn a spot on the big club is all of the nine remaining spring games, as the Phillies had no plans to keep him in the minors once the season started. Either he impresses the brass in the next week and a half, or he goes back to being a free agent, where he can presumably wait for a call from Ed Wade.
Whatever the reason for his tardiness, it doesn’t bode well for Castillo, who is proceeded by rumblings of a bad clubhouse attitude and sketchy work ethic – something that Brian Schneider shot down yesterday in a piece by David Murphy of The Daily News.
Brian Schneider spoke in glowing terms about Castillo today. There's no doubt the second baseman suffered from an image problem during his time with the Mets. But Schneider said there was no image problem inside the clubhouse.
I just think it's New York," Schneider said of the issues fans had with Castillo. "He never disrespected anyone in the clubhouse. To me, he was a great teammate."
Schneider labelled Castillo as "quiet," but "a great guy."
I’m one to give a guy the benefit of the doubt, so I’m going to assume that the reason for Castillo’s tardiness has less to do with him not caring and more to do with his travel arrangements.
Regardless, a bad first impression can be a hard one to shake, and Castillo isn’t doing himself any favors by showing up late.
UPDATE: Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes tweeted that Castillo is on his way from Miami to Clearwater and will receive his physical and may participate in a minor league game. He also tweets that there was a mixup with the hotel accommodations last night, which lead to Castillo’s absence. Read into that what you will.
UPDATE, PART DEUX: David Murphy tweeted that Castillo is expected to be in Clearwater this afternoon, and that he should play in a game tomorrow.
