Dvorchak on Jose Castillo

Bob Dvorchak has a great essay today on Jose Castillo. Go read it. Mac is a big fan of Castillo, and I like the skepticism that comes with his support:

"I wouldn't give him the rookie of the year just yet," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He's doing OK. We just need to let him play."

Dvorchak also reports that bench coach Pete Mackanin managed Castillo at Class A Lynchburg. Promoting minor-league coaches with the players they coach strikes me as a very good way to smooth and accelerate player development. Knowing that they will be promoted if they can help develop players worth promoting should also provide a lot of incentive for the best and brightest young coaches to sign on with the Pirates' minor-league system.