There's a bunch of comments in there I'd like to echo. DK is right about so many things. I tend to get criticism for being too upbeat or optimistic about the team. So if I can pass off some of my articles of Bucco belief onto DK, then maybe I can shore up the old credibility with the hard-boiled skeptics of the online community.
1. First, Jose Castillo has a ton of upside. Any evaluation of his 2004 season has to consider the context that he was brought up for his defense. And, the team used the season as a developmental year for him at the plate. They messed with his stance and made him, for example, stand on his head for the first pitch, stuff that he found uncomfortable. The numbers don't tell the whole story. He was not brought up with the idea that he was more or less ready at the plate.
I wouldn't be surprised if Castillo's 2005 season at the plate is much like his 2004 season. As I've said before, I see him as on the Jack Wilson career path. Jack floundered for two years before he broke out. There's no doubt, though, that he has a lot of potential. A 2005 breakout like Jack Wilson's 2004 breakout would not completely surprise me. If he doesn't leap forward this year, then I think, if he makes it through 2005 without doing, say, a Warren Morris impersonation, then he'll surely leap forward in 2006.
2. Freddy Sanchez is not All That. Here is what I wrote about him last April. Hurry up and trade him while he has some value as a prospect, I say.
3. The Aramis Ramirez trade is not something to pin on the current GM, and it's ancient history so far as the current management is concerned. Evaluations of whether or not the Pirates are on the right track should address more recent moves. The Pat Meares, Kevin Young, and Derek Bell signings are also pretty irrelevant.
More later, maybe ... little Rowdy Jr. just woke up and he has something to tell me in gibbers and squeaks.
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