Friday, March 23, 2007

Jose Castillo will be demoted to AAA ?

Bones, enduring the tin-can-on-a-string audio quality of the Yankees-Pirates MLB.com webcast, reports in the comments that the Post-Gazette's Paul Meyer just told the broadcast booth that Jose Castillo looks destined for AAA.

Paul Meyer on now and just dropped the bomb that he's convinced based upon Tracy's pregame comments that Castillo will be sent down to Indy. "As of today, we're done with Jose Castillo" agrees Wehner.

If Jose Castillo is demoted to work on his Manny-like defensive work, this would open a roster spot for Jose Hernandez or darkhorse utility candidate Don Kelly.

Don Kelly is from Mt. Lebanon. There has been talk in the broadcasts earlier in the week about the Pirates' current interest in acquiring and playing local boys. I have been thinking about this, and it makes a ton of sense. Who else cares enough to put forth the effort required to turn this team around? Regional pride might give some of these players the motivational edge. Why else would anyone work so hard to achieve what looks like such a long-shot goal?

Clearly not all the players are equally eager to win ballgames. Anyone who has watched this team for the last five years can see that.

The desire to make more money might be proposed as sufficient motivation for players to excel as a Pirate, but I don't believe that all the players feel this. Even at the major-league minimum, they are making a lot of money. And this is especially the case if they take it out of the country to spend it. (And if fans do not understand why so many players do not appear to share their impatience with ownership and management, they need only consider that most of these players are being paid very well. Bob Nutting would be one of my favorite people on the planet if he signed my enormous paycheck. I mean no disrespect to the players with this comment; I'm sure they would agree that opening the pay envelope never gets old for them.)

Don Kelly, if he makes the team, would be a #8 hitter for sure.

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