What's on Second?

By Stefi Kaplan
Posted Monday, October 15, 2007

Second base has never been a particularly strong position for the New York Mets. In fact, at least over the course of the Willie era, the position has been mostly a revolving door of injuries and failure. Actually, it has pretty much been that way for a long time. I sure wish Willie could get out there and cover second base, but alas, we will have to work with currently active players.

In typical Mets fashion, the Mets have actually had a wealth of talent at second base over the past few years. And in typical Mets fashion, those players have either under-performed or sustained serious injuries.

There was the 2005 tandem of Kaz Matsui and Miguel Cairo – enough said.

There was the 2006 mid-season dump of Kaz’s salary and the exciting emergence of Jose Valentin. Things were looking up at second base for the first time in years.

Then there was the 2007 mid-season injury to Jose Valentin and the 2007 mid-season injury to backup Damion Easley. The Mets traded at the deadline for Luis Castillo, who appeared to be the perfect solution at second base. And things were looking up yet again at second base for a brief period of time.

But you know what they say: fool me once, shame on you. But fool me twice...

In other words, given the Mets’ extraordinary history of injured/unimpressive performance at second base, do we really feel comfortable counting on Luis Castillo to stay healthy next year? If there’s one thing this franchise has learned over the years, it is that consistent production at 2B is hard to come by, even if you acquire one of the “greatest second basemen” out there. And the “greatest second baseman” is not a free agent this year, so Omar will really have to think outside the box if he is to pull off something special at second base this offseason. In reality, almost every free agent at 2B was a Met at some point and generally not the kind I’d like to see in Blue and Orange next year. Although that Japanese guy on the Rockies doesn’t look so bad...but I digress.

As unfortunate as his situation is, the Mets simply cant resign Jose Valentin. I’ll always remember his valuable contributions to the team and I think he was a huge part of what made 2006 so special, but given his inability to pinch hit and his serious season-ending injury, I can’t see them factoring him in as a starter next season. Sure, they could invite him to spring training, but it seems that the best approach is to part ways at this point and wish him the best.

In contrast to Jose, Damion Easley seems to be the kind of player, like Marlon Anderson, who thrives off the bench. And considering the Mets’ track record at the doomed position of 2B, I don’t think you can ever have enough backup second basemen. If Easley is healthy come spring training, I’d welcome him back in a second (provided he didn’t demand ridiculous money).

But that still leaves open the question of who will start at 2B next year. In my opinion, Luis Castillo demonstrated a lot of the positive qualities that Stache brought in 2006 at that position: grit, heart, hustle, determination and leadership. Castillo played some sparkling defense at 2B the last few months of 2007 and he slotted in as the ideal #2 over that period as well. Is he a gamble, with his barking knees? Yeah, I suppose he is. But the guy is more similar to a Paul Lo Duca type of injured player than a Moises Alou. He runs out everything and only really worries about the pain when time is called. Luis gives 100%, even if he feels around 60%. He’ll write himself into the lineup every day if the team needs him. Say what you want about needing to get younger, but it seems to me Luis is the ideal kind of veteran this team can succeed with. I’d sign him in a second, especially considering the other options out there.

Speaking of younger, there are two young guys who have been there to fill in during all these injuries and shortcomings over the last few years: Anderson Hernandez and Ruben Gotay. If we could morph these two into one player, we’d have our solution at second for years to come.

Anderson is an excellent defensive second baseman who just cant hit major-league pitching. Ruben is a pretty good offensive second baseman whose defense leaves something to be desired. But as much as I really like these guys, I’m not convinced either offers the solution to the starting second baseman conundrum. Sure, Anderson hit really well in AAA this year, batting around .300 all year after a slow start. But that doesn’t mean he can hit in the majors. Sure, Ruben’s defense seemed to get better as the year progressed. But his hitting also tapered at the same time and I’m not sure we can expect him to duplicate his offensive production from 2007.

So, keep them both around and see what improvements they can make during the offseason. But I’m not comfortable slotting either player into the starting 2B position next year. I say unless Omar can pull magic out of his hat in the form of a young, above average offensive and defensive second baseman this winter, I say sign Luis Castillo and focus on the pitching.

Oh and for the love of baseball, sign Marlon Anderson. Give him Beltran money if you have to, just lock him up. Yesterday.