(previously the most inexcusable act committed by Luis Castillo since joining the New York Mets)
Prior to beating the Washington Nationals, 4-1 last night in Dillon Gee’s auspicious major league debut, most of the Mets made their 4th annual visit to Walter Reed Hospital where the squad, along with Jeff Wilpon, met with wounded U.S. military personnel. Mets announcers Howie Rose and Wayne Hagin spoke with great emotion about the trip, Hagin in particular, declaring he’d love to go into a foxhole with one of the injured solidiers (there’s some Mets fans who’d love to see that career change take place). However, it’s not all patriotism and good vibes in the Mets clubhouse, as the New York Daily News’ Anthony McCarron reports Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo (above) and Carlos Beltran were all no-shows for the hospital stopover.
The event perhaps also offered perspective on the Mets’ relationship with the three most prominent players who skipped the non-mandatory event – Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. All three have had issues with the Mets recently.
Still, David Wright was disappointed that everyone didn’t go. “You’d like to see everybody. I don’t think it’s big enough until you get everybody
“But we made a good showing and I think it meant a lot for those guys and it meant a lot for us. It’s amazing to see how dedicated they are to this country. It makes your chest swell.”
McCarron seemingly characterizes the players’ absence as some sort of passive-aggressive protest against management. It would be wonderful to get their side of it and it does seem like a paper with the Daily News’ resources could’ve at the very least solicited their thoughts on the matter. There are few Mets fans who’d sympathize with Perez or Castillo under almost any circumstances, but whatever their offenses between the lines, it’s curious why the Mets P.R. department would relish hanging them out to dry like this. I mean, when exactly did Ollie Perez become an anti-American jackal, before or after he forgot how to throw strikes?