This is a tough one to address. The prevailing thought of my fellow Met fans was to eat the balance of Luis Castillo’s contract and sign Orlando Hudson, which is now a moot point. The matter of eating $12 million dollars I have a problem getting past.

If you recall Boston had set the market for middle infielders in the ’06-’07 off-season. Julio Lugo signed a 4 year, $36 million deal with a vesting option for an additional $9 million making the contract a possible 5 year, $45 million deal. That was craziness.

“IF” Omar Minaya had been patient, as he has been the past two off-seasons, Castillo would not have received a four year, $24 million dollar deal. The unfortunate truth is that market value for average type players was just starting to drop in the ‘07-‘08 off-season, after Castillo signed.

Omar signed Castillo relatively early that off season. Shortly after, it was apparent that Minaya could have played the waiting game and Castillo could have been resigned for less money and years. The Mets made a similar offer — as Castillo’s deal — to David Eckstein early in the ’07-’08 off-season. Eckstein declined that offer which turned out to be a bad decision on his part, as he’s made a third of what the Mets offered in total since.

What I’m trying to point out is that, in my opinion, the disdain for Luis Castillo among Met fans derives from his contract, not his value as a player.

Castillo is not the best 2nd baseman in baseball, but he’s far from the worst. In 2009 Castillo hit .302 with an OBP of .387, second in the NL among 2nd basemen only to Chase Utley. His offense was better in 2009 and in spite of “The Drop,” his defense was better as well. The Mets could do far worse at the position.

From an offensive perspective, I personally think Castillo has been misused by Jerry Manuel. Some would suggest moving Castillo to the 8th spot. This is a waste of his abilities. Here’s a radical suggestion — move Castillo to the lead-off spot.

“IF” Castillo and Jose Reyes are swapped in the batting order, two things can happen; 1) Castillo can use his best offensive assets, speed and OBP, and 2) Jose Reyes will have the opportunity to drive in more runs per year since Castillo will be on base ahead of him 37% of the time, when their in the line-up together.

Right now when Reyes leads off an inning, “IF” he doesn’t steal, or at least, get to 2nd base by some means it will most likely take two hits to score him from 1st because Castillo lacks any significant power. “IF” they’re swapped in the order, Castillo will get on base as his career OBP of .377 would suggest and being a threat to steal, Reyes would see more fastballs giving Jose more opportunity to drive the ball. Castillo has enough speed to go 1st to 3rd on a single and Reyes can still steal 2nd base when he chooses to. “IF” Jose shoots the gap or pulls a ball down the line Castillo has enough speed to score from 1st. The entire batting order gets better.

Luis Castillo will be fine as the Mets 2nd baseman in 2010. Remember he has twice as many World Series rings as any other player on this current Mets roster. He’s a veteran that knows how to win, “IF” he’s used properly.

Note: Thanks to Dan Lappin for his contribution to this article.

This post was submitted by Pete Lappin.

The fifth starter job should be Nelson Figueroa’s to lose, and he should have a lot of rope before he has it taken away, considering how poorly the Mets have treated him in the past.

Yesterday, Figueroa tossed a gem. One run, three hits over nine, while striking out eight, leading the Dominican Republic in a win over Puerto Rico. Figgy had a 4.19 ERA in 10 starts last season, with an ERA of 3.33 in his last four starts, as Matthew Cerrone points out. Those numbers are at least good enough for the last slot in the Mets rotation, and considering how little the Mets know about what John Maine and Oliver Perez will deliver after so long on the shelf, Figueroa happens to be more reliable than either of them.

The Mets should allow Fernando Nieve and Jon Niese to compete, but given the opportunity I think Nelson will prove to be the right man for the job.

Nelson and his family were incredibly despondent when his career with the Mets seem to be ending last season, after the team designated him for assignment. A hometown kid, Coney Island native, Nelson has close ties to the area and has expressed a fondness for playing with the Mets. When he made his Mets debut, Billy Wagner offered up his suite which was filled with friends and family of Nelson’s who could not have been more excited to watch Figgy donning the blue and orange and taking the mound for the Mets.

It’s time to give Figgy a chance to prove he can be the anchor in this Mets rotation.

Fans demand change. They’re not going to sit back and allow the team to continue along a path they don’t feel excited getting behind. These are our demands. If our demands are not met, we will exercise our right not to spend money on a team that doesn’t care what we have to say. We don’t want excuses, we don’t want empty promises, we want our demands to be met.

This is our manifesto.

1) Draft players over slot in the draft like every other Major League team. Build the core of the team with home grown talent. Reyes, Wright and Pelfrey are a great start, but they are getting older and the team lacks a strong young core to replace them as well as fill other holes, especially in the starting rotation.

2) Strict separation of ownership and management. Ownership is too involved in the day to day operations of the team and the acquisition of players, to the team’s detriment. Set a budget and step out of the picture unless the GM asks for additional budget.

3) Start a Fan Committee to oversee non-player personnel acquisition related decisions and allow the people who keep the team in business to have a voice in the process. We don’t need fans cluttering up the process of what players the team needs to acquire, we do want to feel that the right people are making these decisions. The Fan Committee would be responsible for things such as stadium accessories, food, special events like old timers day, who fans would like to see, who should be in the Mets Hall of Fame, and what numbers to retire.

4) Clean house in the marketing and public relations departments. Hire smart, creative people who the Fan Committee feels puts the team in the best public light. This is in your best interest and helps you. This will improve your public perception ten-fold.

5) Hire someone to oversee the medical management process and have full responsibility to make sure it is smoothly followed. The problem with your medical issues are not with Dr. Altchek and the Hospital for Special Surgery. The problem is with your team medical process and your breakdown of communication between trainers, medical management and players.

Fans: Please sign this manifesto with your comments below, and add anything you think should be included. This will be passed along to the team once we feel we have covered all our issues with the current direction of the team.