Miami Unsound Machine: Carlos Zambrano Is A Marlin

The Miami Marlins are at it again.  Earlier today, the Marlins traded starting pitcher Chris Volstad to the Chicago Cubs for the human geyser, Carlos Zambrano.  Zambrano will etch his name on the long list of new players who will be calling South Beach home until the Marlins conduct their latest fire sale.

Chicago will eat $15.5 million of Zambrano's salary in 2012, leaving the Marlins to foot the bill for the remaining $2.5 million.  The Marlins needed the Cubs to take on most of his salary so they can use the savings to make repairs to all parts of their new stadium that Zambrano will eventually destroy after his first meltdown.

At first glance, it appears to be a good deal for the Marlins.  They were able to unload Chris Volstad, who was 5-13 for the team formerly known as Florida in 2011.  It was a disappointing season for Volstad, especially on the heels of a 12-9 season in 2010.  The 25-year-old has been in the major leagues since 2008 but has never pitched more than 175 innings in a season.  The same cannot be said for Zambrano.

Carlos Zambrano has had a winning record in each of the last nine seasons, going 120-71 (.628 winning percentage) since 2003.  Over those nine seasons, El Toro has averaged 190 innings pitched per year, surpassing 200 innings five times.  In 2011, Zambrano only pitched 145.2 innings, but that was mostly due to the fact that the Cubs suspended him for the final month of the season.

So why will this deal fall apart for Miami?  Because Carlos Zambrano makes Dennis Rodman look sane.

Other than fellow new acquisition Mark Buehrle, most of the Marlins' pitching staff is young and easily impressionable.  Is Carlos Zambrano going to be a mentor or just mental to them?  Do the Marlins have a long reliever for the games in which Zambrano loses his control on the mound (Big Z has led the league in walks twice and hit batsmen once) and then loses his control in the dugout (he famously confronted several of his teammates there in 2010)?

Also, who's going to replace Jose Reyes in the lineup when Zambrano blindly throws a Gatorade cooler in a fit of anger and hits the former Met in his fragile hamstrings?  Zambrano may be good friends with his new manager (fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen), but can the Marlins handle making excuses for both of them when they lose their cool?

 Carlos Zambrano shows off his best smile for the camera.

Theo Epstein made a great deal today for the Cubs, ridding the team of its clubhouse cancer by finding the one club who was willing to take him off their hands.  The Marlins are signing and trading for anyone with a pulse right now and when Zambrano gets steamed, no one has a higher pulse rate.

Perhaps Zambrano will be a perfect fit in Miami (doubt it).  Perhaps this deal will even help the Mets in the long run.  After all, Volstad is now out of the NL East after posting a 3.35 ERA in eight career starts against the Mets, while having an ERA over 4.00 against every other team he's made a minimum of five starts against.

Miami already has volatile weather practically every afternoon during the summer.  Now they'll be experiencing a different kind of storm every fifth day when Carlos Zambrano takes the mound.  Hide your kids, hide your $106 million shortstop, because Carlos Zambrano is taking out everybody who gets in his way.  Let the countdown begin to his first Miami meltdown.

Joey's Soapbox: Luis Castillo Says "Get Me Out Of Here!"

Welcome to the latest edition of Joey's Soapbox. I'm your host, Joey Beartran. In today's rant, I will discuss our spoiled little second baseman, Luis Castillo. Why is he spoiled? Because yesterday, he revealed to the world that he no longer wants to be in New York.

Back in 2007, the Mets were desperate for some stability at second base after using the likes of Jose Valentin, Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay at the position. Therefore, in a move made at the trade deadline, the Mets sent Dustin Martin and Drew Butera to the Twins for Luis Castillo. In 50 games following the trade, Castillo hit .296, scoring 37 runs and stealing 10 bases. The Mets got what they expected from Castillo. In those 50 games, he gave them stability, a nice batting average, run-scoring ability and some stolen bases.

However, look at who the Twins accepted for him in the deal. Two no-names with limited futures in Martin (who dat?) and Butera (do I know you?). Three years later, Martin has still not played in the major leagues and Butera finally got called up this year for a 96 at-bat tryout in which he hit .208 for the Twins. Doesn't it look like the Twins knew Castillo was already past his prime and was not worth re-signing when he became a free agent at the end of the '07 season? If they thought he was truly valuable, wouldn't they have asked for more than "Who Dat?" and "Do I Know You?"?

Obviously, the Mets were satisfied with Castillo's performance in those 50 games with the team. Not liking any of the other free agent second basemen, they signed Castillo to a four-year, $25 million contract to be Jose Reyes' double play partner until 2011. At the time, Castillo was already 32 years old. Did the Mets really think Mr. Gimpy would play four full seasons for the team and be productive each year?

In the three years prior to signing what should be his last multi-year deal, Castillo hit .299, and averaged 82 runs and 18 stolen bases per season. Those numbers were good, but were a far cry from his numbers with the Marlins, when he hit .300 or better on four occasions, scored 90 or more runs thrice and stole at least 48 bases three times, including 2000 and 2002, when he led the league in steals both times.

It should have been clear to the Mets that they were getting a player on the downside of his career, but good ol' Mr. Minaya felt that Castillo was worthy of a contract that was as long as a presidential term.

So what have the Mets gotten in return for their investment? In 292 games with the Mets under his new contract, Castillo has hit .272 (well below his .291 career average) and has only scored 143 runs, while stealing 44 bases. The man who was supposed to be a tablesetter for the Mets, along with Jose Reyes, has averaged less than 50 runs scored per season since he joined the team and is stealing as many bases as Jason Bay. He is nothing more than a station-to-station player now, who rarely collects extra-base hits (only four doubles and two triples this season in 200 at-bats.

How much do the Mets dislike using Castillo now? They'd rather give the second base position to Ruben Tejada, who would lose a batting title to Bob Uecker and Mario Mendoza right now with his .180 batting average. Yes, Harry Doyle himself can out-hit the Mets' second basemen.

Now we have the news that Castillo wants out of New York. He's even trying to make it look like he has something to contribute to this team. Let's look at some of his quotes on the subject.

"I came here to be an everyday player and I know it's been hard with the injuries I've had, but I feel good now and thought I was playing well. I've been playing for 14 years and I've never gone through anything like this."

Never gone through anything like that? In his 12 full seasons in the majors, Castillo has missed at least 20 games in eight of them. He has been hurt more times than Oliver Perez has recorded a three-pitch strikeout. Also, after batting a career-high .334 in 2000, he dipped to .263 in 2001, striking out a career-high 90 times in the process. He's never gone through that before? Think again, Luis. You have. More than once.

"If they think that (Tejada's) the best player, that's OK. I just don't want to be a backup when I've been playing every day for my whole career."

Again, how does a man who's missed a total of 361 games over the past 11+ seasons (averaging a little over 30 games missed per season over that span) consider himself an everyday player? Having Luis Castillo on the team means you're going to need a capable backup who's going to end up playing for a least a month's worth of games every year. Perhaps Luis Castillo needs to go on the disabled list for his memory loss.

"I can't be here anymore. I know I'm not going to be here next year."

Considering Luis Castillo's track record with saying things that just aren't true, I wish he wouldn't have uttered the above quote. Does that mean we're going to have to stick it out for another year of an occasional single here and there, more whining and an eventual trip or three to the disabled list?

Castillo is so unwanted that the Cubs didn't want to trade clubhouse cancer Carlos Zambrano to the Mets for Oliver Perez and Castillo. It wasn't because the Mets were throwing in El Perez-idente. It was because Castillo was included in the deal.

So Luis Castillo wants out of New York. The feeling is mutual, my non-friend. Somehow you convinced the Mets that you were the best available second baseman on the market following the 2007 season. Now you're trying to convince them that you can still play every day. I think it's time to update your passport picture because you certainly won't be playing in the major leagues after your contract expires next year. Perhaps a team in the Far East will take you. Maybe Guam has open tryouts.

One thing is for sure. You've worn out your welcome in New York, a welcome I don't recall ever giving you to begin with. You "endeared" yourself to Mets fans with your one-armed bandit routine when you dropped the pop-up last year at Yankee Stadium. Now try to hit the jackpot again after your contract expires. Go ahead, I triple dog dare you!

Jason Bay: Rich Man, Poor Numbers

When Jason Bay signed his four-year, $66 million contract to play left field for the Mets, it was believed that he would provide the booming bat needed by the Mets that was sorely missed last season. After all, Daniel Murphy led the team with a measly 12 HR, while Bay hit three times that amount with the Boston Red Sox.

The Mets have now played one full month of baseball. After their first 28 games, Jason Bay is hitting a pedestrian .238, with one home run and nine RBI.

To put that into perspective, those are the numbers expected of Carlos Zambrano at the plate, not the Mets' everyday leftfielder. He has also whiffed at an alarming rate, racking up 33 strikeouts over those 28 games.

While I was one of those fans who was elated when the Mets signed him, I've been doing a little research on our latest cleanup hitter. The Mets deemed it necessary to give Bay a four-year deal worth $66 million after a season in which he hit .267, with a career-high 36 HR and 119 RBI (He also struck out 162 times). After all, they needed a power hitting outfielder and Bay fit that description.

So I was going through my blogger's bible - also known as baseball-reference.com - and came across the numbers of a certain Richmond Lockwood Sexson (Richie Sexson to you and me). Over his 12-year major league career, the Paul Bunyan body double averaged .261, with 36 HR and 112 RBI. He also averaged 156 strikeouts per full season.

This means the Mets gave Jason Bay $66 million after his "great" season which resembled a typical Richie Sexson season. When Sexson signed his final contract prior to the 2005 season, he was given a four-year deal by the Seattle Mariners worth $50 million. Sexson had already had two seasons in which he hit 45 HR and had also driven in 120+ runs twice, power numbers that Jason Bay has not yet reached.

People who remember Richie Sexson thought he was an all-or-nothing type hitter; either he would hit a home run or he would strike out. Well, the hulking slugger struck out at least 120 times in a season six times over his 12-year career. Jason Bay has played six full seasons in the major leagues. He has struck out at least 120 times in all six of those seasons. With his 33 strikeouts over the first month of this season, Bay appears to be well on his way to his seventh consecutive season of 120+ strikeouts.

To make matters worse, Bay is more strikeout-prone when the Mets have men on base. So far this season, Bay has 52 at-bats with men on base. He has struck out an alarming 21 times in those situations. It's no wonder with those lofty strikeout totals that Bay is only hitting .194 with runners in scoring position.

Back in December, I wrote a piece on Mets Merized Online about Jason Bay reminding me of Kevin McReynolds. After the first month of the season, Bay is now resembling Richie Sexson - a poor man's Richie Sexson at that. Too bad the Mets made him a rich man for that type of performance.