32-year old switch hitting Luis Castillo was re-signed to start at 2B for the Mets again this season. He played in 135 games last season for the Twins & Mets and he was 165 for 548 (.301 avg, .721 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 1 homer, 38 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Castillo has lost some range in the field but he still only made 5 errors in 135 games at 2B last season. Look for Castillo to have another solid season in 2008 for the Mets.

25-year old switch hitting Ruben Gotay had the best season of his major league career in 2007. He played in 98 games for the Mets last season and he was 56 for 190 (.295 avg, .772 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Gotay also doesn’t have much range and he made 3 errors in 37 games at 2B.

38-year old righty swinging Damion Easley will also get some time at 2B for the Mets. He played in 76 games last season for the Mets and he was 54 for 193 (.280 avg, .824 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 10 homers and 26 RBIs. Easley made 4 errors in 39 games at 2B for the Mets last season but he still has outstanding range there. Look for Easley to be a secret weapon off the bench again for the Mets in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B-

[youtube]uHShragaUag[/youtube]

I was so excited when I saw Oliver Perez’s first start of the season. I took a chance on him and took him really late in my draft, hoping to see the Oliver Perez of a few years ago. I had high hopes for him after he pitched 7 strong innings in his first start without walking anyone. But much to my horror, I saw the old Oliver Perez this week (minus the gopher balls). Why won’t he throw strikes? He gave up three runs and only gave up one hit in the darn game! 7 BB and a hit-by-pitch, including 2 of those walks and the HBP with the bases loaded! Unbelievable!