The Trades

Everyone in town seems to be talking about KG heading to Boston this morning, and how much less familiar and popular the T-Wolves will be without him. Even Sweetcheeks has expressed his disappointment. But I'm far more bummed about the impending departure of Luis Castillo.

Castillo doesn't have Torii's charisma or Santana's raw talent or Mauer's local-cutie status, but I really like him. This is a guy that always looks like he's working really hard, particularly when making the dash to first. He's fun to watch at the plate, his stats are fully respectable and, as illustrated in today's local coverage, he's absolutely loved within the clubhouse.

In an article about the trade and a companion blog posting, Strib Twins reporter La Velle E. Neal II tells us that that "[Twins] players are upset to lose Castillo but measured their words carefully on the record" and that "Castillo's eyes watered up as he talked about not wanting to be traded." (Neal also questions the wisdom of trading Castillo for a catcher, given the number of catchers in the Twins system today). Joe Christensen describes how "Twins manager Ron Gardenhire spent several moments staring at his office ceiling, in obvious disappointment, while the Castillo trade was being finalized."

So while I certainly recognize that KG's move will have more impact on Minnesota sports, I'm sorry to see Mr. RunLikeHell go.