How do you solve a problem like Castillo?

Jose Castillo, the Pirates' all-time leader in hypothetical home runs, has been in the starting lineup the past week, first as a replacement for slumping shortstop Jack Wilson and then for ailing second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

I liked the idea of playing Castillo, and said so in last week's column.

The 4-2 homestand against a couple of foundering American League teams indicates the change worked, but Castillo's re-emergence also set off unrealistic expectations. Castillo might have been baseball's worst regular second baseman last year, yet one person e-mailed to say Castillo could hit 40 home runs each season (a nice upgrade for a guy with 33 in his first 1,357 career at-bats and none in 216 AB since Aug. 14). Another wanted to move Freddy Sanchez back to third base so Castillo could play second, figuring Jose Bautista could play shortstop (where he has no big-league experience).

Those comments came before the weekend series in which Castillo went 1 for 11 and Wilson 5 for 11, with Wilson making plays that reminded fans his glove should not be tossed aside lightly. That should add some perspective, but the fans' frustration with the status quo is understandable. There are four infielders for three positions, and only Bautista has been a complete player.

The best defensive infield probably has Castillo at second, Wilson at short and Sanchez or Bautista at third. That has a chance to be a very good defensive infield. The infield that comes with the most hitting has Sanchez at second or short, Bautista at third and Castillo or Wilson at the remaining spot. That has a chance to be one lousy defensive infield.

There might be a way to start each player roughly three-quarters of the time that would keep everyone fresh and trade value high. Before I make that case, let's look at the hitting or lack thereof.

Wilson has outhit Castillo so far this year, and nipped him last year, too. But let's take a longer look, starting with 2005, so Wilson's career year of '04 is eliminated. Let's see how these infielders have hit through 2 1/2 seasons of regular and semi-regular play. As always, we'll look at batting average, on-base average and slugging average (total bases divided by at bats) and rank players by OPS (on-base plus slugging)

The current average OPS in the National League for second basemen, third basemen and shortstops runs .744, .779 and .740. Castillo and Wilson obviously have to bring great leather to earn their keep.

I was in the stands Friday night when Wilson made a diving stop in the grass and came up throwing, impossibly nailing the runner at first. Castillo wouldn't have gotten to that ball. Likewise, when Castillo went to his left to get a grounder, turned quickly and fired to Wilson, who turned the double play, Castillo made a play Sanchez could not. They helped save a win for Paul Maholm. Good defense helped keep Zach Duke in the game Sunday, too. These ball-in-play pitchers need the best defense available, but the Pirates are desperate for runs. What trade-offs might be made?

All four of these guys are right-handed hitters, so there are no obvious platoons, but there could be ways to maximize the defensive strengths without hurting the offense if everyone got a game or two off each week. Wilson's recent play shows a few days off can do a player good.

On the days Bautista sits, Sanchez should play third, where he excelled last year. Castillo can play second and also on the days Sanchez sits.

On the days Castillo sits, Sanchez can return to second base. The days Ian Snell pitches might be a good time, as Snell is more a strikeout and fly ball pitcher.

Or you could sit Wilson those days and have Sanchez play short. It seems unlikely he'd have the range but, for whatever reason, Sanchez has been a better shortstop than second baseman in his short career.

Another option would be playing all four guys, with Bautista in center field on days the Pirates face a left-hander. Chris Duffy has hit well in recent weeks, but still doesn't hit left-handers, .211/.262/.351 in 62 ABs this year. Bautista is no Duffy but was an adequate center fielder last year in about 50 games, and all the infielders would then play at their best positions.

The downside of that move would be taking Bautista out of his comfort zone. Despite recent errors, Bautista has been an above average third baseman and wonderful leadoff hitter. He has the best OPS of any NL leadoff hitter with at least 100 plate appearances in that spot, hitting .330/.408/.571 and scoring 20 runs in 22 games. Bautista was solid leading off last year, too, hitting .266/.360/.462 and scoring 32 runs in 45 games.

The schedule has been kind to the Pirates thus far, but now they begin a six-game swing through Seattle and Anaheim, still looking to take their first series from a winning team. That's unlikely without consistent defense up the middle and more hitting from the infielders. Getting both remains the tricky part.