If for some reason you haven’t been watching the Cubs much this week then you may have missed the news that Starlin Castro was brought up from double A ball to play on the Cubs starting roster. A story that should pretty much tell you everything you need to know about how well the Cubs are playing this year.
Castro has been the Cub’s, and one of the MLB’s, top prospects this year as he has been working his way through the minor league system with great speed. He has been the shining star for the Cubs system and rumors of his great defensive ability and batting average, which was 3.80 is double a, have been getting Cubs fans excited to see him make his way to Wrigley. Add that to the way the Cubs offense has been struggling and it was really no surprise to anyone when the Cubs made the call to bring up, even without playing a game in triple A.
I guess you could describe that at the wait in line for the roller coaster that Castro was about to get on.
Then he boarded the coaster and came out with a bang setting a record by scoring 6 runs in his debut for the Cubs. In his first at bat as a Major Leaguer he hit a high fast ball for 3 runs that landed just over the wall in right. Later in the game he hit a triple to left center that scored 3 more. Leaving the game with a .500 batting average and looking like the “savior” Cubs fans were looking for.
But after the first game Castro hit the peak of that ascent and starting looking down at the valley. His play leveled out he was able to gather up 2 more hits and 2 more walks and found his batting average after a few games a pretty nice 2.86 which is what I expect out of a rookie that has been in the majors for a week.
Then he came home to Wrigley and the shit hit the fan. In Castro’s home debut he found how deep that valley actually goes. After 3 fielding errors, technically 4 if you want to count the misplayed ball and then forgetting to pick it up as 2 errors which you should, Castro got his first look at what it feels like to play baseball in Chicago. Cubs fans sent him back to the clubhouse that evening with plenty of boos for him and his teammates.
I personally feel the boos are a little harsh. Ramirez and Lee deserve more boos than Castro. The kid is 20 and still in his first week in the majors. I can only hope now that he has experienced the highs and lows of the game within his first week things will start to level out for him and he will fit nicely into the lineup batting around .300 and producing in the field. Good Luck Starlin!
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Booing Castro is ridiculous, but that just shows you how fed up cubs fan are at this point. Ramirez and Lee are the problem. If you have to boo someone, boo these two loads. Lou is going to have to think about sitting Ramirez for sure and maybe Lee. Baker and Nady may hit better then they are now if given the chance. I see Lou losing it with an umpire pretty soon if things don’t change.
Castro earned those boos. Did he deserve them in his first ever start at Wrigley? Probably not, but don’t ever expect your fans to go easy on you.
Lou is out of his mind and out of sorts. He hasn’t blown up on anyone in a good long time. I think he has lost his knack for this game.
But like Bobby K. said in an earlier comment on another post I don’t blame him for the play of his players. I just blame him for not sitting people and making bad decisions.