The Cubs yesterday once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as James Russell allowed three eighth inning runs to the Reds. But before the game, Starlin Castro had another sit-down chat with Dale Sveum. He’s probably starting to think that Sveum is resembling Mike Quade.
‘‘It went well,’’ Sveum said. ‘‘He was, I don’t know if ‘remorseful’ is the right word, but he knew he made a big mistake [on the basepaths in Friday’s 10-8 loss to the Reds].’’
The mistake came when Castro tried to steal second, lost sight of a single to right field by Josh Vitters and was thrown out at third in the sixth inning Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs trailed 8-3 at the time.
Sveum was visibly upset after the game but waited until Saturday to talk with Castro.
‘‘He talked to me about that play and that situation,’’ Castro said. ‘‘Down five runs, you have to be 100 percent sure if you’re going to steal, and you have to know where the ball is.’’
Does Sveum have special chats with every player when they make mistakes on the field?
‘‘I don’t treat him any different than anybody else,’’ Sveum said. ‘‘He just happens to be a big focal point because he’s our shortstop, and the shortstop is going to be here a long time.
‘‘The guy’s made leaps and bounds defensively and has done a good job as far as concentration most of the time. A lot of times, we — myself included, as well as the media — blow him up as much as anybody else. Some other people have made some pretty bad mistakes, too, but it doesn’t get blown up as much.”
Sveum is making less and less sense as the season goes on.
The Cubs will take the field today hoping to earn a split in their four game series with the Reds. Boo Radley (0-1, 15.75) will make his Wrigley Field debut today. His opponent is Johnny Cueto (14-6, 2.58). I don’t think we’ll be getting the series split, after all. Game time is 1:20 Central and you can watch on WGN. Today’s lineup:
DeJesus R
Barney 2B
Rizzo 1B
Soriano LF
Castro SS
Valbuena 3
Jackson CF
Clevenger C
Raley P
I had this strange urge to comment today. I can’t imagine why?
Was it something that you ate?
A heaping helping of guilt, mayhaps? I believe CJ used her “mom powers” on me, psychically guilting me into a return.
I’m still trying to get the live stream of the closing ceremonies set up on a computer. Live it will be 3 1/2 ; by tonight it will be down to 21/2 hours with commercials added…
Oh, and this whole Vitters thing is ticking me off. Why in the world would they continue to play the ever-slumping Valbuena? This season is lost, he has no value at all and is not part of any future Cub building process.
I’m not saying Vitters is light-years ahead, but he has much more to offer point than Valbuena. Even if it’s to showcase him for an off-season move, playing time is crucial at this point.
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/12661/cubs-to-increase-vitters-playing-time-soon
Ah. Here we go.
Although this makes me question the reasoning skills of the powers that be. Why do we ease a Vitters into the game and yet toss Jackson right into the fray(strikeouts and all)?
BTW, h/t to Rice Cube at OV.
maybe the cubs are willing to have Jackson struggle or Vitters struggle but not both?
Cy Raley
Not…
I was splitting my attention b/t the closing ceremonies and the game. I ended up watching the ceremony,and listening to the cubs lose…
Boo Radley is still in the rotation?
Stupid Cubs broke my kids’ hearts.
And so the next generation begins its descent into the madness that follows becoming a fan of the Cubs. They should lock you away for inflicting such cruelty upon your children.
The good thing about splitting my time between watching the closing cermonies online and watching the Cubs game, is that when one got too boring,stupid,or infuriating, I could watch the others.The downside, is that now I have “Spice up your life” running through my head. And, also that Eric Idle could probably field/play better than Soriano right now…