Now that all the excitement from the MLB Draft (and it was exciting until about the third pick, then I got bored) is behind us, it’s time to return to the soul-sucking daily slog that is Chicago Cubs baseball. But remember Kids, one day this team is going to go all the way, and you’ll be able to say you were there during the lean years! Amirite?

It’s gonna be okay, Little Buddy.

If you need a little pick me up from having that to look forward to, Brian Davis is over at Yahoo! wondering if Starlin Castro is really all he’s cracked up to be. Given that he was drafted and reared up during the old regime, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance he’s not.

I know, I know, worrying about Starlin Castroat this point is the equivalent of parachuting out of a plane because of a little bit of turbulence. It’s too early, it’s too quick, and it’s an overreaction. But what if Starlin Castro isn’t the future superstar we all thought he was?

(queue creepy organ music)

A Game of Numbers

It’s a terrible thought for a team in the heart of rebuilding that one of their core pieces might not be as advertised. Castro’s lacking performance thus far in 2013 is disconcerting. The man who has been lauded as someone who can hit .300 every year is batting .243 (a miserable .208 against left-handed pitching). We’re only 60 games in, but if we look a little deeper the concerns don’t lessen, they grow.

Cubs fans have become resigned to the fact that Castro doesn’t walk much since he has such an amazing ability to make contact (which he does). The problem is that when he doesn’t hit, you end up with things like an on-base percentage of .283 –which is what he is currently sporting here in 2013. He’s also so good at making contact that he often makes contact with terrible pitches that are almost impossible to hit with any kind of authority.

Castro hit .277 in April, .252 in May, and .042 so far in June. In 2012, he followed a similar pattern: .333 in April, .304 in May, and .264 in June. The only anomaly in his pattern is his average recovering in September (.311), but that can possibly be explained by the expansion of the rosters and consequently hitting against lesser pitchers. It also could be because the Cubs were long out of the playoff running and care-free baseball was the name of the game. Either way, Castro has shown a history of struggling down the stretch, not improving.

The silver lining to all this? Maybe we don’t have to worry about Castro and Baez battling it out over SS!

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Game Thread: The Reds are back just in time to pile on Starlin”

Yesterday’s news that Matt Garza will start the season on the disabled list allowed the Chicago Cubs to announce that Jeff Samardzija will be the opening day starter. We know that Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman and Travis Wood are likely to be the next three parts of the rotation, but who fills in the fifth spot until either Scott Baker or Garza are ready to go? You know who’s not worried about that question? Spellcheck.

“We feel like we got a good core of dudes here in the starting rotation that all have each other’s back,” Samardzija said. “We just want everybody healthy and ready to go. We know if we can string start after start with all of us healthy pitching, we’re going to be a formidable starting rotation.”

A good core of dudes is fine, Jeff, but what happens when a rusty part gets attached to it? It looks like Carlos Villanueva is next in line, but what happens if another starter goes down?

Cubs executives talk about needing nine or 10 starters to get through a 162-game season. Brooks Raley and Chris Rusin could provide depth at the back end. Sveum identified Drew Carpenter – a 27-year-old non-roster player who has made one career start in the big leagues – as next in line as a possible No. 6 starter.

Remember Boo Radley? Remember how we couldn’t tell him or Chris Rusin apart? I’d say remember Drew Carpenter, but I don’t think anyone, anywhere remembers him. And don’t forget, Casey Coleman is lurking somewhere in camp.

» Continue reading “Cubs Tuesday Headlines: Who’s In The Rotation?”

Yesterday afternoon, I sat at my desk working, trying to keep up with the Chicago Cubs game via Gameday (which had for some reason decided to become completely illegible after the second inning), and Twitter. That’s when I glance up and see this:

This peaked my interest a bit, but Tim is prone to hyperbole as well as bad language, and he could just as well have spilled coffee on himself as been talking about something related to the game. Then came this:

When I came to a few minutes later, I was able to figure out that Starlin Castro had pulled up lame trying to leg out a grounder and was removed from the game for “tightness” in his hamstring as a “precautionary measure.” I tried really hard not to remember that, when Mark Prior was said to have “tightness” in his hamstring, we never saw him again.

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs: Starlin Castro lives . . for now”

Is Matt Garza becoming the new Mark Prior? After sitting out the last two months of the 2012 season, he’ll be taking a week off at spring training after an MRI revealed a lat strain. But there’s absolutely no reason to worry! None at all.

‘‘It’s safe to say it pushes back his first Cactus League start,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘What it means for the regular season, it’s clearly much too early to say, but we felt like it was really good news. It’s a mild strain. We do think it’ll be about a week, and he’ll be pain-free based on the MRI.

‘‘We’re optimistic. It was certainly a positive read from our standpoint.’’

Manager Dale Sveum is preparing for Garza to miss at least one exhibition start.

‘‘But everything else from there, hopefully, is fine for the start of the season,’’ Sveum said.

Jeff Samardzija is not yet counting out Garza in the opening day starter competition.

‘‘I know how Garza is,’’ Samardzija said. ‘‘I know he’s a competitor. I know how big of a year he wants to have. To count Garza out wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.’’

(snip)

‘‘I want the competition,’’ Samardzija said. ‘‘I want me and Garza and everyone to compete every [spring] start for that spot. It’s only going to make us all better.

‘‘Obviously, it was a given before anything else happened that I was going to go and give everything I had to try to earn that spot. And nothing’s changed.’’

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Garza, Marmol And More!”

Some friend you are, Robin Yount.

There are all manner of rumors swirling about Nashville this week as the Winter Meetings take place. However, the most interesting thing we learned yesterday was that Robin Yount accidentally shot Dale Sveum while the two were hunting.

“The bird was in front of him and I was about 50 yards up on a hill,” Sveum said Tuesday at baseball’s winter meetings. “He got the bird up and lost track of where I was. He pulled the trigger and was like, ‘Uh, oh.’ ”

Sveum was hit in the back of the right ear by the spray pattern from a six-shot.

“I got drilled with pellets in the back and then one stuck in the ear,” he said.

Sveum said there was plenty of blood, but he wasn’t worried.

“We do it all the time,” Sveum said. “Not that close all the time, but we do get BB’s fall on us.”

Robin Yount is the new Dick Cheney.

Sveum spoke on a host of other topics as well, including the progression of Starlin Castro.

“But basically what I want to see out of him is just keep progressing mentally and understand the process of becoming a winning player and not a hit seeker, becoming more of a winning hitter situation, drive runs in, understanding the situations. Defensively, like I said, I think he came a long way but still has to even concentrate more. I think we got him probably, just throwing a number out there, probably really focused 80 to 85 percent of the time. We’ve got to get that to that 95 percent. I don’t think anybody ever really focuses 100 percent.”

I think Mike Quade wanted Starlin to focus 110% of the time. Seems like Sveum has more realistic expectations.

» Continue reading “Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Dale Sveum Shot By Robin Yount”

Not only does Darwin Barney win Gold Glove awards, he speaks for Starlin Castro. Of course, the words he attributes to Starlin are only laudatory.

“As happy as he is about the work he has done, we have spoken about who he wants to be in the future,” Barney said “One of the best things he did say to me that made me feel really good is he said, ‘Hey man, you’re the best defensive player I have ever seen and I want to be like you.’ Coming from a guy who has every tool in the bag means a lot. We are good friends and I hope our relationship keeps getting better and better.”

He’s totally my best friend and like, he said that I’m the best defensive player in the WORLD. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn from Darwin that Starlin said he has the best fashion sense and singing voice of any player he’s ever seen. But they’re working together to become the greatest double play tandem the world has ever known.

“We decided early on in spring training that we were going to work hard together to be the best that we can up the middle,” Barney said. “Our goal is to be the best around, and that is what we are working towards. In the future, we will have to get better together and hopefully that is what we can do.

I hope so, too. And I hope Starlin can show you a thing or two about hitting.

» Continue reading “Cubs Thursday Headlines: Barney Speaks For Castro”

The questions in the most recent Cubs.com mailbag aren’t too horrible, but it often makes you wonder what the ones that Carrie Muskat doesn’t use are like. That might make a good post some day that I’m feeling creative. For now, we’ll settle on looking at what’s on the mind of Cubs fans. First things first, everyone’s still worried about Javier Baez and Starlin Castro playing the same postition, even though Baez hasn’t yet played above single A.

With Starlin Castro finally showing major improvements to his defense at shortstop, is moving Javier Baez, who has eight errors in 13 games in the Arizona Fall League, really a viable option there?
– Kevin A., LaCrosse, Wis.

Yes. Baez is a very good shortstop, and some of the scouts I talked to think he’s better than Castro. Baez is playing third for the first time in the AFL. Not to make excuses, but the infields aren’t the best. For the record, Baez has nine errors in 11 games through Wednesday (four at third base, five at shortstop). Let’s see how this plays out.

Carrie is toeing the company line, preaching patience. But I think I’d rather play the “wait and see” than to obsess over who is going to wind up at shortstop at some unknown date in the future.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: More Mailbag Mania”

As the 2012 season nears its end, we’ve been reduced to reading about the Gold Glove. Will Alfonso Soriano win one? Will Darwin Barney’s magical errorless streak unseat Brandon Phillips from the top of the NL second base heap? All this for a popularity contest. That’s what we’ve been reduced to. But Brandon Phillips is still a jerk.

“Really? That’s cool, that’s nice,” Phillips said of Barney’s stretch, which long ago passed Ryne Sandberg’s NL record of 123 games.

“I’ve been too busy winning,” Phillips said. “I worry about myself and this team. If you don’t play for the Reds, I don’t worry about you.”

(snip)

“The majority of my errors have been on plays that normally second basemen don’t get to,” Phillips said. “I don’t worry about that type of stuff. All I can do is go out and catch the ball and try to be the best second baseman I can be.

“Everybody knows I’m the best defensive second baseman,” he said. “I say errors don’t mean you’re a good defensive second baseman, it just means you get to the balls you get to. If I didn’t have any range, I wouldn’t make any errors the whole year.”

We get it, Brandon, you’re number one. And super humble.

» Continue reading “Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Gold Glove Intrigue”

I’m still trying to chill out after the trainwreck at Lambeau last night, so forgive me if I’m less-than-cheery this morning. Know who else is in a bad mood? Manage Dale Sveum, who is still trying to figure out what Dave Sappelt thought he was doing on Tuesday night:

HOUSTON — Dale Sveum has been the Cubs manager for 143 games, which still isn’t long enough to understand things like Dave Sappelt’s mental gaffe on Tuesday night.

“Those ones baffle you,” Sveum said.

In a game the Cubs trailed 1-0, Sappelt tagged up at second with one out and headed to third on a Darwin Barney fly to medium center, just as Starlin Castro tagged and went home on an apparent sacrifice fly with one out. But Castro’s run didn’t count because Sappelt was thrown out at third before Castro’s foot hit the plate.

Sveum said he was “not sure what that category is” for Sappelt’s gaffe.

“Some things aren’t acceptable,” he said. “That’s something that’s not. … I’m not sure what it was, to tell you the truth. I’m still amazed at it.”

Other things have been deemed “not acceptable” by the Cubs include patience at the plate, having a decent pitching rotation the last month of the season, having someone other than Carlos Marmol close, and the first pick in the amateur draft.

» Continue reading “Cubs Friday Headlines/Game Thread: Money Won’t Change Starlin”

Travis Wood would like you to know that he doesn’t want to see Chris Rusin or Brooks Raley in next year’s rotation, either. He made his second consecutive strong start in helping the Cubs salvage a .500 road trip. Yes, the same road trip that started with the Cubs being swept in Washington and looking like they should be contracted. But back to Travis. Is he thinking about proving himself for next year?

“Like I said before, the ball’s coming out good. I’ve been able to locate pitches,” he said. “I just want to finish the season strong and show them I can handle a full season and everything and see what happens.”

Wood (6-11), who went 10 consecutive starts without a victory, has won back-to-back starts since, allowing a total of one run in 13 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Astros, including a stellar 7 2/3 innings Wednesday.

As Gordo points out in the next paragraph, his ERA over his last five starts is 2.43. Unless his arm falls off, I find it hard to believe the Cubs will have five starters better than him on Opening Day 2013. Another player who came to the Cubs in the Sean Marshall trade played well in Houston (with one notable exception). Dave Sappelt got a chance to play after Bret Jackson hurt himself, and did some hitting.

“He’s proven one thing that we knew when we got him, about his bat,” manager Dale Sveum said. “I know he didn’t have that great a year in Triple-A, but he was swinging the bat pretty well the last month, and the bat has always been something that’s been appealing about him.”

And Alfonso Soriano made a spectacular play in the outfield (in addition to going 3-4).

“I don’t want to talk about MVP,” he said. “I just want to talk about my defense, that play that I made. That makes me more happy because I’ve improved my fielding and am proving to other people I can be a good outfielder.

“I’m working so hard with [coach] Dave [McKay] to prove to those people they’re wrong and I have the talent and ability to keep playing outfield.’”

Way to go, Fonz.

» Continue reading “Cubs Thursday Headlines: Travis Wood For Cy Young?”