Shining Starlin

What can I say about these Cubs?  Here I am trying to profile what they're like this year and it seems like with each series they flip the tables around the surprise everyone.  Cub Nation let out a collective groan after the Cubs' offense was stymied by the worst pitching staff in baseball by far, that being Pittsburgh's.  Unbelievably, the Cubs were swept.  In that series, no one swung the bat well.  Fortunately, with the more aggressive Lou Piniella of 2010, another change was made in bringing up highly-touted prospect Starlin Castro from AA and sending down Chad Tracy.  It's about time.  Tracy never deserved to make this team and although he is a good player, Kevin Millar should have beaten him out of Spring Training.  Instead, the Tracy experiment failed and Millar is working as a studio analyst for MLB Network.  However, the positive out of all this is that Castro is now with the team. 

In his first career game, Castro not only got a start, he was a bigger story on ESPN networks than the Yankees-Red Sox game!  Theriot has moved back to second base to start full time there for the first time since 2006.  I made sure to watch live as the current pride of the Cubs' farm system stepped in for his first at-bat.  First swing in the big leagues, a three-run homer off disappointing Reds prospect Homer Bailey.  Does the homer-in-first-at-bat thing sound familiar?  Jason Heyward did that against the Cubs on Opening Day, also a three-run homer.  Castro, however, one-uped Heyward later by driving in three more on a bases loaded triple.  He was the third youngest player to hit a home run in his first at-bat, the youngest Cubs shortstop ever, and his six RBI set a major league record for a player in his first game.  All that, a two-run homer by Marlon Byrd, and a grand slam by Mike Fontenot highlighted a 14-7 rout of the Reds.  Where was all of this offense in Pittsburgh?  In fact, the 14 runs Friday almost tripled the Cubs output of five during that entire series.

There hasn't been this much excitement for a prospect since Mark Prior back in the day.  I have been a big Castro fan from day one of hearing about him and I'm very impressed.  This guy can do it all!  Right away he looks like a slump-proof hitter with his compact swing and great bat speed.  His stance is good, and we evidenced his ability to drive the ball to the opposite field on the homer.  He's very speedy and a sound fielder.  Also, he's humble and won't cause any problems on the team.  What's not to like?  Oh yeah and how old is he?  20?  Am I telling you the guy can smoke major league pitching and rule ESPN for a night then not be able to celebrate with a beer afterward (legally, of course)?  That's exactly what I'm telling you.

I hope Ryan Theriot isn't upset by his move to second base, but it is in the best interest of the team to do so.  Theriot, 30, is a decade older than Castro.  I admire Theriot's good range and strong arm from short, but the throws can get a little wild and he's had a lot of errors saved by three-time Gold Glover Derrek Lee.  He is a better fit at second.

On the bright side of Theriot moving to second, his fielding now should be spotless and we will still know the Ryan Theriot the Cubs have relied on for the past three years.  Theriot has 25-steal speed and Castro probably 30-steal speed and both are good fielders, so I think we will be seeing the best double-play combo the Cubs have had in a while.  Go Cubs!