That was the worst case of posing/jogging I've ever seen. Even when he saw the ball wasn't going out, he kept jogging....as if suddenly sprinting would make his laziness more obvious.

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Starlin is still young enough where Cubs should wait to found out what Russell and Baez are. Castro is a flawed knucklehead but still an above average SS in all of MLB.

Last thing I'd want is Castro traded and then Baez and Russell flame out. Very possible both do.

That is what I never understood.

It seems like Castro is a pretty big "hit" in terms of success. Is it realistic to expect that the Cubs have someone coming up who will be far superior? I mean, wouldn't that basically be an MVP player?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It's that Family Guy episode where Peter chooses between a boat or a mystery box. And oddly Cubs fans are choosing the mystery box.

Castro isn't good enough to warrant overlooking his terminal headuptheassitis though. Aramis Ramirez could get away with it because he produced to a far greater extent. If Castro were hitting like Jeter maybe you could excuse it. I don't think when he gets traded many people will be lamenting a couple years later that man , we should've kept Starlin.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I absolutely agree with that.

But there are a lot of what I would call non-competitive philosophies in modern baseball. For example, in a conversation on pitcher's wins and losses, a season like Felix Hernandez's 13-12 Cy Young will often come up. We're talking about a guy who is possibly the best pitcher in baseball, and yet most people are satisfied with such marginal results because his other numbers were great. As if he did all he could. And when you vote a 13-12 guy a Cy Young and talk about how unlucky he was with a "lack of run support" he's going to believe it. And the expectation of what a pitcher's job is changes. You can tell that by some of the things Jeff Samardzija said before he left Chicago. It's an accepted way of thinking. Instead of thinking, "Well, I'm supposed to be the best pitcher in baseball, I really made a mistake on that one pitch to so and so that caused me to lose the game while a guy who is half as good as I am shut our guys down", today's pitcher thinks, "I pitched great and my shitty teammates didn't score."

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Aramis got traded to the Cubs his age 25 season. We're also talking about production at 3B during the steriod era.

In this era of meager offense Castro is a very good piece. Only 24.

So you think the Cubs have a player who is likely to be far superior?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I wouldnt go out of my way to trade a SS who plays acceptably average defense and is one of the top 4 or 5 offensively at his position. I understand the mental errors are hard to take.

Not to say he's untradeable


But as I wrote last week, I believe who gets moved will come down to the other team's wants, not which one the Cubs like least.

wow, this dude really pays WAY to much attention to the ball when he hits them deep. terrible base-running once again. run motherfucker run.

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Time to trade the cat before his value craters (kind of already has).

His D has improved but his hitting is no good.

At least wait for him to get hot (he always does)

Right. Also, ideally, he is a 6 or 7 hitter. He's slumping right now, but enough of a sample size to assume he'll tick back up towards .300

Need another thumper in the middle of the lineup via trade or Schwarber (if he's as advertised)

Something like:

Fowler
Rizzo
Bryant
Schwarber
Soler
Castro
Montero
Pitcher
Russell

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Team Cutler.

Calm your tits. Why do you have Montero in the seven hole?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

The day this bum is gone will be a great one for all Cubs fans.

He's a cancer.

Now I understand how it feels to be a Bears fans with Cutler.

Oh, look! He has all these tools! Look at his production his 1st three years! He'll be a changed guy this year! Blah blah blah blah

Castro is a loser. The faster he's gone the faster the Cubs will become serious contenders.

Why do Cub fans always feel the need to identify a single scapegoat for their shitty teams? First it was Ross. Then it was Schlitter. If Castro goes it will be someone else.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Those three players you listed are all bad. There is 0% wrong with demanding their removal from the team.

Who do you think you're going to get who is better than Castro?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Addison Russell.

That's hope. Not an actual proven player.

Anyway, assuming you're correct, who are you going to get to replace Russell at second who is better than Castro?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Kirkwood thinks every team is lucky to have 9 Mike Trouts except the Cubs. Fairly sure at this point he doesn't watch any teams besides the Cubs.

Complains about Castro hitting the ball on the ground. How is Fowler hitting every ball in the air working out?

A hard hit ball is great. Wong made a great play. Get the mother fuck over it.

Even in a bad year, Castro still isn't that bad.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Herrera and then La Stella or Baez when they get healthy.

Right now Castro has accumulated a -.4 WAR.

Russell moves to his natural SS position where the footwork isn't a work in progress. Defensively all 3 could play 2B better than Russell or Castro. Baez is the riskiest. La Stella and Herrera lack offensive ceiling but at least you figure they're fundamentally sound. Just the other day Herrera laid down a perfect safety squeeze.

Competence is all I ask for. Castro is actively hurting the Cubs.

Remember 3.5 years ago when I said it was bad for an organization to teach its core players that it is OK to lose?

Reap what you sow.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

And yet Rizzo is the best baseball player in Chicago. Keep the polish proverbs in Zakopane. They work better in coat negotiations

Cardinals= Russia
Cubs= Ukraine

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Okay, dude.

I'm just waiting for RFDC to show up and give me props for defending a Cubs player who is actually pretty decent from denigration at the hands of a fickle Cubs "fan".

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Complaining about Castro's offense and wanting .561 OPS Herrera to play?

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Correct as a stopgap until Baez/La Stella return.

I want the superior defender in Russell back in natural position. Where he can get comfortable at the position he'll man for the next 15 years at the MLB level.

With Herrera you'll receive fundamentally sound baseball until the two injured candidates return. No bone headed errors. Gets the runner over. Sac flies when needed.

This allows Castro to follow his true passion of chomping through a jumbo bucket of seeds everyday.