This guy is a great shortstop. The way he is playing right now, there are few better in the game. I don't know if it's Vizquel or Guillen mentoring him, but he is really making plays this year. His range and arm have always been very good, but he looks like he stopped dogging the routine grounders now. Of course his bat heats up the warmer it gets. Alexei at short and Beckham at second unquestionably looks like the correct move.

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I'd like to see him do this over a longer period of time. I was on the bandwagon during the rookie season only to feel somewhat let down the following year. I really hope he's got it all together, but we've seen flashes of greatness from him before...

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Not like he's done with the glove...consistently. He's made great plays here or there, but it seems like everyday he has a hi-light reel play.

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Only a Cub fan could compare a rookie who hasn't done shit to one of the better shortstops in the AL. Why don't we throw Josh Vitters in the cage vs. A-Rod?

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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 Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Ramirez is an exceptional SS, from June on. But his inability to hit much in the spring will make it hard for him to make All-Star teams and get all the credit he otherwise might get. Castro looks real good so far too and might be a great player for a decade or more. But until he has played at least 1 full year and the league has tried making adjustments to him, it's foolish to get too giggly. Ramirez is the more proven commodity at this point. Both have the ability to make outstanding plays, that many other shortstopscould not make. However, both can make errors on routine plays that can frustrate the heck out of their fans. But Ramirez has been much steadier since Vizquel moved over to 3rd base. between those 2, it's awfully hard to get many balls through the left side of that infield.

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Castro is one of the better short stops in the NL

and he'll be better than Voilo Versailles

I'm a Ramirez fan and thought everyone who screamed to trade him last year was a complete buffoon. All the hype that Bacon has gotten has overshadowed Alexei who imo is as important on this team as Bacon.

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

For what it's worth, AR10 ranks as the top MLB SS at virtually all of the advanced fielding metrics, including Defensive Runs Scored and UZR/150.

These systems are thought to have a lot of problems, but he is across the board the highest ranked in all of them. Castro is in the middle of the pack.

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....both of you.

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The guy's a 7-8 hitter on a division leading team. He helps plenty even in the early months.

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He probably won't even be a shortstop in a couple years. And he'll never win an MVP like Zoilo Versalles did.

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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 Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Still to say he "hasnt done shit" is a little much.

You act like Alexei is Derek Jeter (1 Less MVP than Z Verailles) and the comparison is ridiculous.

Its not. Actually Castro is rated higher than Alexei was coming in. Theyre similiar players with similiar bodies playing the same position in the same city.

Frankly, It begs a comparison

I don't think it does. At least not yet. Castro is having a nice rookie year. Ramirez is an established player who has been remarkably consistent over three seasons. As far as playing short, I don't think there is a comparison. The Cubs are already making noise about moving Castro to second to make room for the next shortstop of the future.

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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 Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Yeah, he'll be moved to 2b. But to act outraged at the comparison seemed a little harsh.

But think of what you're saying here. I can count on one hand the quality position players the Cubs have developed in my lifetime. But now the Cubs have a shortstop who is comparable to Alexei Ramirez and he isn't good enough to keep the job because of the guy coming up behind him? These guys should fit in pretty well with the All-Star outfield of Patterson, Pie, and Kelton.

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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 Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I never called him amazing. But he is a legit big league shortstop. I don't think you can say that about Castro yet, though he has looked good so far. I'm not wearing tinted glasses. You aren't talking to Hawk here, you know.

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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 Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Not as good Defensively. Not overall. Thats an important detail you left out on purpose.



Kelton is a little out of place there.

Patterson and Pie had a lot of talent.
They were busts.
I understand being cautiously optimistic but Im not gonna stop getting excited about prospects.

Fandom is not a job as Dr Kenneth Electronic-Noisewater so eloquently wrote.

Im not in a contest of Baseball Prudence.

Though if I were, I would win.

Not surprising, but Castro and the usual Cub/Sock meatballery makes a cameo in the thread. Plenty of topics to discuss the merits of the young Cub shortstop.

But I digress...

I would like to see the Missile get serious consideration for the Gold Glove. We all know it has been ridiculed for being an offensive award. And it's unclear how much weight is given to these new defensive metrics. What they do show, however, is that AR10 has been getting to more balls than almost anyone, and fielding many of them cleanly at an acceptable rate. Combined with the eye test and a number of highlight-reel plays, it may be enough to get a national push for Alexei.

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Alright, I'm off the Alexei Gold Glove bandwagon.

I do think the perception of him has changed however, from a defensive liability to a good defensive shortstop.

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