Castro, Barney get first crack at batting 1-2
ST. LOUIS — Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney were atop the Cubs’ lineup for Friday’s series opener at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals.
After former leadoff man Kosuke Fukudome was traded to Cleveland on Thursday, it’s likely Castro-Barney will be the 1-2 combo for the foreseeable future.
“To start with, and see,” manager Mike Quade said. “Going over the numbers and trying to figure out what we can do, we’ll start with those two kids. It’ll be an evolving thing, or maybe not.”
Of late, Fukudome had led off with Castro batting second and Barney hitting eighth. As a leadoff hitter entering Friday, Castro had an average/on-base/slugging line of .369/.398/.524. In the 2-spot, Barney was .290/.318/.355.
Patience, please: Tyler Colvin will get a long look in right field with Kosuke Fukudome gone. Colvin batted eighth Friday night against the Cardinals.
Drawing walks and being patient at the plate have been problems for Colvin. At Class AAA Iowa this year, he had 5 walks and 55 strikeouts.
#147;I want to give Tyler an opportunity to break back into this thing a little bit,#148; Mike Quade said. #147;In the 8-hole, we#146;ll ask him to be patient with the pitcher behind him. See if that doesn#146;t help a little bit.
#147;I think (patience) needs to be a goal of his if he#146;s going to be successful. He had a quite a few strikeouts at Triple-A. He#146;s going to strike out some. That#146;s OK. It ain#146;t easy hitting. It#146;s tough.
#147;But it#146;s real tough if you#146;re not making guys throw to your strengths, because guys up here, if they can execute and get you out, out of the strike zone, they#146;re going to do it, and they#146;re going to do it until the cows come home. It#146;s also giving yourself a chance to be in better hitting counts. So now they#146;ve got to make a couple of pitches instead of one pitch.#148;
Quade tried to draw a distinction.
#147;That doesn#146;t mean you want somebody that#146;s waiting to walk,#148; he said. #147;It#146;s continually identifying quality pitches, and not just pitches that are strikes, but pitches he does damage on.#148;
Cashner update: Pitcher Andrew Cashner is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday in Arizona as he steps up his rehab from a rotator-cuff strain. Cashner then will rejoin the team Monday in Pittsburgh and likely throw for pitching coach Mark Riggins and Mike Quade.
There is no timetable set for Cashner#146;s return. He has been out since making his first start of the season on April 5.