Chicago Cubs' Castro accepts new role, excels at it

Whenever a team wins, there are so many good stories.

So it is for the Cubs.

Jake Arrieta? Check.

Kris Bryant? Check.

Anthony Rizzo? Check.

Starlin Castro? Check.

Starlin Castro? Really? Double-check.

Of all the remarkable stories surrounding the Cubs this season, the resurrection of Castro's season over the last two months is right up there.

All you have to do is think back to just before the July 31 trading deadline. The Cubs had to assure the 25-year-old Castro they weren't trading him. Of course, at that time, they weren't going to get much for him.

After Castro opened the season in promising fashion, with a batting line of .325/.349/.410 in April, things went south. Castro's line for July was .170/.194/.202, and his season batting average on July 31 was .237.

A few days later, Castro lost his job as the starting shortstop to rookie Addison Russell.

Nowadays, Castro gets most of his starts at second base. Throughout it all, something else happened. Cubs manager Joe Maddon never "lost" Castro as a player, and Castro never whined or pouted about his reduced playing time.

For that, Maddon credits only one person: Castro.

"I've been saying it all along," the manager said. "Since we did that, he's not complained, cried, nothing. He's just come out and he's gotten ready to play. When he doesn't play, he stays ready to come into the game. When his name has been called, he's been ready. I've been nothing but impressed by him this whole time.

"His defense at second base has gotten really firm, in a good way. It's credit to him as a person. The fact that here's a guy who's been on the all-star team a couple times and now, all of a sudden, he's been relegated to a different role, give him a lot of credit, not just a little."

Far from being a drag on the Cubs, Castro has been a producer during the Cubs' run to what looks to be an inevitable playoff berth.

During August, he had a line of .296/.315/.437. It got even better in September. Entering this weekend's series at Wrigley Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Castro has gone .429/.463/.735 for the month. He's 21-for-49 with 4 homers and 15 RBI in September.

During this hot streak, he has pulled within 19 hits of 1,000 for his career.

"Just try to be consistent," he said. "Try to take every opportunity they give me and try to help the team to win. The team s playing pretty good. Just try to be here and working every day. Just be here with my mind that I'm playing that day.

"Even if I don't start, I think I'm going to be in the game in the seventh or something like that. Try to be positive. I don't want to be the negative guy on the team. Try to be positive all the time, and we're winning games."

Castro has moved a little closer to home plate, giving him more coverage, and confidence. He'd prefer to talk about the confidence of the team, a team he's feeling more a part of after having gone from "core" player to benched player to redeemed player.

"It's unbelievable confidence," he said. "We're the best group right now. We come in every day and we've got our teammates' back. We try to be one group."

This is Castro's sixth season with the Cubs and the first in which the team has had a chance to win. When Castro came up in May 2010, the Cubs were in the first stages of decline. That's part of the reason Maddon is happy for his player's resurgence.

"You come up, and the Cubs were not doing well at that particular time, it's difficult to get into that mindset that you need to participate in this kind of a situation and contribute," Maddon said. "All of a sudden, we're there, and I know he wants to be a part of it.

"So you do have to refocus in a sense at that particular time. Again, all credit to him. It's not me. It's not anybody. It's not coaches. It's him because it's the individual who has to make that adjustment. I really anticipate that you're going to see this guy kind of hit and play like that the rest of the season."

Scouting report

Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field

TV: ABC 7 today; FOX Saturday; ESPN Sunday

Radio: WBBM 780-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jon Lester (10-11) vs. Gerrit Cole today at 1:20 p.m.; Jason Hammel (9-6) vs. Francisco Liriano (11-7) Saturday at 12:05 p.m.; Jake Arrieta (20-6) vs. A.J. Burnett (9-5) Sunday at 7:08 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs took three of four from the Pirates last week in Pittsburgh. The Pirates already have clinched a playoff berth. Heading into Thursday's game against the Rockies, the Pirates ranked second in the National League in ERA (3.22), fourth in runs scored and batting average and third in on-base percentage. MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen had a line of .296/.406/.498 with 22 homers and 95 RBI. Pedro Alvarez had 25 homers. Closer Mark Melancon had 49 saves. Cubs pitchers entered Thursday's off-day leading MLB in strikeouts (1,333). The Cubs were fifth in runs scored, 15th in batting average, seventh in OBP and third in homers. Their pitchers were fifth in ERA (3.51). Anthony Rizzo has a line of .282/.392/.522 with 30 homers and 95 RBI. Kris Bryant has 26 homers and a team-leading 98 RBI.

Next: Kansas City Royals at Wrigley Field, Monday

- Bruce Miles