Cubs' Castro wasn't lost, and now he's back
A few weeks ago, Cubs manager Joe Maddon felt the need to tell shortstop Starlin Castro he wasn't going to be traded.
Just days after that conversation, Maddon told Castro he was losing his shortstop job to Addison Russell and being benched.
So Castro went through the stress of hearing his name in trade rumors to losing the job that had been his since May of 2010 and one that earned him three All-Star Games.
Amid and despite all of this traumatic loss, Maddon never "lost" Castro.
And therein lies part of the genius of Joe Maddon.
You've all heard the term used around sports a lot - and really it applies to all businesses - of a manager "losing" his players, or workers, as it were.
When that happens in sports, players tune out the manager or coach, creating a discordant tone in the locker room.
The last thing the young Cubs team needs as it makes a push for the playoffs is a disgruntled veteran player setting a sour tone for the rest of the team.
That didn't happen with Castro, and it's just as much a credit to him as it is to Maddon. Castro no doubt was disappointed, but instead of sulking or sniping, he went about his business with a smile.
And guess what? He's been back in the lineup lately, mostly at second base with some shortstop thrown in.
Compared with his whole season, Castro has had a pretty good run of things recently and a better August. Entering Friday night's game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Castro was 6-for-18 over the previous week with 2 doubles, a homer and 2 RBI. For August, his line was .276/.300/.414. That might not sound impressive, but when you consider that Castro's season line entering Friday was .242/.274/.318, it's a big step up.
Wouldn't it be something if Castro turned out to be a contributing player to a successful playoff run the rest of this month and into September and October?
Maddon doesn't seem to be ruling out Castro playing regularly, or every day, again this season.
"Sure," Maddon told reporters in San Francisco this week. "The consistent, hard contact was really nice to see. The fact that he's taken so readily and easily to second base, just the way he's handled this professionally speaks loudly to me and the whole group. This guy is an all-star caliber player. He just had a hard time this year, and it happens, it happens to all of us. I think he's done everything properly. We'll see how it all plays out."
It could play out that Castro is gone this coming winter regardless. But as long as he's still here, Maddon and the Cubs owe it to themselves to make the most of it.
So far, so good, but it's not unprecedented this season.
Earlier this season, Maddon took left-hander Travis Wood out of the starting rotation and sent him to the bullpen. Wood took the move in stride and has become a valuable member of the bullpen. As a starter this year, he was 2-2 with a 5.59 ERA. Coming out of the pen, he entered Friday 3-2 with a 3.52 ERA and 1 save.
Maddon also chose to remove No. 3 starter Jason Hammel from a couple of games much earlier than Hammel liked. After beating the Braves last Sunday, Hammel talked of a "special, special thing going on right now."
Players the manager has lost don't talk like that.
<h3 class="leadin">Low risk on Rodney:</h3>
The Cubs took little risk Thursday when they obtained veteran reliever Fernando Rodney from Seattle for a player to be named or cash.
The 38-year-old Rodney is having a tough year. He went 5-5 with a 5.68 and a WHIP of 1.50 for the Mariners. Rodney pitched for Maddon in Tampa Bay in 2012, piling up 48 saves. He also had 48 saves for the Mariners last year.
The Cubs also took a chance earlier this year with another old Maddon protégé, Rafael Soriano, who is rehabbing an injury.
Cubs relievers have been a pretty game bunch this year, but they could use some reinforcement. Part of that falls on the starters. The Cubs ranked ninth in the NL with 62 quality starts entering Friday. They had 64 non-quality starts.
September call-ups are coming soon, and if Rodney doesn't work out, there's not much lost.
Listen to Bruce on ESPN Radio 1000-AM Saturday morning at 9:30 CDT as he talks Cubs baseball with Mike Murphy and Fred Huebner. Follow Bruce's baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.