Castro was dropped to eighth in the batting order last night, right about where he belongs based on his numbers this season. Not surprisingly, Starlin Castro is a little frustrated with his season. Per the Sun-Times:
Sometimes you have a tough season and you want to please everybody. But when you listen to everybody, it’s not right. You have to listen to the things that can help you, not everything.
Castro's going to do his own thing for the last 6 weeks and be his aggressive self. When Sveum asked Castro if he was happy with the move to the 8th spot, Castro told him no. Who wouldn't?
The Trib had even more quotes, including this one from Sveum:
We're all in this together, but I don't care who you are. The bottom line is the player and the production coming from him. And the adjustments they have to make, whether they're suggested from myself or (hitting coach) James Rowson or defensively from (coach) David Bell, whatever. It's still up to the player to apply what you have to talk about.''
Castro has been applying it, I guess, as he leads the team in pitches per PA. He's performed better defensively by the eyeball norm, though the small-sample-sized defensive stats disagree.
Over at Cubs Den, Tom Loxas is reading this as a rift between Castro and Sveum (and I guess the coaching staff in general), and that the org doesn't have his back. I'm not really getting that vibe, at least very strongly, but I can see how the narrative can be written that way. If there really is a rift, I can easily see the media turn against Castro (as we've seen them do with other Cubs players in the past). Events like what led to his benching last weekend and Javier Baez tearing up the minors is going to give them an easy excuse too, as well as all of the rumblings ever since this FO took over that Castro wasn't the kind of player they were looking to have/develop, aside from his age. But they also signed him to a seven year deal, and if his hypothetical beef with his coaching is what's interfering with the Cubs getting value out of what looked to be a solid extension then they're likely to side with the player. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see him quietly shopped this offseason.
Comments
BTW, I’ve asked a couple of people around the team who could have access to some dirt and nobody else has heard a damn thing about anything involving the DeJesuses and having to ship them out of town for any reason other than the ones the team has given, or basically, money.
Sounds like whoever was shooting their mouth off at the game was a bullshitter.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I think all the hitting problems began when the Cubs dumped Coach Rudy Jaramillo — Castro, Rizzo , Barney, and all the others.
Jack FQuote Reply
@ Jack F:
Maybe with Castro, but Jaramillo was out the door pretty quickly after Rizzo arrived, so I doubt that has anything to do with him.
Barney’s never been a good hitter and he’s regressed every year he’s been up, so I don’t think that has much to do with Jaramillo either.
Castro is the mystery and I think he’s just clearly over thinking and he’s struggling seriously for the first time in his life and he’s doing it under a microscope in the big leagues, which can’t help anything. At this point, I don’t know if it would be the end of the world if they sent him down. Or give him a fake injury where he can spend some time “rehabbing” in the minors.
It’s getting brutal to watch him and listening to him get savaged like he’s doing it on purpose is driving me insane.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Plus, the current hitting coach is doing a fine job with guys like Schierholtz, Navarro, and now Donnie Murphy. Valbuena too. Who thought any of those guys would be offensive bright spots this year?
Aisle424Quote Reply
Who can forget the glory days under Rudy. With our whopping 0 postseason appearances. Those surely were better times.
joshQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Dave got drunk and grabbed Dale Sveum’s wife’s ass. I’m not saying its true, I’m just saying it sure would explain a lot.
joshQuote Reply
josh just keeps descending into bitterer and bitterer pessimism (dying laughing)
MylesQuote Reply
Honestly, I’m more worried about myself getting thrown out of town than Castro. I never should have grabbed Dale Sveum’s ass at that social.
joshQuote Reply
@ Myles:
It’s just one of those days. Mostly I’m just monumentally tired.
joshQuote Reply
Shopping him i have very mixed feelings about. If you feel he is getting worse then you do it while he still has some value. However IMO we would be selling him at his absolute lowest which is dumb. But the thing is i think you could trade him this offseason and not eat any money. If he sucks again next year you would 100% be eating money
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
let’s not attribute too much to coaching — at this level, it doesn’t mean much, imo, and Castro is a good example.
he is what he is — poor strike zone awareness (when taking pitches still means no walks, i think you have to interpret it as that) and has trouble handling a major league fastball. baseball figured out that you do him a favor in throwing him changeups, and so now gets challenged (and beaten) a lot.
i don’t think he’s quite as bad as this year, and he could yet flower as he matures. but if he can’t adjust to the fastball he’s not a star. and he doesn’t have to be one to justify his contract.
gaius mariusQuote Reply
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21586
GWQuote Reply
@ gaius marius:
It would be interesting to see how the mix of pitches he’s seen in the first years of his career differ (if at all) from what he’s seeing now.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Best in the World @jontehBest 7m
@jonahkeri @keithlaw If cubs put Castro on block this winter are they getting anything? Or are they maybe even eating money?
Expand
Jonah Keri @jonahkeri 4m
@jontehBest He’s still very young and thus a valuable commodity.
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12:59 PM – 21 Aug 13 · Details
bubblesdachimpQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4579&position=SS#pitchtype
more fastballs, fewer sliders
GWQuote Reply
GW wrote:
He’s also making 5% less contact at balls in the zone, which is pretty significant.
Also, good on BP for reworking WARP
MylesQuote Reply
The fastball thing is maybe the most troubling part, because what happens once the bat speed starts to slip even a little bit? Could get really, really ugly if his mechanics are still funky.
sitrickQuote Reply
@ sitrick:
Yeah. you have to be able to hit a fastball. I can’t judge mechanics to save my life. Does he have a long swing or something? I thought his bat speed was pretty good. Not great, but good.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Julie with a nice article about Starlin:
http://aeryssports.com/what-its-like-to-be-starlin-castro/
MylesQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
“Everyone knows Theriot can’t hit a fastball.” –Big Z
QED
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I miss Zambrano
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ GW:
He’s actually seeing fewer 4-seam fastballs than his rookie year, and way fewer curves and changes.
He’s seeing more 2-seamers and cutters.
Interesting. He didn’t seem to have a problem with fastballs his rookie year, but they were more the straight 4 seam variety. Now he’s getting more with a little tail and he’s not squaring them up as much? I wish I had more time to look at this type of shit in more detail.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Re: hitting a fastball, that’s basically it:
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_outcome.php?player=516770&gFilt=&&time=year&minmax=ci&var=whiffswing&s_type=16&startDate=03/30/2007&endDate=08/21/2013
Castro used to whiff 1 in 9 when he was very good. now, it’s more than 1 in 6.
He’s also popping up flyballs more often this year.
MylesQuote Reply
Let’s shop him. Shop ’em all, let Jed sort ’em out, I say.
joshQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
He’s not just “not squaring,” he’s missing completely.
MylesQuote Reply
In 2011, Castro CRUSHED balls on the top third of the plate (32/76). This year, he’s 5/42 there.
MylesQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
be careful about getting too granular. there have been changes in league mix (which could be simply reclassifications).
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=nl&qual=0&type=9&season=2013&month=0&season1=2010&ind=0&team=0,ss&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0
GWQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
if they are going to do this it has to be soon, since september DL stints are rare.
GWQuote Reply
Myles wrote:
Yes, in some cases, but when he does hit the ball, he’s rarely hitting it hard.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Everything I’ve heard and read says that it’s not a length of swing thing, but more just pre-swing movement. Between the leg kick and the late waggle, there are a lot of pre-swing movements that are hard to time up. This is probably the sorta stuff people talk about as far as things that should have been fixed in the minor leagues (Baez’s bat waggle, for example, was really long in his Peoria days, and they’ve worked hard to tame it and get him quicker to the ball). An organization with proper development probably would have worked with him to shorten the leg kick and keep his body a little quieter before delivery.
(I’m not a scout, this is all just commentary I’ve read and seen elsewhere)
sitrickQuote Reply
@ GW:
Since the Cubs are basically a AAA team, I don’t see the advantage.
joshQuote Reply
If it’s at all possible, I’d try talking Castro into playing winter ball somewhere. Let him dominate a league somewhere, find his confidence, and let him come back in spring and try not to fuck with him too much.
sitrickQuote Reply
I essentially don’t listen to pitch classifications anymore. They’re never 100% accurate, and they don’t even mean the same thing from pitcher to pitcher. I could throw a 9 to 3 slider and you could throw an 11 to 5 slider and they are both sliders, or you could throw me a 2-seamer and a lefty could throw me a 2-seamer and they are different pitches.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles wrote:
No I couldn’t
Suburban kidQuote Reply
i don’t know much, but i’m fairly sure they won’t ‘sell low’ on castro. it’s not the way this regime does business. now if he get’s off to a great start next year, all bets are off. (i’m joking people)
as for the so-called ‘rift’, i spoke to someone in the organization that laughed at that notion. said this season has been difficult on players and management, as any losing season would be.
wpbcQuote Reply
@ Myles:
whatever floats your boat. harrypav and the folks at brooks put a ton of work into identifying pitch types which are invaluable in looking at specific pitchers. when looking league-wide on fangraphs, there’s going to be some noise, but it doesn’t bother me as long as some care is applied.
GWQuote Reply
@ josh:
Lets bring back Gerald Perry. He was here during the best offensive Cubs teams I can remember.
aaronbQuote Reply
aaronb wrote:
The key to a winning Cubs tradition is jacques jones.
sitrickQuote Reply
aaronb wrote:
*shoots self*
BerseliusQuote Reply
GW wrote:
Yeah, well that’s kinda what I mean. Saying “Starlin Castro hasn’t been hitting 2-seamers” doesn’t mean much because there are plenty of different 2-seamers from different pitchers who have different repertoires and different movements and he isn’t facing the same pitchers every year (or even the same caliber of pitcher).
MylesQuote Reply
Lineup today
Castro
Rizzo
Lake
Schierholtz
Murphy
Bogusevic
Barney
Castilo
Arrieta
We got a “it just might work” from Yellon out of this (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
I miss Theriot. He attracted infield predators.
sitrickQuote Reply
New Shit
http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/at-least-hes-not-pete-kozma.html
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
the classifications on fangraphs are from mlbam are automated based on velocity and movement. if sk’s two-seamer is very different, it won’t be classified as a two-seamer.
yty changes in classification have to be taken into consideration, of course.
GWQuote Reply