This makes me nervous…
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Category Archives: Starlin Castro Watch
PAYDAY
Cleaned, pressed and ready to humiliate.
No. 47 Baby!
The Rod Beck #47 jersey is on it’s way! It’ll arrive just in time for Friday’s Cubs/Cardinals game so Pete will be able to see what he’ll have to be wearing on June 11th as a result of losing our Starlin Castro bet.
Speaking of Castro, he just went yard again tonight against the Rangers bringing his RBI total to 11 in his first 15 games and moving his avg. to a scorching .363. It’s almost embarrassing how completely wrong PV was about the young superstar. At this point, merely having to wear a Cubs jersey to the Cubs/Sox game doesn’t seem to even come close to atoning for his egregious error. Perhaps getting a Cubs logo with a little #13 tattoo would be more appropriate? The best part is the Pixies already wrote a song about it.
And the winner is…
PV will don the #47 of the Shooter, Rod Beck
When you consider the mullet, the fu manchu, the piles of Bud cans behind the Winnebago, the gut and the nickname, the choice of Cubs jersey to pay off our Starlin Castro bet was easy: the #47 of the Shooter himself, Rod Beck (may he rest in peace).
The three-time All-Star had a career-high 51 saves with the Cubs in 1998 (my first year living in Chicago) including the final one in Game 163 over the Giants to clinch a playoff berth.
But he was just as well known for his wild look—which must have inspired Eastbound & Down‘s Kenny Powers—and his likable nature . At one point, while at Triple-A Iowa, he lived in a Winnebago parked just beyond the outfield fence where fans would drop by for autographs and stay for a few beers. Awesome.
The best part is that both Pete and my physiques fit the part as well. So if you happen to be in the bleachers on June 11, get your camera phones ready. It’ll be a one-in-a-lifetime event and a beautiful sight—a miserable PV in a stunning, royal blue, authentic Cubs jersey.
Decisions, decisions, decisions
Looks like it’s all over but the shouting—and it was never even close! Unless the Cubs soon-to-be-All-Star shortstop, Starlin Castro finds a way to go 0-for-10 against the Pirates on Friday, he’ll finish with an average well above .250, forcing PV to don a Cubs jersey of my choice to the Cubs/Sox game on Friday, June 11th.
Despite Verniere’s disparaging remarks, Castro followed his strong debut weekend in Cincinnati with four more hits and two walks in three games against Florida, cinching our bet with a full game left. PV was surprisingly gracious in defeat, sending me a congratulatory concession e-mail this afternoon.
Now for the tough part—what jersey do I go with: Home pinstripes? Classic road gray? Bold royal blue alternate? And then what name and number? Since my first obvious choice, “ASSHOLE”, was summarily rejected by MLB Properties (some BS about being “inappropriate, derogatory, or profane”, whatever…) so I think I might go with a Theriot #2 alternate jersey since he’s a solid player, we share the same first name, 2 is a cool number and “The Riot” is about the coolest nickname since Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. Regardless, I’m just happy I won’t have to endure a brutal afternoon in the bleachers with one of Verniere’s sweat-stained David Wells jerseys.
If you happen to be in the bleachers on the 11th, be sure to look for the highly-intoxicated and apparently confused “Cubs fan” hurling insults at the home team while lamenting another Sox loss—it’ll be awesome. Thanks for playing, Pete.
High Stakes
The lucky part is that defense isn't involved
Through a series of typically immature and misguided comments posted on the blog yesterday, Pete and I have decided to put our money where our keyboards are (so to speak) and settled on the terms of a bet involving the offensive performance of the Cubs new shortstop, Starlin Castro.
If Castro has a batting average of .250 or below after this Friday’s game, I will have to endure the torture of wearing one of Pete’s many White Sox jerseys to the Cubs/Sox game in the bleachers at Wrigley on Friday, June 11th. Conversely, if Castro’s average remains above .250, Pete will have to wear a Cubs jersey of my choosing to the game—a humiliation of epic proportions.
Despite Pete’s notion that one’s true fanhood can only be measured by the number of jerseys one owns, I’ve never felt wearing another man’s name on my back proved much of anything, so I do not own a Cubs jersey. However, for this contest I’ll be happy to purchase one—I’m just not sure which. Keeping in mind he’ll have to wear it for one day while I’ll own it for many years to come, my top options at this point are:
Castro #13 – seems appropriate for the bet
Zambrano #38 – he’s the reason we started this blog in the first place
Piniella #41 - haven’t seen many of those at the ballpark
Trammell #3 – my favorite Tiger of my youth and the Cubs current bench coach
Smith #55 – my favorite number
Verniere #00 – so everyone knows what a huge Cubs fan he is
Castro’s average dropped down to .285 from .333 after going 0-2 with two walks last night (luckily, defense is NOT a part of the bet). Assuming he gets four at-bats in each of the next three games, Starlin will only need to get three more hits for me to win. Of course, my odds improve if he walks, hits a sac fly, gets hit by a pitch, Lou decides to bench him and/or if there are any rainouts from now through Friday so I really like my chances.
To be continued…
Wow, that was quick!
The wait is over—the Messiah is on his way to save the Cubs offense.
It’s being reported that Cub’s star prospect, Starlin Castro is being called up from Double-A Tennessee for tonight’s game in Cincinnati.
Considering the Cubs pathetic performance over the last few days in Pittsburgh, the move comes not a moment too soon. Last night’s 11-1 massacre at the hands of the Pirates, one of the worst teams in recent memory, must have been too much for Cubs management swallow.
Castro has been destroying the baseball in the minors so far this year. His .376 average and .990 OPS along with 20 RBI should be a welcome addition to the Cubs inconstant offense. Defensively, the anticipated move of Ryan Theriot to 2B in favor of Castro’s stronger arm and larger range should be a significant improvement as well.
The move comes much sooner than a lot of people thought it would which suggests the Cubs’ brass might be in panic mode. Such a young player (20 years old) may struggle at the Major-League level, but I think it’s a risk worth taking at this point. I like this roll of the dice by Hendry & crew. It’s still early enough in the season to do some damage in the NL Central.
Starlin Castro Watch: April 28
PANIC! The Cubs just lost two games to the perennial cellar-dwelling Nationals in the last 20 hours! The warm and fuzzy feeling we had after dominating the Brewers in their home ballpark has quickly evaporated.
Fortunately, a timely distraction was leaked this afternoon—the possibility that 20-year-old SS phenom, Stalin Castro, will be called up from the minors sooner than later. Castro is tearing up the Southern League with a .370 average, 1.008 OPS and 18 RBI in 19 games at Double-A Tennessee. Apparently, Cubs Assistant GM, Randy Bush, is down with the Smokies monitoring his progress first-hand.
Offense aside, the addition of Castro would be an improvement defensively since he has far more range and a stronger arm than Theriot at short. But I wouldn’t take “The Riot’s” hot bat out of the lineup so I say move him to second and leave Fontenot and Baker to battle for at-bats.
The only risk is that such a young player could lose confidence if he struggles out of the gate. But I don’t think Hendry can afford to think that way as this may be his last year as GM if he can’t produce a winner with this over-payed ball club. Time is not a luxury at this point. It all just makes too much sense for this not to happen soon. Don’t make the same mistake JFK did back in ’61, Jim. You’ve got Castro in your sights—pull the trigger.
