Kuzul

Starlin Castro had Chicago Cubs’ fans licking their chops since they first caught wind of his Arizona Fall League performance and while they watched his spring training. The newly turned 20-year old Dominican made his major league debut on Friday night. 

To say he did not disappoint would be like saying Cubs’ uniforms aren’t blue.

The wunderkind joined the exclusive club of 104 others by popping a shot over the wall off of his new best friend, Homer Bailey, in his first major at-bat.  

The three-run bomb easily cleared the right field fence in the Cubs’ 14-7 win over the Reds.

In his second at-bat, Reds’ center fielder Drew Stubbs snagged a hot liner that prevented extra bases—with Castro’s plus-plus speed, Stubbs’ sliding grab may have saved another home run…this of the inside-the-park variety.

Not to worry, fans at Great American Ball Park in Cinicnnati who came out in droves for “Lady’s Night” got a look at Castro’s boot-scooting ability in the fifth inning with his bases loaded triple off of Micah Owings.

With those six RBI, Castro joined an elite club where he is the sole member.

Since statisticians have been tracking RBI, four players have knocked in five runs in their Major League debuts…last being Ben Grieve in 1997.

After the game Cubs’ manager, Lou Piniella talked to the press. 

“The kid—what a debut! He’s got to be ecstatic. He should be.”

Castro downplayed it a bit, “I never expected to hit a home run my first at-bat.”

Well, Starlin, believe it. Not every game will be like this, but it’s safe to say that your jump from AA to the bigs will be a long and permanent one.

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Dusty, does this Cairo guy have an incriminating video of you smoking crack à la Marion Barry?  A Dusty Baker sex tape à la Paris Hilton?

We’re fans.  We will understand and forgive your past indiscretions.

Seriously, why is this guy on the team?  And why do you keep using his weak stick to pinch hit?

Take Monday night for example: men on the corners, and you pinch hit Cairo for Mike Leake in the Reds half of the sixth?

It was completely understandable to relieve Leake on the mound.  He had run out of gas and was probably disgusted at the defensive play of Drew Stubbs and Orlando “The O.C.” Cabrera.

But, back to the ballgame.  Two down, runners on the corners, and Mets’ starter, Oliver Perez, had less fuel in the tank than Leake.

The inning before, Leake worked Perez for nine pitches and drew a walk.  In 11 at-bats so far this season Leake has four hits.

Cairo?  Two hits in 19 at-bats.

Why not leave Leake in to hit and then send Herrera to the mound?  Dusty, have you watched Leake at the plate?  Were you not paying attention to all those foul balls he hit against Perez?

Of course Cairo hit a lazy pop to left, ending the inning and the threat.

Leake is an athlete—he can hit and he can run.

Whereas this Cairo character looks like he should be guzzling brew with Pete Incaviglia in a slow-pitch softball dugout.

Who knows what would have happened had Cairo not been sent to pinch hit. 

But it’s possible, Dusty, that your team would have scored—and you wouldn’t be forced to go with a thin pen again for Tuesday night’s game.

What happens tonight if Bronson Arroyo can’t get out of the fourth?  Okay, you bring in Micah Owings.  Say he is equally as ineffective?  What then?  Paul Janish?

Pitching Coach, Bryan Price, has to know better than these constant mound removals and double switches.  It’s obvious.  You have pulled the exact same fartwitted moves over the last two-plus years.

You have a good pitching coach.  Listen to him!

And, oh yeah, the Reds won last night.

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The Cincinnati Reds’ starters are pitching like we thought they would going into the season, including, yes, Aaron Harang. 

But the Reds have an unexpected problem. The bullpen, more specifically the middle relievers, are pitching like kids dropped on their heads as babies.

The back-end is fine. Coco Cordero is lights out. And if Arthur Rhodes keeps it up, he may be the first eighth-inning guy to win a Cy Young Award.

Daniel Ray Herrera has been fine for the two or three batters he faces, and Micah Owings is doing alright in the mop-up role.

Everybody else’s stuff is absolutely filthy. And not filthy good, filthy like a sock that’s been worn for three straight days.

Nick Masset’s ERA is currently 11.45 with opponents hitting .367 while already surrendering three long balls in 11 games. Carlos Fisher, brought up to replace Logan Ondrusek, makes fans long for the days of Paul Janish on the rubber.

Compared to Masset and Fisher, Mike Lincoln is tossing All-Star-caliber baseball. But he seemed to get hurt on Saturday for the first of 34 times this season.

Want a simple solution Reds’ fans?

Call Aroldis Chapman. Stick him in the pen this season—maybe give the kid a spot start every now and then.

This is hardly an original idea. The Minnesota Twins did it with Johan Santana, and the Toronto Blue Jays did the same with Roy Halladay—both teams knowing that their futures would be as starting pitchers.

Why not try the same with Chapman? What’s with the wait?

Our starters (thank you Bryan Price) have begun getting ahead in counts. However, unless Mike Leake starts every night, the Reds can’t count on this day-in and day-out.

So what happens when Johnny Cueto or Homer Bailey run a huge pitch count by the end of the fifth? We can’t run Micah to the mound every time.

Give Chapman two innings. Let him blister opponents with his triple digits. And then hit the back end. 

Even though hitting the back end sounds sleazy, it’s a better option than looking at Fisher or Masset.

If Lincoln is healthy either send Fisher down for good, or demote Masset to get in some sort of groove that halfway resembles his 2009 season.

Masset will be ruined if he doesn’t (very soon) get some confidence back. And Fisher, to put it kindly, just does not have big league talent.

The Reds have a $30 mill guy on the farm. He’s pitching well. Doubtful well enough to get through five innings of major league ball.

But Chapman, like Santana and Halladay, could be our two inning stud before next season when we’ll see him as a starter.

So General Manager, Walt Jocketty, get on the phone! 

Your watch is telling you something. 

It’s Aroldis o’clock.

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Baseball is unlike any other American sport.

While its popularity has diminished and has been overtaken by the NFL, there is no denying its rich history.

Over the history of the game, many words have been used to describe it.

Again, there is no denying baseball is steeped with some of the best quotes ever.

Many are well known: Yogi’s, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”, Ernie Banks’, “Let’s play two.”

Others are not as well known. Here are just a few.

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