Weekend Update: Castro, Zambrano, Lee and Ramirez, Caridad

Well, we are already a month into the baseball season, and Cubs fans can not be too excited with the slow start the Cubs got off to, but they are showing signs of improving.

When You wish upon a Starlin

Many people around Baseball, feel that Starlin Castro will soon be with the MLB team.  This past week, we have heard a time frame of a week to a month as far as when we will see Castro in the Majors. And when that day arrives, it is expected that Castro will take over at shortstop and Ryan Theriot will move over to 2B. But in order for that to be the case the Cubs will eventually have to move Jeff Baker or Mike Fontenot. And the general speculation is that it will be Baker, as part of a trade .

Now to negate a couple misconceptions people outside of the Cubs base have, the Cubs or their fans for that matter are not showing any type of disrespect to current shortstop Ryan Theriot. In fact, last time I checked he is still considered to be a fan favorite among Cubs fans. But the controversy comes in when the question is asked who is the better defensive shortstop Castro, or Theriot?  Now some baseball scouts would say that Castro is the better shortstop, and that has been the popular belief. And, while I think Castro can potentially be the better defensive shortstop, at this point in his career he may not be better than Theriot. Then again, from a range perspective and arm strength Theriot is not too good at that handling that from the shortstop position.

Also, it has been the popular thing to compare Castro to the failures of Felix Pie, and Corey Patterson. And those comparisons really are not warranted, due in large part that both Pie, and Patterson were hype almost exclusively by the Cubs, not the national media. But in Castro’s case, many national writers and beat Writers believe that he is indeed going to be the next big time prospect.

Carlos Zambrano will be a Starter again this Year

While, Carlos Zambrano has made it known the he is not “happy-happy” about being a reliever, General Manager Jim Hendry has said that for the time being and the near future Zambrano will remain in the bullpen. But he did say, that Zambrano will eventually be moved back into the rotation. And, that will likely be when the Cubs acquire an eighth innings set up man.

Slumping  Sluggers

The early season slumps of corner infielders Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez have been well documented over the past couple of weeks. But, when dealing with two veteran hitters in Ramirez and Lee, their really is not much one could do to help them. They have had their success throughout their careers, and history has shown that they eventually will be in line with their career averages.

Also, it appears that both hitters are starting to come around offensively. Ramirez, has hit safely in his past 7 games, and is starting to drive the ball. Lee on the other hand, had a big 2 RBI base hit today, so hopefully he can continue off that.

Put Your Smiley Face On

Cubs reliever Esmailin Caridad, also known by the nickname Smiley, was expected to throw today in Mesa, Arizona and then if all goes well he would start a rehab assignment in triple A-Iowa this week. He is expected to re-join the Cubs next weekend in Cincinnati. It will likely be Jeff Gray or Justin Berg being optioned in order to make room for Caridad.