Chicago Cubs:  Why I was wrong about Steven Souza Jr.

Chicago Cubs outfielder,  Steven Souza Jr., is no Nicholas Castellanos, but he may just be the best deal the Cubs made the whole offseason.

Sometimes you get it wrong. I’m not above saying I made a mistake and it is still pretty early on (spring training), so I may be jumping the gun here, but I feel safe in saying that the Chicago Cubs new outfielder, Steven Souza Jr., could just end up being the bargain of the year.

First, let me say that I don’t want to take anything away from the sheer heroics and just impressive and inspired play by outfielder Nicholas Castellanos last season on the Cubs roster. Castellano’s whole approach to the game and being a Cub was a glaring look at what the rest of the Cubs knew they needed to be. To sum it up, Castellanos had a passion for the game of baseball last season, and it was evident. This train of thought led me to think, “What if Castellanos was brought on this season?”

My mind raced with thoughts of new manager David Ross and what an asset Castellanos would be to the new manager. As the offseason continued and the Cubs had not moved on an outfielder, there was a glimmer of hope Castellanos might be waiting for the Cubs to make an offer. In fact, the Cubs did make an offer but not to Castellanos, but to an injured player who hadn’t played last season. I was enthralled!

How could the Cubs pass up this opportunity for Castellanos? Why Souza? Was it money reasons, or did someone think that Souza was as good a replacement for Castellanos in the outfield?

That night, I penned the article, “Chicago Cubs: Fans know Steven Souza Jr. is no Nicholas Castellanos,” which was meant to tell Cubs leadership, you just passed on the ‘A’ player for an injured ‘C’ player, and we know you did it for money reasons and nothing else.  Wow, I wasn’t a real happy camper, and my brothers and sisters on Facebook echoed my anger:

"“Yup the front office is making a bunch of meaningless trades, Cubs are headed for the bottom of the Central” – Real Talk Chicago Cubs “Also a lot cheaper. Main word. Cheaper.” – Real Talk Chicago Cubs “But this Souza fellow has never been healthy for more than one full year” – i am Cubsessed “Really sad., another leftover” – i am Cubsessed"

The proof was there! I wasn’t alone! Many fans thought that the Cubs were going cheap and trying to save money in the offseason.  Mix that emotion with the thoughts that the Cubs passed on one of the fans’ favorite players (Castellanos), and you’ll understand why these comments became so nasty.

The only thing Souza could do for fans at this point was to come out swinging in spring training.