Starlin Castro is the Cubs’ best player, but his rookie mistakes aren’t so endearing now that he’s in his third season.
With the Cubs up 2-1 in the fifth inning of Monday’s game and the Giants having the bases loaded with one out, Brandon Crawford hit a grounder to second baseman Darwin Barney. Barney made the throw to Castro covering at second, only to watch in dismay as Castro merely tagged the bag and started jogging off the field.
As it was, the ball was probably hit too slowly to be turned into an inning-ending double play anyway. Still, Castro almost surely would have attempted to turn it had he known the number of outs. His gaffe, on a play on which the Giants tied the game, earned him a disgusted look from starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija, and manager Dale Sveum wasn’t all that successful in covering up his own disappointment.
In Castro’s defense, he has seemingly cut back on the mental mistakes this season. He probably made more than any player in the league last year. Castro is just 22 and still has plenty of room to grow. The Cubs, though, are likely to be awfully upset if anything like this happens again anytime soon.