We already know (“know”) that Assistant Chicago Cubs GM Randy Bush reads Bleacher Nation, but does manager Mike Quade read it, too?
After yesterday’s apparently controversial post about keeping Starlin Castro in the three hole (except maybe against lefties, where he could lead off) because, among other reasons, he’s one of the team’s best hitters and, as teased out in the comments, his long-term future is probably in the three hole, Mike Quade had this to say about the Castro batting order decision:
“Look, we think this guy is a pretty important part of our future. I have no concerns about his psyche no matter where he hits. If he showed up tomorrow and was hitting fourth, I don’t think he’d blink.
“We’re looking for a three-hole hitter and we’re looking for one for [the long term],” Quade continued. “I want to find out. He’s going to lead off today, and we’ll go back and forth with left-handers and right-handers in our lineup.
“He’s talented and capable and going through the first month of our season. He’s our best hitter and that’s supposed to be your third guy. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Ok, so Quade probably doesn’t read Bleacher Nation (if he did, he probably wouldn’t much care for it lately), but his sentiment is spot on to what we discussed yesterday. Castro makes sense in the three hole for a variety of reasons right now; and that was before Marlon Byrd provided an 0-4, three strikeout, four left on reminder performance last night.