The Cubs loss in Cincinnati was eerily similar to the loss I watched them suffer at the hands of the Braves earlier this year.  Ryan Dempster started both games for the Cubs.  He pitched very well in both games.  Leading 3-2 in the 8th in Atlanta, Dempster gave up a double to rookie phenom Jason Heyward.  Lou Pinella pulled him out of the game and replaced him with John Grabow.  The first hitter Grabow faced was Chipper Jones.  Jones promptly hit a home run and the Braves won the game 4-3.

Dempster pitched even better today.  He had only given up three hits as the game moved into the 7th inning and the Cubs were winning 3-2.  Two hitters reached base with first baseman Joey Votto due up and two outs.  Piniella visited the mound, just as he did in Atlanta, but this time he left Dempster in the game.  I mentioned at the time that it was obvious that Piniella did not trust the bullpen.  On Dempster’s very first pitch to Votto, the young first baseman hit a mammoth blast into the right center field seats to give the Reds a 5-3 lead.  They went on to win the game by the same score.

The Cubs could only muster four hits off of Reds starter Mike Leake.  One of those hits was a two-run home run by Tyler Colvin, who started the game in left field to give Alfonso Soriano a day off.  Koyie Hill also started, giving Geovany Soto a rest. 

I know that players need a day off once in a while, but coming into Sunday’s game, the Cubs had lost four of the five games they had played during the road trip.  Wouldn’t it have made sense for the Cubs to have at least one of Soriano or Soto – two of their hottest hitters – in the lineup for their final game of the road trip?  Who knows if it would have made a difference, but I have trouble accepting removing two of the team’s best hitters from the lineup at the same time while the Cubs are having trouble scoring runs.

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez continue to struggle at the plate.  Lee was 0-4 while Ramirez got a hit in his final at-bat of the game.  Lee is hitting .210 on the year while Ramirez is still below the Mendoza line at .167.

Starlin Castro, AKA the greatest baseball player in the history of the game, was 1-3 with a single.  It was the first game in Castro’s big league career that he has not had at least one extra base hit.  He will make his Wrigley Field debut tomorrow against the Florida Marlins.  God help the Marlins.

The hysteria over Cubs rookie shortstop Starlin Castro got a jump start last night as he hit a three-run home run in his very first major league at-bat.  The opposite field shot came on a looping curving ball from Reds pitcher Homer Bailey. 

Later in the game, Castro came to the plate with the bases loaded and drove in three runs with a triple to left center field.  He ended the game with six RBI, a major league record.  That’s one game, one record set.  My gosh, what can’t this kid do?

Despite his fantastic start, there are still those in the blogosphere who believe that the Cubs are making a mistake by bringing him up to the big leagues too soon.  They feel the move will stunt the 20-year old’s growth.  They point to the fact that Castro jumped over AAA as proof that the Cubs are desperate and are sacrificing Castro in the process.  They also complain that, although the Cubs have waited long enough to promote Castro to postpone his free agency status for another year, he will likely qualify for Super Two status if he remains in the big leagues for the rest of the year.

I don’t know if Castro is ready for big league baseball.  I don’t think anyone knows for sure.  But at some point, the Cubs have to find out.  He’s been tearing up AA pitching, so why not give him a shot at big league pitching?

Sure, he’s only 20-years old, but he has a mature approach to the game and the Cubs believe he is ready for the big stage.  Plus, Ozzie Smith was only 19 when he hit the big leagues.  It would be horrible for Castro to have a similar career (at least with the glove).

Also, jumping over AAA is not unheard of.  The better players often jump from AA to the big leagues.  Triple-A is a good place to sand off the rough edges, but it’s not a necessary step in a baseball player’s career.

The argument concerning Super Two status is by far the weakest argument the naysayers have.  The short counter-argument is, who cares?  It may cost the Cubs a little more a little sooner, but the amount in the whole scheme of things is negligible. 

In case you weren’t aware of this, Mike Fontenot qualified for Super Two status this past year.  If the Cubs can drop a little extra money for the privlege of having Fontenot in the big leagues, certainly they can spend the money to have Castro on the big team sooner rather than later.

To make the Super Two status argument even weaker, there have been rumors that the “Super Two” concept is going to be done away with in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players Association.  So why worry about something that may not even exist in a couple of years?

Finally, by bringing Castro up to the big leagues early, he was unable to accrue much minor league service time.  That may not seem important at first glance, but it does give Castro four minor league options rather than the more normal three.  So if Castro struggles early in his career, the Cubs can return him to the minors without having to be too concerned about him running out of options.

It will be interesting to see how the Chicago media handles Castro’s ascendency into stardom.  I was in Atlanta earlier this year to see the media there fall all over themselves to illustrate the force of nature that is Jason Heyward.  After just two major league games, Heyward was being compared to Ken Griffey, Jr.  And it was pointed out by the talking heads that Heyward actually was having a better career than Griffey had at a similar point in his career.  I kid you not.

So, all hail Starlin Castro.  He is the greatest rookie to come along for the Cubs since the great Tuffy Rhodes.