Whatever chance Ian Stewart had of being recalled to the majors by the Chicago Cubs prior to Monday night has probably slipped away. The once-promising young infielder was sent from the Colorado Rockies to Chicago last year, and he hit just .201 in 55 games with the Cubs. Stewart now appears to be stuck in the minors.
The 28-year-old is hitting .165 with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa this year. On Tuesday night, he took to Twitter to vent about how the Cubs have no interest in calling him up and how manager Dale Sveum doesn’t like him. It all started when a follower asked him when he would be called back up to the majors.
Probably neverRT @wesjameson11: @ian_stewart_2sc good game tonight bro!! Any word when your heading back to Chicago?
— BeefStew2 (@IAN_STEWART_2sc) June 11, 2013
Stewart then began getting bashed by some other followers, who were quick to point out that he is making $2 million this season to play in the minors. He acknowledged that he is making a lot of money but began complaining about how the Cubs and Sveum have it out for him.
@believesumner I said that be because the cubs are doneWith me….there going to let meRott in AAA all season and then non tender me after
— BeefStew2 (@IAN_STEWART_2sc) June 11, 2013
@heitkamp2827 I think daleDoesn’t like me andHe’sRunning the show
— BeefStew2 (@IAN_STEWART_2sc) June 11, 2013
I wonder why. If Stewart is the type of guy who will rip an organization that hasn’t called him up when he is hitting less than .200 in the minors, he must have an incredible sense of entitlement. As Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune mentioned, Stewart also tweeted that the Cubs “might as well release me” and that playing in Triple-A is more fun because there is “no stress.”
As you might expect, the team is not pleased. In 2009, the Cubs suspended Milton Bradley for making negative comments about the team to a newspaper. That type of punishment is not out of the question for Stewart.
“We spent the entire morning dealing with an issue that doesn’t help us get better as an organization,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said on Tuesday, via the Chicago Tribune. “That’s not how we want to spend our time. What he did was really unprofessional and there are going to be consequences. Beyond that, I’m not going to comment.”
Most minor leaguers would use their MLB affiliate ignoring them as motivation. Stewart seems to be more interested in gaining sympathy. His entire rant is worth reading if you want to hear a grown man bellyache, because there was a lot more to it than the aforementioned comments. At age 28, Stewart still has time to make a name for himself. This isn’t the way to go about doing that.
UPDATE: To the surprise of very few, Stewart has been suspended indefinitely without pay. Cubs GM Theo Epstein cited the “loyalty clause” as the reason for the suspension, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Fist pound to Hardball Talk
