Starlin Castro Benched Day After ESPN Shows Him Not Paying Attention

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was benched by manager Mike Quade for Monday’s game after ESPN showed video of the shortstop not paying attention at times during Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN caught Castro with his back to the batter during a pitch and showed the footage during their telecast. Analyst and former manager Bobby Valentine discussed the unacceptable lapse from Castro for several minutes.

Manager Mike Quade was not aware of Castro’s mishaps as of Sunday night, saying he was busy managing the game. That was understandable. After he went over the video, he decided Castro’s behavior was unacceptable and he benched him gave him a “mental day off.”

Here’s a look at the video via Clubhouse Cancer and Awful Announcing to judge for yourself:

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing was upset that Valentine spent seven minutes on the conversation. While I agree the conversation about Castro dragged on, I thought the catch by Valentine was good analysis. He spotted a key player not paying attention to the game. The part about how not paying attention can become cancerous may have been exaggerated, but if you’re flogging Valentine over this incident you’re missing the point.

Focusing on what Valentine did wrong and excusing Castro’s lack of focus because he’s a good hitter is the same mentality that’s allowed him to get away with this throughout his career. Are you telling me that just because Valentine wants a managerial job in baseball he’s not allowed to point out a player’s mistake, even when it’s warranted?