7/2 Rizzo & Castro & lessons learned

Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro had an interesting moment in the second inning Monday night. With two outs, Dan Uggla hit a grounder to Castro, who delayed his throw to first. Rizzo was playing off the bag, which might have been the reason Castro hesitated. Uggla was safe, and Dale Sveum talked to both Castro and Rizzo in the dugout.

Apparently, Rizzo told Castro to give him a little time.

“Rizzo came to [Castro's] rescue right away,” Sveum said. “Rizzo told him to give him time to get to the bag. He got caught probably trying to get too much ground and telling [Castro] to take his time when he gets a ball deep in the hole. I apologized to Castro after. Not that I said anything, but Rizzo came to his rescue right away and said, ‘Skip, that was my fault. I told him to give me time.’ Obviously, on that kind of ball, you can’t take your time with it.”

Rizzo took the blame.

“It’s my fault, in my opinion,” Rizzo said. “I told him before that to give me a little time. That’s just me not knowing Uggla’s speed. He just beat the throw.”

The Cubs want Castro and Rizzo on the same page for now and possibly the next 10 years.

“Those are two two-way players,” Sveum said. “The athleticism they have and the ability with the bat, it’s nice as a manager to know — hopefully, I’m around for the next 10 years — it’s nice to know you have two corner guys who will be pretty good for a long period of time.”

– Carrie Muskat