How Does This Cubs Fan Feel About the Starlin Castro Trade?

Last night, around 8:30, my phone blew up (one person tweeted at me, I have low "blowing up" standards) with the news that longtime Chicago Cub, Starlin Castro, had been traded to the Yankees. I didn't know how I felt about it at that moment, but I think I've figured it out.

Castro joined the Cubs six years ago and immediately made an impact. In his major league debut, he drove in 6 runs. In his first at bat, he absolutely crushed a 3 run shot deep into the stands. Castro was the first glimmer of hope the Cubs had in a while after his debut. Unfortunately, asking someone to do what he did in his debut every game is unrealistic and close to impossible.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with Castro, for a long time, he was my favorite player on the Cubs. The shiny new hope that could help break that curse thing that people keep talking about. However, Castro didn't have a lot around him and the Cubs teams he was on didn't win many games. He was on that wonderful Cubs team that managed to lose over 100 games a few seasons ago. With that type of malaise hanging over the team, Starlin Castro stopped trying. There were games where they'd cut to him playing shortstop and he'd be chewing bubblegum and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. His play didn't help either, as Starlin Castro has been known to commit an error or two (or 138) over the past 6 years.

Here's where I'm conflicted: the guy I just described, I would have been happy to ship off to wherever, heck, I was ready to trade him for a sandwich and a hug in the middle of this past season. Manager Joe Maddon saw that Castro's pedestrian play was hurting the team and benched him. Once Castro played his way back into the lineup (this time playing second base), he started playing great baseball. Seeing him traded to the Yankees isn't that big of a deal to me (I passively root for the Yankees in the AL), but it is sad to see him go just as he was becoming what he was supposed to be all-along.

Overall, I'm OK with the trade but it feels like a relationship that is letting you down until the other person finally changes, only for them to have to move away. I'll miss Starlin Castro in a Cubs uniform but I look forward to seeing what this new Cubs team can do.