Who says being boring is a bad thing?
Addison Russell has usurped Starlin Castro as the Cubs' shorstop and the 21-year-old rookie did it, in part, by being "boring."
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"The thing that stands out to me is how simple he is in his approach to defense," manager Joe Maddon said, before telling a story about when he saw Russell's simple approach for the first time in spring training.
"What he does is right. That's the way I would teach it. He is simple. I've always said that defense should lack chrome. Good defense should be very boring.
"And in some ways, he's very boring out there."
Russell has looked energized of late, taking his game to the next level in the field and he's starting to produce on a consistent basis at the plate.
MLB
Since the All-Star Break, Russell was hitting .282 with a .731 OPS entering Tuesday night's contest against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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Maddon thinks Russell is becoming the player everybody thought he was going to be.
"Right now, I think Addy's doing a wonderful job," Maddon said. "You can see his confidence. He's very confident right now. That's different, as compared to the beginning of the season.
"Just look at his swings. They're much freer, looser. He's just a different animal right now. That's just based on experience."