Welcome to the big leagues, Mr. Castro

The Starlin Castro Era began at about 6:40 p.m. Central time tonight when the rookie shortstop, just called up from West Tennessee, took his first major league at-bat against Cincinnati's Homer Bailey. The second pitch he saw was a nifty curve that tailed in over the plate, and Castro almost visibly buckled. But, the next time he saw it, on the fifth pitch, he knew just what to do, waiting on it and then driving it over the right field fence for a three-run homerun.

Not bad for a newbie.

The sound you heard in the background a moment later was the hype machine starting up. What a wild turn of events in just the last 24 hours, since rumbings of Castro's imminent arrival began.