Jeff Samardzija
Eight Cubs Eligible for 2014 Salary Arbitration
An unsigned player under club control who has accrued at least three but less than six years of MLB Service Time is automatically eligible for salary arbitration. Also, any unsigned player with at least two years but less than three years of MLB Service Time who accrued at least 86 days of MLB Service Time the previous season can qualify for salary arbitration as a so-called "Super Two" if the player is among the top 22% in MLB Service Time of players in that group.
If a club and a player eligible for salary arbitration cannot agree on a contract, the player can request the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to file for salary arbitration.
Saturday game thread: Reds (16-14) v. Cubs (11-18)
Before yesterday's bottom of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman had allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 measly run over 13.1 IP. Friday, the Cubs got to him for 4 hits, 2 BB, and 3 runs in just two-thirds of an inning, and his ERA jumped from 0.68 to 2.57. It was also just the second time in 17 career appearances v. the Cubs that Chapman has been scored upon at all. Thus, I am counting yesterday as a moral victory and in my mind, with wins today and Sunday the Cubs can still achieve a series sweep. Or, at least a moral sweep.
Lineups for Saturday, 12:05 start:
Sunday Game Thread: Cubs (2-3) @ Braves (4-1)
I have come to hate the Tomahawk Chop and accompanying crowd hum as much as anything about the Cardinals, Brewers, or White Sox. Go, Cubs, go, dammit!
Cubs lineup v. Tim Hudson (3 ER, 6H over 4.1 v. Phillies on 4/1, ND): DeJesus 8, Castro 6, Rizzo 3, Soriano 7, Schierholtz 9, Navarro 2, Valbuena 5, Gonzalez 4, Samardzija 1
Braves lineup v. Jeff Samardzija (0 ER, 2 H, 9 K, 0 BB over 8 IP v. Pirates on 4/1, WIN): BJ Upton 8, Heyward 9, Justin Upton 7, Gattis 2, Uggla 4, Francisco 5, C. Johnson 3, Pena 6, Hudson 1
Reds Nine-Run 9th Crushes Cubs at HoHoKam Park
Donald Lutz slugged a three-run home run to cap a nine-run 9th, as the Cincinnati Reds drubbed the Cubs 11-1 in Cactus League action this evening at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.
Tony Campana Helps Rally D'backs to Victory at HoHoKam Park
Ex-Cub Tony Campana laced a two-run pinch-hit double to cap a four-run 6th, and then tripled in the 8th, helping to rally the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-2 victory over the Cubs in Cactus League action this afternoon at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.
Navarro Blast Propels Cubs to Victory over Giants
Dioner Navarro hammered a three-run home run to cap a four-run 1st inning, and Jeff Samardzija and six relievers combined to throw a six hitter, as the Cubs edged the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in the Cubs 2013 Cactus League home opener before a sparse crowd (7,784) this afternoon at cool & blustery Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.
Samardzija throws 4-2/3 of a No-No at Fitch Park
Jeff Samardzija threw 4-2/3 innings of no hit ball, Luis Flores clubbed a solo home run, Shawon Dunston, Jr hammered a two-run homer, and Carlos Penalver had three hits, scored a run, and drove-in another, in Extended Spring Training intrasquad action this morning at Fitch Park in Mesa, AZ.
Shark Attacks the Tribe with Goose Eggs at HoHoKam Park
In what was one of the better performances by a Cubs starting pitcher at HoHoKam Park in quite some time, Jeff Samardzija showed Top-of-the-Rotation stuff while throwing six innings of shutout ball (67 pitches - 43 strikes), allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out five. Three relievers followed with three more shutout innings, as the Cubs blanked the Cleveland Indians 2-0 in Cactus League action this afternoon in Mesa, AZ.
Cubs Take Sentimental Journey to Cactus League Victory
The game featured a pre-game fly-over by a World War II vintage B-17 bomber (“Sentimental Journey”) that is based at Falcon Field in Mesa.
NOTE: Scroll down for the updated MINOR LEAGUE CAMP rosters (effective today 3/12).
Theo Sez
Saturday's weekly "Talking Baseball" show on ESPN 1000 radio, hosted by Bruce Levine and Fred Hubner wrapped up with a Q&A session with Theo Epstein. Bruce Levine asked Theo up front if he wanted to talk about playing electric guitar or baseball, ...and baseball it was. A summary was posted in the CCO but as it turns out I had a recording of the program and was able to get together several complete quotes from Theo on multiple topics, including:
• Dale Sveum's camp, the bunting contest and the 9am meeting with a daily player "roast." (I doubt the roast would have gone over well in the Milton Bradley era)
• Lineup construction (after Hubner wanted Theo's opinion of Soriano leading off):
"Lineups are overblown to begin with. As long as you adhere to some basic lineup construction principles, it's really hard to screw up a lineup and also hard to get too great of an advantage out of it."
• On acquiring starting pitching depth:
"Frankly, going forward looking at the next several years, we don't have a lot of starting pitching coming up in the upper levels of the farm system and we didn't have a lot of starting pitching under control on the big league team."
• Samardjiza's opportunity to start:
"A quality starter is more valuable even than a quality closer, which is significantly more valuable than a setup guy or a middle man"
• Talent acquisition and the new scouting and player development manuals
• Matt Garza and any contract negotiations
• Hitting, Ted Williams and the number one foundational principle of hitting
• Theo's best organizational surprise upon coming to the Cubs, the Dominican Academy
the full quotes, after the jump...
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Recent comments
Eric S (view)
The fifth inning has not been kind to Wicks this season. Giving up leadoff doubles to Tucker Barnhart is also not good for business. IIRC, the Cubs are on the hook for the majority of Barnhart’s salary this season to add insult to injury (could definitely be wrong here).
Cubster (view)
Kris Bryant to IL with low back strain. He’s keeping the Rockies docs busy.
crunch (view)
m.busch out here bunting for a hit with the infielders back.
it worked.
Arizona Phil (view)
Cubs recall RHSP Hayden Wesneski and select RHRP Colten Brewer from AAA Iowa (Brewer was Iowa's closer), option Luke Little and Daniel Palencia to Iowa, and transfer Julian Merryweather to the 60-day IL.
BTW, Brewer is out of minor league options in case that becomes an issue at some point.
Also, now that Merryweather has been transferred to the 60-day IL, he cannot be reinstated any earlier than June 5th.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Busch has been great so far, but the Dodgers are one of the orgs I’m always leery of trading with. They’re so savvy about their internal scouting.
videographer (view)
Here is an interesting thought: There seems to be an assumption that the Cubs had to trade 2 prospects to get Busch with Almonte thrown in to even out the trade. What if the initial trade was Ferris for Busch, but Hoyer wanted Almonte (a cheap RP) and Hope was the ask from the Dodgers. This scenario makes the trade more complicated to ponder the future ramifications.
Arizona Phil (view)
Zyhir Hope and Reggie Preciado were co-MVPs at Cubs AZ Instructs last fall, and every MLB organization had scouts at the AZ Instructs games so Hope was well-known to everybody (and was clearly a Cubs Top 30 prospect with a bullet).
https://www.thecubreporter.com/cubs-2023-arizona-instructional-league-s…
azbobbop (view)
I can’t speak to how many organizations had newfound interest in Zyhir Hope but I did talk to a Dodger scout who told that the Ddodgers always had their on him.
I hardly think of my self as a “scout” but I saw a beautiful smooth left hand swing, easy power, an aggressive base runner as in very limited action, a good defensive player. He certainly caught my attention, moreso than anyone else on the ACL team last year.
George Altman (view)
Ditto. The can DFA him when they activate Taillon.
crunch (view)
cade horton with his 2024 AA debut of 4ip 4h 0bb 4k, 1r/0er is followed up even better...
4ip 1h 1bb 5K, 0r/er
he's still on a pitch count restriction, btw. he probably could have gone 6+ innings in both outings if he was off a leash.