Samardzija, I Hope Quade Starts Ya

A plethora? Ah . . . no.

Let's get something out of the way right now: I should be sued for that awful headline. I apologize, but I'm not so sorry that I'm willing to put in the effort for a better one. The good news is, I'm putting twice as much effort into the rest of the post, so hang on to your hat!

Jeff Samardzija is back on the Cubs' AAAA team, mostly because the AAA team ran out of games. Bruce Levine blogged about Spellcheck's back-and-forth journeys between the majors and minors and the bullpen and starting rotation. He mentioned his hopes that Samardzija remain as a starter, and I'd just like to echo them. First, let's see what Mike Quade has to say on the subject, since it's probably his decision, more or less:

A start's in the offing for him, and we'll just have to see.

Okay, I don't know what that means. I think I need Old Hoss Radbourn to translate. Let me just say that if a start isn't in the offing for Jeff Samardzija, I'd like to give Quade what for! Here's another quote from Carrie Muskat's aforelinked article on the recent call-ups:

The right-hander could start, but the Cubs do have an overload of starters now.

I must disagree with Muskat here. I would not say the Cubs have an overload of starters, nor do they have a plethora.




It would be more accurate to say the Cubs have a plethora of bullpen arms masquerading as starters, and I don't see the harm in adding one more to the mix. Samardzija hasn't exactly accrued a plethora of Major League starts. (I need to stop saying "plethora," so I can stop typing in this ridiculous accent.) He has two starts on the big league level for a total of 8 1/3 innings.






The Cubs don't need another bullpen arm for this season. If Samardzija shows promise as a starter, let's see it now. Give post-heart-surgery Silva some additional rest. Move the third-generation Coleman back to the bullpen. Go to a 10-man rotation. I don't care. Just don't move Samardzija back to the bullpen until it's absolutely necessary.

Confidence isn't everything. You still have to be able to pitch well to succeed as a Major League starter, but Samardzija has shown he has the arm to pitch. If he can gain some big-league confidence, he could be a valuable addition to the rotation. If Quade sends him to the pen, his bruised ego might prevent him from being even a decent middle reliever.

And I think Quade would be in the offing . . . whatever that means.