September Call-Ups to Be Delayed for AAA Playoffs

Rosters expand today from 25 to 40, and the Chicago Cubs are expected to call up a number of the young players – most of whom we’ve seen already this year – in the next couple of weeks. In general, though, the Cubs will wait until Iowa’s season, including the playoffs, which run through September 19. Iowa currently holds a half-game lead in their division.

Among the players the Cubs are expected to call up are pitchers Mitch Atkins, Justin Berg, and Jeff Stevens, each of whom recently spent time in the Cubs’ pen. The team is also expected to call up Jeff Samardzija, who has been refining himself as a pitcher at Iowa since being sent down in April. Outfielders Sam Fuld and Brad Snyder will probably also join the Cubs at some point.

The one player the Cubs could really use, catcher Welington Castillo, is not eligible to return to the Cubs until 10 days after he was most recently sent back down to Iowa. That pegs his return on Thursday, unless Geovany Soto goes on the disabled list in the next day and a half.

Whoa: Jeff Samardzija ASKED to Stay Down at AAA Iowa

As the Chicago Cubs have gone through a cavalcade of young options in their bullpen in the last couple of months, questions have popped up as to why former top Cubs pitching prospect Jeff Samardzija was not getting a look. After all, he had some success in the Cubs pen in late 2008, even if he was a disaster there in 2009. Indeed that 2009 season was a rough one for Samardzija, who bounced from the rotation to the pen, from Chicago to Iowa and back. It was probably no surprise that, when he was given a shot to make the Cubs rotation in Spring Training, he flopped. He lasted just a few weeks in the Cubs’ pen before being sent down to Iowa.

But as the 2010 season went on, things changed. Samardzija was dominating in AAA Iowa, and had added a successful cutter to his repertoire. Why wasn’t he on the list of young pitchers to get a shot this year?

Because he asked to stay at Iowa.

“When I first got sent down, I was (ticked),” he admitted earlier this week. “I came and grabbed the ball and was letting a lot of emotions out. I talked to Mase (Iowa pitching coach Mike Mason) a lot about, ‘Where do we start? Where do we go from here?’ I was just trying to find an identity. We worked a couple different pitches in that we’ve been throwing, and that helped out a lot.

“I came down here, cleared the slate, pitched in relief. I pitched strictly out of the stretch for probably a month in relief. I tell you what, it paid dividends, especially as a starter. You have something to lean back on when a guy gets on base.”

Although he watched as other pitchers got the call to Wrigley Field, Samardzija wanted to avoid a situation like last year, when he had three separate stints with the Cubs.

“I talked to Jim, and I talked to everybody,” he said, referring to general manager Jim Hendry. “We didn’t want to do what we did last year. We didn’t want to go up and down. We didn’t want it to be a roller-coaster ride. Are we paying for it a little now? Absolutely.

“I didn’t have plans of just pitching for the Cubs for a year or two years. For me, this is a long-term decision, and there’s no other place that I want to be – ever – to tell you the truth. You take your licks now, and you learn from them.” Daily Herald.

I don’t know about you, but that’s a huge revelation for me. Not only because it explains why we haven’t seen Samardzija (but have seen Mateo, Stevens, Parker, Maine, Atkins, Coleman, Diamond… the list goes on) this year, but also because it shows a tremendous and profound change in Samardzija’s attitude and maturity.

Recall, this was a kid that, not but a few months ago, was stewing that his near 15.00 Spring ERA didn’t win him a spot in the rotation (contrast that with Sean Marshall, who dominated in ST, and still wound up in the bullpen – and took it like the consummate professional he is, and ran with it). Now, Samardzija recognizes that if he’s going to make it in the bigs, he needs time to develop his craft.

Hopefully Samardzija’s request to not be shuffled between starting in Iowa and relieving in Chicago will prove beneficial to both him and the Cubs in 2011. It certainly sounds like, if nothing else, his attitude is improved.

Jeff Samardzija Expected to Join Chicago Cubs Soon

On September 1, MLB teams can expand their active roster – usually limited to 25 players – to as many as 40 players; namely, the 40 guys on the 40-man roster. That makes September an interesting time, even for teams completely out of the playoff picture, as fans get to observe youngsters they’ll hopefully see contributing in the near future.

One such September call up is expected to be pitcher Jeff Samardzija. You remember Samardzija, right? He’s the guy who got a five-year, $10 million contract after the Cubs drafted him in the 5th round in 2006 – you know, $100k more than top pick and consensus stud Bryce Harper just got from the Nationals?

Samardzija, who opened the season in the major-league bullpen, has been pitching as a starter at Class AAA Iowa. On Monday, he improved to 10-2 with a 3.05 ERA as Iowa beat Fresno 5-3. He worked 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 unearned run while walking one and striking out five.

The Cubs felt it was a solid outing, with Samardzija pitching at 95 mph and topping out at 98. He also has added a cutter to his repertoire.

“I would expect Jeff here soon,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I don’t make these decisions on who gets called up. But I would expect Jeff to be here. He’s had a really nice Triple-A season, and I’m sure he’s going to deserve this opportunity to come up here and pitch here.” Daily Herald.

Samardzija’s continued stay at AAA while guys like Thomas Diamond and Casey Coleman get shots in the rotation screams “doghouse,” as in, Samardzija is in Lou’s. Thus, color me unconvinced when Piniella says “I don’t make these decisions.” He certainly has plenty of input.

That’s not to say the decisions have been wrong – Samardzija has been tearing up AAA, but he proved last year and earlier this year that he simply did not have big league stuff. He had one decent pitch, and then a couple of crummy ones. Perhaps the Cubs wanted to let him start, and give him plenty of time to develop a truly effective second pitch – which, hopefully with this new cutter, he’s done.

Samardzija may not get a chance to start with the Cubs when he’s called up in September, but he’ll see some action. And then he’ll get a chance to crack the rotation in Spring Training again next year. Hopefully his arsenal, and his attitude, have improved by then.

Casey Coleman to Chicago, Carlos Silva to the DL

After experiencing a racing heart and chest discomfort, Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Silva spent what was probably a pretty scary night in the hospital. The good news is that everything checked out, but the bad news is that no one is yet quite sure what’s wrong with him – so the Cubs have put him on the 15-day disabled list.

To take his spot in the rotation, the team has called up AAA starter Casey Coleman, who joined the team today, together with fellow AAA starter Thomas Diamond, who is himself replacing departed starter Ted Lilly.

The Cubs called up right-handers Casey Coleman and Thomas Diamond from Triple-A Iowa. Coleman’s father, Joe, and his grandfather, Joe, both pitched in the big leagues, and they are the first family in Major League history to have three generations of pitchers in The Show.

Coleman, 23, was 10-7 with a 4.07 ERA in 20 starts at Iowa. He has struck out 59 in 117 1/3 innings and was holding batters to a .243 average. He doesn’t overpower hitters and has been described as a Greg Maddux-type pitcher.

His father, Joe, played from 1965-79, and made the 1972 All-Star Game with the Tigers. He faced Cubs manager Lou Piniella as well. Casey’s grandfather, Joe, had a 10-year Major League career from 1942-55, including an All-Star season in 1948. cubs.com.

In addition to the pedigree, Coleman comes with some hardware: he was the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year last year. Still, despite that achievement and the relative success this year in AAA at just 23, Coleman is not considered a top prospect, or a legitimate threat to take a future starting role in the Cubs’ rotation.

But he got the call over guys like Jay Jackson and Jeff Samardzija, so the Cubs clearly want to give him a shot. And hey, before last year, no one really believed Randy Wells would become a Major League starter, let alone one who would contend for Rookie of the Year.

In other news, it seems Carlos Zambrano will have to wait another week to work his way back into the rotation.

Thomas Diamond, Not Jeff Samardzija, Will Be the New Ted Lilly

Now that Ted Lilly is off to greener pastures in Los Angeles, the Chicago Cubs will need a new starter in their rotation. The obvious long-term choice is Carlos Zambrano, but he’s neither stretched out nor pitching effectively, so, despite his protests, he’ll remain in the bullpen for at least a little while longer.

In the interim, the Cubs will call up AAA Iowa starter, and former stud prospect, Thomas Diamond to join the rotation on Tuesday. Diamond was the Texas Rangers’ first-round pick in 2004, but went under the Tommy John knife in 2007.

This season at Iowa, Diamond is 5-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 21 starts and has struck out 104 in 108 1/3 innings. Opposing teams were batting .218 off the right-hander.

Before his Tommy John surgery, Diamond was a top 100 prospect in all of baseball. But since then he’s had a couple crappy years for a couple teams. Diamond has had a resurgent year with the Cubs, to be sure, but questions persist about whether he’s finally got it together, or whether he’s a career AAA player about whom the teams that have released him were right.

Interesting that he got the call over fellow AAA’er Jeff Samardzija (to say nothing of true prospect Jay Jackson or bullpen roustabout Andrew Cashner). Samardzija has thrown very well at AAA since being banished from the big club, but is rarely discussed and is apparently not at the top of the team’s list of future starters.

He’s certainly earned his share of cold-shouldering, what with his bad attitude and crummy secondary pitches, but it still seems cruel to pass Samardzija over during Shark Week. Ba dum ching.

Remember Jeff Samardzija? How’s He Doing These Days, Anyway?

A couple months ago, Jeff Samardzija had pushed the patience of the Chicago Cubs to the limit.

One of a small handful of players who’ve been given a Major League contract straight out of the draft, expectations were high for the converted Notre Dame wide receiver. After teasing the Cubs with a spectacular August and September in 2008, Samardzija fell flat in 2009 – he was given just two starts, and then moved to the bullpen, and then shuffled back to AAA Iowa.

In 2010, he was once again given a chance to win a starting spot, but he was terrible in Spring, and his stuff simply didn’t look good. Vocally frustrated with the decision to put him in the bullpen, Samardzija once again failed to perform. He put up an ERA just shy of 20 before being sent packing to Iowa.

Since then, he’s mostly been relieving, but we’ve heard almost nothing about him. That must mean he’s been throwing good enough not to get negative press, but not good enough to be considered for any of the numerous call-ups that have taken place in the bullpen since he was sent down. After all, the Cubs have been searching for a right-handed set-up man, powering through Esmailin Caridad, Justin Berg, Jeff Stevens, among others, before settling on Andrew Cashner. Samardzija’s name did not come up once.

So how is he doing at Iowa these days, anyway? Mediocre, as we would expect?

Actually, no. He’s been dominating.

He’s logged 34 innings in 19 appearances (all but two were out of the pen), with a razor-thin 1.59 ERA. His WHIP is also a shiny 1.088. But how about the peripherals? They’re not quite as good, but still strong. His 29 strikeouts in 34 innings is pretty much the best clip he’s been running at in his career. He’s giving up just 0.5 homers in 9 innings, which is also the best rate in his career. Still, he’s walking too many guys – 19 in those 34 innings. Beyond that, though, the numbers look great.

So why is he getting no love? I suspect that it’s mostly an issue with his stuff – the truth is, it looked like dog shit earlier this year. He had maybe one serviceable, Major League caliber pitch. The Cubs likely want him to continue to work on developing his secondary pitches, regardless of how “well” he’s pitching in the minors.

Of course, there also could be an attitude problem – Samardzija made no secret of his desire to start and desire to be on the big league club. Neither is the case right now. It could be that the Cubs are putting Samardzija in his place a little bit. That’s, of course, wild speculation on my part – but when comparing his comments upon not making the rotation and Sean Marshall’s comments (recall, Marshall had pitched better than anyone in Spring Training), it is perhaps reasonable wild speculation.

Samardzija’s future with the Cubs is uncertain. If he keeps pitching this well at Iowa, and doing the things he needs to do to develop as a pitcher, he’ll get another shot with the big club, possibly as soon as the next few months. Given the team’s investment, they’re unlikely to dump Samardzija any time soon, and would probably still like to see him develop into a starting pitcher.

Mitch Atkins to Chicago, James Russell to Iowa

With the Chicago starting pitchers failing to go deep into games lately, the bullpen has been a bit taxed. To that end, the Cubs reached into AAA Iowa to pull up an arm to provide some relief (get it!?), and called up righty Mitch Atkins.

To make room on the roster, left-hander James Russell was optioned to Iowa. Russell was 0-1 with a 4.71 ERA in 20 relief appearances.

Atkins was 4-2 with one save in 14 games (six starts) for Iowa, striking out 33 in 48 innings. He had been used as a starter in his last six games, and last pitched June 5 against New Orleans. In that game, he gave up one run on three hits in six innings.

“We need a pitcher in here with a fresh arm,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Saturday. cubs.com.

Interesting that Jeff Samardzija did not get the call – he’s got a 2.16 ERA for Iowa right now. But he just started for Iowa on Friday, so maybe the Cubs felt he couldn’t provide immediate depth.

Atkins, 24, appeared twice for the Cubs last year, and has a 2.62 ERA at Iowa this year, with a razor-thin 1.062 WHIP.

Carlos Zambrano to Remain in Bullpen for at Least Six Weeks?

The Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen experiment has always been regarded as just that: an experiment. But how long will it last? Presumably, the move is not permanent, but if none of the other starting pitchers starts struggling mightily, how long could Zambrano stick in the pen?

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella has implied that it could be a long time.

Still, the idea of switching Zambrano from starting, which he has done since June 2002, and making him the setup man is a little radical.

“What are we supposed to do? Put the burden every day on four young kids?” Piniella said of relievers James Russell, Justin Berg, Jeff Gray, and Jeff Samardzija, who was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday. “Is it fair to them? Is it fair to us?

“I’m trying to win baseball games here,” he said. “The new owner wants to win baseball games here. You’ve seen what happens here the first two weeks of the season, and that wasn’t going to change overnight.”…

“You have to bring young pitchers along the right way,” Piniella said. “You throw them into the fire and they don’t respond the right way, you’ll get more adversity than success. I like these kids who are here — I’ve said that coming out of Spring Training. But not in a 2-2 ballgame in the eighth inning or a 2-1 ballgame in the eighth inning. It’s not going to work.

“It could work six weeks from now if they’re brought along the right way,” he said. “Right now, it’s expecting too much. It’s like bringing a kid up from the Minor Leagues and having him hit fourth and bringing up another kid and having him hit fifth. You’re not going to get the consistency that those positions demand.” cubs.com.

If I’m reading that right, I see Piniella saying that he’s unlikely to feel confident enough to allow the “young pitchers” to throw in close and late situations. As long as that’s the case, it sounds like Zambrano will be necessary in that role – or, at least six weeks. And that’s assuming the young guys come along sufficiently in that time to instill more confidence in Piniella.

I think it’s more likely that, in that time, one of the other starting pitchers gets hurt or implodes, and Piniella is forced to put Zambrano back in the rotation.

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