Samardzija to Join Iowa, Hill and Pie to Mesa

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Link.

 

Samardzija, who normally can be spotted in the Smokies’ dugout or in seats behind home plate charting pitches during off days, was in neither of those familiar locales during Tennessee’s 8-1 victory over Mobile at Smokies Park Saturday.

 

That prompted speculation inside the Smokies’ stadium that Samardzija had left the team, presumably to join Class AAA Iowa – a move later confirmed by a Smokies spokesperson, who said Samardzija is expected to join Iowa by Tuesday.

[Outshined_One]

Given that Marshall was getting called up to join the big league team, it probably came down to Atkins vs. Samardzija vs. Veal on who'd get booted up to Tennessee. I was expecting it to be Veal, but given how much the Cubs seem to love Samardzija, this decision should come as little surprise.

 

At the rate things are going for him, maybe the Cubs will call him up in September for bullpen duty? :blink:

[Little Slide Rooter]

Yet another phase in Sharks quest to suck at every level.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Samardzija since he had a brief bullpen stint:

 

5 Starts, 27.1 IP, 2.66 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 16/10 K/BB

 

The K's are a bit low, but other than that it's pretty stellar.

[rawaction]

I think Rich Hill is also done in Iowa. Word is, he may go down to Arizona to work on his issues. So, Iowa will likely be down 2 starters, thus the promotion of Jeff S.

[Sammy Sofa]

Samardzija since he had a brief bullpen stint:

 

5 Starts, 27.1 IP, 2.66 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 16/10 K/BB

 

The K's are a bit low, but other than that it's pretty stellar.

 

Me likee.

[E.J.]

I think Rich Hill is also done in Iowa. Word is, he may go down to Arizona to work on his issues. So, Iowa will likely be down 2 starters, thus the promotion of Jeff S.

 

Jesus. I don't even know what to think anymore.

[Outshined_One]

I think Rich Hill is also done in Iowa. Word is, he may go down to Arizona to work on his issues. So, Iowa will likely be down 2 starters, thus the promotion of Jeff S.

 

Jesus. I don't even know what to think anymore.

 

:(

 

Maybe Veal will get the call to Iowa after all.

[Brett]

I think Rich Hill is also done in Iowa. Word is, he may go down to Arizona to work on his issues. So, Iowa will likely be down 2 starters, thus the promotion of Jeff S.

 

Jesus. I don't even know what to think anymore.

 

:(

 

Maybe Veal will get the call to Iowa after all.

 

Unfortunate circumstances to get a shot, but Veal has definitely turned it on the last few weeks.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Veal since April:

 

10 starts, 57 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 5 HR, 48/28 K/BB

 

Like Samardzija, one problem, although for Veal it's too many walks.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

The four innings I saw Shark pitch, he looked pretty good. Veal had a bad outing the time I watched him. Of the two, Samardzija looked the better. I wouldn't base much on just the two starts I saw.

[Soul]

Samardzija since he had a brief bullpen stint:

 

5 Starts, 27.1 IP, 2.66 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 16/10 K/BB

 

The K's are a bit low, but other than that it's pretty stellar.

 

Me likee.

 

That's faaaaaaar from suckage (small sample size of course).

 

He's going to be @ Iowa just in time for my trip down there! Coolness.

[Sweet Swinging Billy]

Veal since April:

 

10 starts, 57 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 5 HR, 48/28 K/BB

 

Like Samardzija, one problem, although for Veal it's too many walks.

 

 

 

Sweet Swinging Billy earlier wrote: "I know I don't have the spelling of his name down but I found it interesting that the Cubs chose to replace the Iowa pitching vacancy with...what's his name as opposed to Veal".

 

--- Thanks T.T., I didn't realize that Vance had posted this before I did.

[Little Slide Rooter]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080623&content_id=2990452&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

 

So is that essentially extended spring training for Hill and Pie?

[VanceJergins]

Why Pie? He was just starting to turn it around.

[ctcf]

Did Jeff do really, really well for the month I was away?

[David]

Why Pie? He was just starting to turn it around.

 

Pie apparently hurt his hand.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Did Jeff do really, really well for the month I was away?

 

Yes.

 

I'll merge this one with the Samardzija thread in Minor Leagues and update to include Pie and Hill.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Arizona Phil on Pie being in Mesa:

 

So do I really think Pie was sent to Fitch Park to "rehab" a "sprained thumb"?

 

Well...

 

 

... from what I've heard, he did have a thumb injury, but it wasn't particularly significant, and it certainly wasn't the type of injury that would normally warrant a trip to the hell that is Fitch Park in June.

 

Reading between the lines, it appears that Pie being sent to Fitch Park was more for disciplinary reasons than it was to rehab an injured thumb, with the so-called "sprained thumb" the excuse needed to justify the DL stint and the Fitch Park rehab assignment.

 

What the exact nature of Pie's transgression at Iowa was, I don't know. Maybe Mike Wellman can find out. But I have heard whispers that he sulked big-time after being optioned to AAA by the Cubs in May, and that part of the reason behind the Cubs decision to option the Pie man to Iowa in the first place was related to his becoming a bit of a "party animal" in Chicago, staying out until all hours of the night and then showing up at the ballpark not necessarily "ready to play" the next day.

 

As a further tidbit of bizarro information, Pie had what sounded like an argument with someone from the Cubs brass (I couldn't see exactly who it was, but I could probably guess) who was sitting up in the Fitch Park Tower that overlooks the four fields as Pie was walking to the clubhouse after he left the game in the 6th inning.

 

I didn't understand the complete nature of the "discussion," but I believe it had something to do with Pie expecting to leave town immediately (like "who is driving me to the airport?"), but being told instead that he would be staying at Fitch Park at least one more day.

 

Pie did not look happy, that's for sure.

[UMFan83]

Yay! Everything is coming up gold for the Cubs today!

[CubColtPacer]

This would certainly fill in some of the weird inconsistencies from earlier in the season (why publicly they said that Pie was working really hard on his swing and was very coachable, but then there were whispers coming out that his commitment wasn't very good). That always confused me because I couldn't figure out a way for both to be true. If this report is at least somewhat accurate, that would explain the dichotomy. It also serves to at least partially explain the strange usage pattern for Pie.

 

I'm guessing Pie doesn't last another month with this club. The Cubs will let him come back to Iowa in another week, he'll hit the ball well for 2-3 weeks, then they'll trade him.

[Andy]

So the message here is that no Cubs prospect is ever going to be able to cut it. I wonder how Soto snuck through.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

So the message here is that no Cubs prospect is ever going to be able to cut it. I wonder how Soto snuck through.

 

Maybe Soto being married has kept him from the lures of big city life that might have gotten Pie in trouble...and is rumored to have seduced Ronny as well.

[rawaction]

The Cubs are masters at lowering a prospect's value! Not saying everything in that story is true, but wow a 22-year old going out clubbing in one of the biggest most entertaining cities on Earth? God Forbid! Everyone knows you can't go out partying and be ready for a game 10 hours later.

[gflore34]

This would certainly fill in some of the weird inconsistencies from earlier in the season (why publicly they said that Pie was working really hard on his swing and was very coachable, but then there were whispers coming out that his commitment wasn't very good). That always confused me because I couldn't figure out a way for both to be true. If this report is at least somewhat accurate, that would explain the dichotomy. It also serves to at least partially explain the strange usage pattern for Pie.

 

I'm guessing Pie doesn't last another month with this club. The Cubs will let him come back to Iowa in another week, he'll hit the ball well for 2-3 weeks, then they'll trade him.

 

If that helps the Cubs net AJ Burnett or, better yet, CC Sabathia, it works for me.