Samardzija Allows 4 Homers in Sox Loss to Cubs

March 28, 2015 @ admin → No Comments

Six innings, 92 pitches and nine strikeouts and scoreless relief had White Sox scheduled Opening Day starter Jeff Samardzija feeling pretty good about Friday’s Cactus League contest vs. the Cubs. OK, with the exception of the four home runs that accounted all of the Cubs’ runs in a 6-3 Sox loss. A reminder to Sox fans: Spring-training stats are meaningless.

Video below of Belen Lavallen. For those interested (and even if you’re not).

* Speaking of Sox fans, oh, look: Melky Cabrera went 3-for-3 (including his first home run) against the Cubs. A reminder to Sox fans: Spring-training stats are as meaningful as you want to make them.

* Cubs starter Jason Hammel allowed two runs in six innings. Guessing manager Joe Maddon will be happy to have such performances on a regula basis. Also guessing Hammel will be, too, And a reminder to readers around here: Any guesses on this site are simply the uneducated variety — at least the ones coming from the keyboard of the guy who ~~is the creative force~~ types these words.

* Speaking of uneducated guesses, the guess here is that Major League Baseball will do its best to change language in the next collective bargaining agreement to avoid situations in which ballclubs leave top prospects to start the season in the minors so that the teams can have an extra year of contract control.

* Speaking of such situations, Kris Bryant believes he is ready to be part of the Cubs’ roster to open the regular season. Even though Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein never has had a player without big-league experience begin the season at the big-league level. Epstein says the reason he has done so is for baseball reasons rather than financial ones. It’s not a rationale that Scott Boras (Bryant’s agent) or Bryant necessarily agree with. “I look at it as, ‘Why not me?'” Bryant told media in Arizona on Friday. “I think I’m the type of guy who can go out there and do it. I’ve made it a point of mine to show them that I can.” Well, if you consider being the spring-training leader in home runs and runs batted in to show anyone anything. If Bryant is as good as he has appeared to be, he eventually will file for free agency. And by then the Cubs will have no excuse not to offer him a mind-boggling amount of money. All Epstein is doing is delaying that day, as best he can,

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