First Impressions of Jeff Samardzija

by dlee25 on Jul 25, 2008 10:20 PM CDT Comment 29 comments

Samardzija's line 2 IP 2H 1ER 2K 0BB

He wasn't perfect as he gave up the tying run however I came away very impressed from his first outing. His stuff is filthy. He lit up the radar gun hitting 97,98, and 99 on the radar gun. But also his stuff had alot of hard, late movement. He's also got a nasty slider to compliment his fastball. He has the tools to be a very good pitcher. However that being said he still needs to get some polish to be a big league pitcher.

Buster Onley made the comparison of what Joba Chamberlin did to the Yankees bullpen to what Samardzija could do. In my mind, I remember what Marmol did last year and Jeff could provide a similar unexpected lift to the bullpen. I know its early but I would love to hear your early impressions of this kid. All of this couldn't of come at a better time as it looks to begin like Bob Howry old and with Kerry Wood on the DL.

Thoughts?

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He has a lot of potential

I can’t disagree with anything you said. Nice to see him calm down in his second inning.

by Not Bruce Froemming on Jul 25, 2008 10:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ditto

"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse

by BigJohnAZ on Jul 26, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

someone at ESPN comparing him to Joba…. is similar to one of them comparing Mike Fontenot to Babe Ruth right?

So he must be good.

All snarkiness aside, I was happy to see him have a good first outing!

"We have a pretty strong belief that we are going to win those types of games. It's our confidence. "--Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly

by Madison Cub Fan on Jul 25, 2008 10:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Since we're talking about ESPN's East Coast bias...

Tonight’s Sportscenter poll was “Which weekend series are you looking forward to the most?”

There were two options. “Yankees-Red Sox” or “Some Other Series”.

...

CUBS WIN! CUE THE ORCHESTRA!

by Keith on Jul 25, 2008 10:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow...

Why does that not surprise me much?

"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." - Jacque Barzun

by Bump Bailey on Jul 25, 2008 11:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about three other series?

I hope some other series won

"We have a pretty strong belief that we are going to win those types of games. It's our confidence. "--Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly

by Madison Cub Fan on Jul 25, 2008 11:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

all he needs to do

is get over the newbie jitters, and he’s lights out.

i bet he’ll be a starter at the major league level at some point next year.

by nathew on Jul 25, 2008 11:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Just watched the DVR version and Ill say this....

movement movement movement….hes got it. Lets see 50+ innings to determine though.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jul 25, 2008 11:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Selfishly

Let him finish the season with only 49 innings.

If he pitches 50 innings this season, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do a top ten Cubs prospect list, let alone a top thirty. :-)

C’mon, Jeff. Give me something to write about!

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh77 on Jul 26, 2008 12:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

sounds good.

to be honest….i was amazed at pitches 94+ that were for some reason tailing like a 2-seam fastball but Id have to see it a few more times (x3 or 5) to be sold. tell you what though——hi style is a first IMO

And I know Josh--you are aware that the Cubs have found gold or have found fools gold. Either way-currently-its ONLY worth 10mil-wow-only?

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jul 26, 2008 12:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea its very unusual to see

a guy throwing 99 and still have the movement that he had. i.e Kyle Farnworth 99 mph fastball thats straight as an arrow.

by dlee25 on Jul 26, 2008 8:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Needs a 3rd pitch

He has an awesome fastball and a slider. He’s got a very big upside. However, I hope he gets a third pitch to take him to the next level!

by PhillyCub on Jul 26, 2008 12:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

come on now...

he most likely has more than 1 pitch…..and it was a split finger fastball that I saw; and was told about (on TV and Radio). It was also what the scouting report said….so you see a fastball and a slider? The scouting report is different….....

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jul 26, 2008 12:34 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

brenly named off...

quite a few pitches he has, someone correct me if im wrong, but i believe he said he has a slider a straight changeup, and all those different moving fastballs

"Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs. That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine. And that's really living." --Alvin Dark

by preachermancubsfan on Jul 26, 2008 1:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He threw at least one changeup yesterday

My next sig line quote will also be from Lou Piniella, and the first word will be either "Look", or "Listen", followed by a comma.

by JohnM on Jul 26, 2008 2:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The boy's got some heat!

But being a hard thrower doesn’t necessarily make you good, but with a few more outings, he could be a great asset

"I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then I'd have all my money back."
-Jack Handey

by deepthoughtsbyjackhandey on Jul 26, 2008 12:29 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

First impressions

He wasn’t scared out there. He was all business. This is a guy we will all be proud to have on our team for years to come. While I don’t think he will ever make an impact like a Zambrano or Kerry Wood does one thing is for certain, we will all remember the game Samardzija pitched for the first time in the Majors.

by ak123 on Jul 26, 2008 12:54 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

and why?

Lets be honest--he showed he had a few decent pitches but lets not annoint him (SP-SP-SP-?)

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Jul 26, 2008 1:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I kind of agree with Al’s comment about him not rating s standing ovation, let alone two. I wonder how his teammates felt about that. Did any of them get that of reception for their debuts? And how was this one really all that different?

My next sig line quote will also be from Lou Piniella, and the first word will be either "Look", or "Listen", followed by a comma.

by JohnM on Jul 26, 2008 2:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Probably because he's a "local" kid

from Valpo and enjoyed watching him on Saturday afternoons during the fall playing for that Golden Dome team from just outside South Bend lol

"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse

by BigJohnAZ on Jul 26, 2008 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

His second inning looked great

He was pitching, as opposed to throwing… which he did when he first stepped on the mound. The adrenaline must’ve been kickin… but in that second inning, his speed was down on the the fastball from 97 to 92… and he was locating his change-up (which was all over the map in his first inning).

I just hope he’s not Kyle Farnsworth v2.0

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Jul 26, 2008 2:29 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

jeff

if he can get the job done he.ll be a huge addition.how long before lou make,s him get a haircut.??he needs to impress or he,ll be out as soon as kery gets back

by NOMAR on Jul 26, 2008 8:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Haircut?

He gave up the tying run yesterday, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find him newly shorn for today’s game.

Kid’s got potential, that’s for sure.

WOXY.com - The Future of Rock and Roll

by Gibbon Jockey on Jul 26, 2008 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I still remember...

...watching Samardzija tear my high school football and baseball teams to shreds. Even back then, everyone watching knew that he was a very special athlete; I never realized just how good a pitcher he was, though. That fastball – wow!

"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game." - Walt Whitman

by hip2bsquare on Jul 26, 2008 10:51 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Heavy duty heat is a good start

Command of the heat apparently he has although it can go high. His slider at 84 MPH is a good compliment but what he needs is a solid straight change that comes out of the same arm slot as his FB and he could be a great pitcher.

As for this year, I agree in the right spots he will add greatly to the Cubs bullpen that needs a lift badly. Howry is moving down the confidence ladder although he is somewhat snakebit with the dropped pop up and missed call yesterday, resulting in two runs scored.

Wood will come back and actually might be good for him getting a lot of July off. As for Samardz, what he needs to do is throw the pitch called…...period.

Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."

by Ivy Walls on Jul 26, 2008 12:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Impressive movement

Give him that. A lot of pitchers straighten out the harder they throw. He has some real movement. The more time he gets the better he’ll pitch. Keep in mind he played a lot of football, for his age he might be a step behind. Gotta love the raw talent, and the mental make-up. With some experience and mentoring he could be lights out.

by Nibbles on Jul 26, 2008 3:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs