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Notes: Samardzija itching to return
For the first time, Jeff Samardzija actually has time off. And he's antsy.
"I'm used to quick turnarounds," Jeff Samardzija said. "I'm excited about the coming season."
The former two-sport star, who used to spend his autumn Saturdays as a wide receiver, most recently for Notre Dame, is now a full-time pitcher in the Chicago Cubs' Minor League system.
"It wasn't that weird," Jeff Samardzija told MLB.com about life without football. "You get into that schedule, but it really wasn't weird. I watched some [football] games and hung out with a couple buddies, but I thought about the baseball season more."
The tough part for Jeff Samardzija -- other than watching the Irish go 3-9 -- was not being able to play with his Notre Dame teammates. The Irish could've used Jeff Samardzija, who holds the school record for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
He is now a full-time baseball player -- "It'll be awesome," he says -- and already looking ahead to next season. The right-hander began last year with Class A Daytona, and went 3-8 with a 4.95 ERA in 24 games (20 starts), striking out 45 over 107 1/3 innings. He was promoted to Double-A Tennessee in August, and made six starts, posting a 3-3 record with a 3.41 ERA, striking out 20 and walking nine over 34 1/3 innings.
The stats aren't a good indication of how Jeff Samardzija did.
"The numbers, obviously, I'm not too happy about them," he said. "But I look at the whole season. I learned from it. The middle of the season, I got a little down. It was good to learn from, and to learn how to quickly fix things. I was very happy with how the season ended."
Part of his game plan included throwing X-number of changeups during a start so he could develop the pitch and not rely solely on fastballs. On the plus side, the right-hander finished strong, and his arm felt good.
"I was happy how my arm felt every fifth day -- every day I felt 100 percent," he said. "It was nice to go out and throw a whole season."
This offseason, Jeff Samardzija is doing his conditioning, but has yet to start throwing. This past spring, he asked some of the veteran Cubs pitchers about how they train during the offseason to get some pointers. He expects to meet soon with new Minor League pitching coordinator Mark Riggins.
This fall, Jeff Samardzija also took care of the Valparaiso (Ind.) High School football team, and donated new Under Armour uniforms to the players. He's going to make sure the baseball team at his high school receives new jerseys, too. The baseball coach now is former Cubs infielder Mickey Morandini.
"You remember how you had it when you were there," Jeff Samardzija said. "The students were excited about it."
So, no regrets about giving up football?
"No -- not even close," Jeff Samardzija said laughing. "I figure we'll battle through the year [with questions about his decision], and maybe by next spring it'll be all baseball questions."
Winter ball update: Felix Pie, a candidate for the starting center-field job in 2008, had a six-game hitting streak for Licey in the Dominican Republic through Wednesday. Pie was 8-for-22 with two doubles and a home run in that stretch. He was batting .241 in 25 games overall.
Shortstop Ronny Cedeno was batting .321 in 34 games for Aragua in Venezuela, with one homer, 10 doubles and 12 RBIs. Juan Mateo, who appeared in 11 games, including 10 starts, in 2006 with the Cubs, had a 1.35 ERA in five games for Licey.
Catcher Henry Blanco, limited to 22 games this past season because of a cervical herniated disc, was hitting .186 in 23 games for Leones in Venezuela.
Cubs sale: The Tribune Co. is expected to release financial data regarding the Cubs to prospective bidders in January, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig told Reuters this week.
No timetable has been set for when the Cubs' deal could close. Last week, Tribune Co. legal counsel Crane Kenney told Chicago media he expected the sale to be resolved sometime in mid-2008.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported the Cubs had attracted credible interest from about 15 parties, and another 25 were being sorted through. Potential bidders include John Canning Jr., chairman of private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners; William Marovitz, a real estate developer and husband of Playboy Enterprises Inc. CEO Christie Hefner; and a partnership of attorney Thomas Mandler and Jim Anixter, president of electrical wire and cable maker A-Z Industries of Northbrook, Ill.
Cubs Care lunch: Tickets go on sale Monday for a Jan. 16 luncheon with Cubs players, coaches and front office personnel at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse. Tickets are $100 each, and available starting at 10 a.m. CT on Monday by calling (773) 404-CUBS.
Admission includes a buffet lunch and a Cubs gift. General manager Jim Hendry will speak about the upcoming season, and a Cubs representative will be seated at each table.
Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit Cubs Care. Space is limited and table seating will be assigned at random.
Holiday bonus: It'll be a little nicer holiday for the Cubs players. A full postseason share for the National League Central Division champs totaled $24,507.95. The players' pool is formed from 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series. The Cubs awarded 52 full shares, 11.44 partial shares and six cash awards.
A full share for the world champion Boston Red Sox was $308,235.75, while a full share for the National League champion Colorado Rockies was $233,505.18.
Extra bases: Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano visited patients at Children's Memorial Hospital on Friday, delivering presents to children. This is the second year Soriano has gone to the hospital to spread holiday cheer. ... Want to see the Cubs in Las Vegas? Tickets for the Cubs' Spring Training games March 28-29, 2008, in Las Vegas will be handled by the Minor League team there, the 51s. Call (702) 386-7200 for information. ... Did you know? The Cubs were the first team to wear the sleeveless jersey, donning vests from 1940-42. The Cincinnati Reds picked up on the style in 1956, and the Pittsburgh Pirates started wearing vests in 1957.
See more at http://mlb.mlb.com
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