Jeff Samardzija Should've Stuck With Football
It's funny to think of Jeff Samardzija and baseball together (or to see him in a Cubs uniform!), but I suppose that's what we have to do since he's currently in the Cubs minor league system. I suppose currently is definitely the best word for it. From today's LA Times (free registration required):
The Cubs bought him out of a possible NFL career in January, guaranteeing him $10 million. He has started 11 games this season, winning none, with a 5.75 ERA, a .349 opponents' batting average and only 20 strikeouts in 52 innings. The Cubs moved him to the bullpen last week.
If you're the kind of person that needs a record to verify pitching performance, Jeff Samardzija's 0-5 this year.
I don't know who to question more on this one. On one hand, Jeff Samardzija definitely had an NFL career waiting for him after his impressive college years at Notre Dame. On the other hand, a career in baseball is definitely a safer thing than a career in football.
Then you've got the Cubs side of things. Jeff Samardzija was a fifth round draft pick by the Cubs. I understand part of the reason he fell so far was worries over his football career, but $10 million is a ton of money to pay any draft pick, especially one not taking in the top couple picks of the draft. And people think Alfonso Soriano and Jason Marquis are over paid. In any case, with the start that his baseball career is off to, one can't help but wonder if he's got a Drew Henson-like career ahead of him, bouncing from sport to sport without ever really settling in.
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