Cubs pitcher latest to ride on crazy train
The Chicago Cubs, who have the worst record in the major leagues, have not given much offensive run support to ace pitcher Jeff Samardzija this season. That's ironic, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, who wrote the Cubs could give Samardzija enough support to run him out of town in a trade.
"While Derek Jeter headed to the other side of town after the Yankees' 4-2, 13-inning comeback victory over the Cubs on Wednesday, Jeff Samardzija appeared ready for a farewell tour of his own," Sullivan wrote.
"On a day when closer Hector Rondon imploded and second baseman Darwin Barney committed a costly throwing error in the ninth to blow yet another triumph for Samardzija, the Cubs' top starter said he wasn't going to let his streak of bad luck get to him.
"Samardzija (0-4) threw seven scoreless innings against the Yankees, lowering his major-league-leading earned-run average to 1.46. Yet he now has a believe-it-or-not streak of 16 starts without a victory dating to Aug. 30.
"And to think, Samardzija asked for and received a no-trade clause when he signed a five-year, $10 million contract as an unproven minor league prospect, saying there was nowhere else he wanted to play. But now he's just another Cubs exile-in-waiting, like former rotation mates Ryan Dempster, Scott Feldman and Matt Garza.
"The winless streak has taken on a life of its own, and Samardzija knows his days with the Cubs probably are numbered. He has rejected the Cubs' contract proposals for the last two offseasons, even when the front office sent Kerry Wood on a top-secret mission last winter to try to persuade him to take their offer.
"Something crazy has been happening to the Cubs for longer than a century now, and Samardzija is just the latest in a long line of victims.
"Perhaps things really will even out for him, or maybe he'll just go crazy."
Tyson's example
The Los Angeles Dodgers released catcher Miguel Olivo on Thursday, two days after a dugout altercation in which Olivo allegedly bit off part of teammate Alex Guerrero's ear while playing for Class AAA Albuquerque against the Salt Lake Bees.
The Dodgers had suspended Olivo on Wednesday pending the completion of a team investigation. Olivo, 35, batted .217 in eight games for the Dodgers this season. He was signed to a minor league contract in January.
Agent Scott Boras, who represents Guerrero, told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Tuesday that his client needed plastic surgery on his ear as a result of the bite. Neither Olivo nor his representatives have commented publicly. According to ESPN's sources, Guerrero could miss up to five weeks.
Guerrero, a Cuban infielder who signed for $28 million this past winter, remained on the Isotopes' roster as of Wednesday evening.
According to the Salt Lake City police, Guerrero declined to file a complaint with the police about the incident, and that would have been the first step toward criminal prosecution.
Ironically, in a spring training interview with Telemundo, Olivo said that if he weren't a baseball player, he would like to be a boxer like Mike Tyson, who infamously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear during a 1997 bout.
Quote of the day
“I don’t think it’s set in truly how special she is. We haven’t seen anybody like her. I don’t know when we will.”
Springdale Har-Ber Coach Brett Unger on heptathlon champion Payton Stumbaugh
Sports quiz
Jeff Samardzija was a two-time finalist for which college football award?
Answer
Samardzija was a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top wide receiver, in 2005 and 2006 while playing for Notre Dame.
Sports on 05/23/2014