Jeff Samardzija May Move Into the Rotation and Other Terrifying Bullets - April 13, 2011 Cubs Bears Bulls Blackhawks Baseball is Fun Illinois Online Sports Betting DraftKings Illinois Caesars Illinois FanDuel Illinois Barstool Illinois BetMGM Illinois PointsBet Illinois BetRivers Illinois Cubs Bears Bulls Blackhawks Baseball is Fun Illinois Online Sports Betting DraftKings Illinois Caesars Illinois FanDuel Illinois Barstool Illinois BetMGM Illinois PointsBet Illinois BetRivers Illinois Skip to content Social Navigation Jeff Samardzija May Move Into the Rotation and Other Terrifying Bullets – April 13, 2011 April 13, 2011, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs In a way, it was good that the Cubs were facing a guy who always dominates them last night in Brett Myers. They were indeed dominated, but even if they’d had a solid offensive performance, they would have lost anyway. So why waste the good offense, right? Boom – bright sided! But it ain’t all sunshine and roses. The early possibility to get the next fifth starter’s spot start in the cavalcade of disasters? Jeff Samardzija. Of his performance – wherein he threw three innings and gave up three hits, a walk, and two earned runs – Mike Quade was effusive in his praise: “I thought (Samardzija) threw as well as we’ve seen. We needed those innings badly. I tip my hat to him.” Be afraid. Be very afraid. Not filling in as the fifth starter? Newly-signed Doug Davis, whom GM Jim Hendry does not expect to be ML-ready until the end of May. The Cubs are starting to give serious thought to Darwin Barney as the full-time starter at second base, despite Jeff Baker’s dominance of lefties, and overall hot start. ‘‘It’s just a brief snapshot,’’ said Quade, who admitted envisioning [Castro and Barney starting full-time up the middle] watching the big tandem game by the pair Monday. ‘‘There’s a lot of baseball to play. But both of them are off to really good starts. They play with enthusiasm. Both of them are getting smarter every day. They fit real well together.’’ Barney, for all his defensive prowess, has a career .708 OPS. In the minor leagues. 2010 first round pick Hayden Simpson wasn’t quite as good in his second start of the season, giving up five runs (three earned) in five innings last night. His fastball, which the Cubs bought at 95-96 mph, was sitting at just 91-92. Hopefully it’s just a matter of him having not pitched in games for so long, and it being April. Filed to: Chicago Cubs Post navigation Previous PostPrevious post:God’s Wrath Watch: Early Estimates on Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner Next Post Next post:Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 9, Astros 5 – April 13, 2011 Latest from Bleacher Nation: The Cubs Keep Winning, the Pitching Keeps Rocking, the Need Keeps Appearing, and Other Cubs Bullets When a Chicago Cubs Fan Sees Albert Pujols Reach 700 Home Runs Albert Pujols Just Hit *TWO* Homers Tonight to Join the 700 Club The Tennessee Smokies Have Won Their Division Series and They’re Headed to the Championship Series! Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 6, Pirates 5 – September 23, 2022 Patrick Wisdom Just Hit a Massive Homer – His Second in Three Games, and 24th of the Year Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Pirates (5:35 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread Cubs Injury Updates: Contreras, Hoerner, Steele, Smyly Murphy’s Return, More Veterans’ Summer Trade Reactions, a Lap with Frank the Tank, and Other Blackhawks Bullets All Eyes on Jae Crowder, DeMar DeRozan’s Offseason Doc, Front Office Thoughts, and Other Bulls Bullets Gordon Gets to Grow, Time to Preach Patience, Sanborn on Deck, and Other Bears Bullets Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code: Best Saturday Sign Up Offers Luke Richardson’s New Blackhawks Vision Already Winning Over His Players FanDuel Promo Code: $1K No-Sweat Bet Fuels Winning Weekend Alec Regula Sees Benefits of Unified Messaging in Blackhawks Organization BetMGM Illinois Promo Code: Bet $10 on NFL Week 3, Get $200 With TD There’s Something Creepy Going on at Some MLB Games Tonight … The Bears’ Pass-Blocking O-Linemen Are Rating Out Surprisingly Well (And Also Not Good at All!) Author: Brett Taylor Brett Taylor is the Editor and Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and @Brett_A_Taylor. SHOW COMMENTS! Latest BN Posts Murphy’s Return, More Veterans’ Summer Trade Reactions, a Lap with Frank the Tank, and Other Blackhawks Bullets All Eyes on Jae Crowder, DeMar DeRozan’s Offseason Doc, Front Office Thoughts, and Other Bulls Bullets The Cubs Keep Winning, the Pitching Keeps Rocking, the Need Keeps Appearing, and Other Cubs Bullets Gordon Gets to Grow, Time to Preach Patience, Sanborn on Deck, and Other Bears Bullets Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code: Best Saturday Sign Up Offers When a Chicago Cubs Fan Sees Albert Pujols Reach 700 Home Runs Luke Richardson’s New Blackhawks Vision Already Winning Over His Players Useful Links Shop at Amazon Cubs News BN Facebook BN Twitter BN Instagram Chicago Bulls Chicago Bears Funny Cubs Shirts What’s Happening on The Twitters? Official Cubs Gear Baseball Is Fun The Cubs Bus Shirt How to Start a Blog Contact Us Search Search for: Search We Also Cover the Bears: Bleacher Nation Bears We Also Cover the Bulls: Bleacher Nation Bulls We Also Cover the Blackhawks Bleacher Nation Blackhawks BN Swag: The Bleacher Nation Shop Disclaimer In addition to news, Bleacher Nation publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as information reported by other sources. Information on Bleacher Nation may contain errors or inaccuracies, though we try to avoid them. Links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of Bleacher Nation. Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used under a license with Getty Images, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. Legitimate requests to remove copyrighted photos not in the public domain will be honored promptly. Comments by third parties are neither sponsored or endorsed by Bleacher Nation. © 2022 Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and Obsession Bleacher Nation Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Bleacher Nation is a private media site, and it is not affiliated in any way with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago White Sox, or the Chicago Blackhawks. None of MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, the Cubs, the Bears, the Bulls, the White Sox, or the Blackhawks have endorsed, supported, directed, or participated in the creation of the content at this site, or in the creation of the site itself. It's just a media site that happens to cover MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Bleacher Nation is supported in part by affiliate advertising programs, which you can learn more about here.