I don't know if the Cubs have hit stride or if the Brewers pitching is really this bad, but, in any case the weekend games were a welcome relief. They have to find a way to play Colvin almost every day.
On the roster front, the Cubs sent Samardzija down to Iowa to make room for Lilly. No great surprise, but I was a bit surprised to see they were going to keep him in the bullpen. It is possible he might develop over time to a decent starter, but I don't think he will ever be suited to relief. One of the things a young pitcher like Samardzija needs is to log innings and game situations and to develop his secondary pitches and command, which he is not going to do in short relief at AAA.
Samardzija is another example of having business decisions guide baseball decisions. Hendry gave this kid an outrageous contract for an unproven talent more famous for playing football at Notre Dame. You have to wonder that part of the thinking was that a lot of Notre Dame fans are big Cubs fans and wouldn't it be a great draw to see this guy hit the big leagues with a band in the middle of a pennant race, which he did in 2008 for about a two week stretch before major league hitters figured out he had a 98 mph straight fastball and nothing else.
Juan Cruz was released by the Royals. He has been terrible the last two years in the AL and even at his best he walked a lot of guys, but he did have a good run with the Diamondbacks as a setup man. The Cubs might want to take a flyer on him for a minor league contract if he clears waivers.
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