One of the few duties of a major league manager is not to run out of players during a game.
It is said that great managers can "see" how the game will unfold three innings in advance, like a chess grandmaster who can anticipate 20 moves ahead in a match.
Cub manager Rick Renteria ran out of batters in the 13th inning. So he had to call on his best hitting pitcher, Travis Wood, to pinch hit. He bailed out his skipper with a game winning RBI double. But again, a manager should not run out of players in a close game. He should always be thinking ahead and not just reacting to the situation.
Speaking of which, the Sun Times reports today that the Theo Epstein is contacting Jeff Samardzija's agent for a final talk on a contract extension. The Shark becomes a free agent in two seasons. He has already indicated that he was going to play through to get to free agency. (He also said he was going to pitch great to get moved out of town.)
Last week, there were rumors that the Cubs had began actively discussing a Samardzija trade well before the deadline. That would make sense since Samardzija has thrown his best start of his career (without run support). The Cubs can get more in return by trading him earlier in the year. (Hammel appears to be flipped at the deadline.)
Though some believe the final extension talk is not public relations on the part of Cubs management which is about to trade away another popular player, it may really signal that the Cubs are not getting their perceived "value" for their ace pitcher. Samardzija may be the Cubs "ace" but on another staff he may be a #3 or #4. If the Cubs are not going to get two major league ready AAA pitchers in return, then it makes sense to try to keep Samardzija, a known commodity. But it also signals that if you believed The Shark is a quality, durable starter - - - very valuable in this TJ season - - - then one would think you'd keep him on board when the rebuild of the roster happens in the next two years.
But that is a tell . . . the Cubs are also signaling that the team will not be competitive in two years so why keep a high price starting pitcher who will leave in three? At best, Javy Baez is promoted to the club late this year or earns a spot in 2015. Kris Bryant is promoted to the Cubs in late 2015 or 2016. So by the end of the Shark era, the Cubs rebuild will yield only two quality position players, not enough to turn around a team that continues to struggle around .400.
If you want to think ahead, think 2020 as the cross roads season for current management and their plans to fix the Cubs.
