Samardzija pitches, fields his way to victory
Sigmund Freud supposedly said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” In baseball, nothing is ever what it seems to be as July 31 approaches.
Take Jeff Samardzija, who walked off the field to a standing ovation Wednesday after seven superb innings in a 2-1 victory against the Pirates that gave the Giants the series and a 5-5 homestand.
Sources say Samardzija is attracting interest from other clubs that value his durability and stuff more than they fear all the home runs he allows. Because he will not pitch again before Monday’s nonwaiver trade deadline, it was natural to wonder if the high David Freese comebacker that Samardzija snared to preserve a 1-1 tie came
on the last pitch he would throw for the Giants.
A Samardzija trade is far less likely than Tuesday night’s deal that sent Eduardo Nuñez to the Red Sox, for several reasons.
Samardzija is under team control for three more years, not a potential free agent. The Giants are reluctant to trade him for the same reason other teams like him, the innings he provides.
Also, Samardzija’s contract requires the Giants to seek his permission if they want to trade him to all but eight teams, a list he can change every season. He is not inclined to give that permission because he wants to stay in San Francisco.
“I love being here,” he said after he held the Pirates to one run in seven innings and won when Miguel Gomez hit a pinch double in the bottom half and scored on a two-out Brandon Belt fly to left that Starling Marte lost in the sun for a double.
“Obviously, it hasn’t gone the way we wanted to, which puts some people in trade talks,” Samardzija said, “But we also know we have a great core group of guys here. As long as we do our job and have confidence and momentum and excitement, we’re going to do really well.”
“Core” has become a keyword in these parts. The rough definition is all the Giants who are signed long-term or otherwise under team control. The front office has said it wants to keep the core together. At the same time, team officials will not rule out dealing some of these players to make the Giants better for 2018 and beyond.
Asked about that seeming contradiction, general manager Bobby Evans said, “We believe in our core. We want to protect our core. But we also have a large core.”
In other words, the Giants could trade a player or two and still keep the team largely intact.
“When you look at our core, you have to be realistic, but also optimistic with what they have accomplished. They’ve struggled this year, but there are things they can do to right themselves for next year. There are things they can do this year to reach the level of play we’re accustomed to.”
With so many contenders owning comfortable leads for their divisions or a wild card, Evans suggested he might wait until the winter to market some of his players when more buyers will join the bazaar.
“There would have to be something compelling to make something happen,” Evans said. “The offer from Boston (for Nuñez) was compelling.”
So was Samardzija’s work Wednesday, and not just the eight strikeouts. He made one of the better defensive plays a pitcher can execute to preserve a 1-1 tie in the second inning.
With the bases loaded and one out, pitcher Trevor Williams hit a high chop to the left side. Samardzija, the only Giant who had a shot at a play, barehanded the ball near the line and fired it to Buster Posey to force Francisco Cervelli.
“It looked like he was receiving a football,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
That makes sense. Samardzija was a wide receiver at Notre Dame who chose baseball as a profession and the Giants as his home for five years.
Not 1½.