Samardzija weighs in on Pinkett
Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija joined the list of ex-Notre Dame football players denouncing controversial comments made this week by Allen Pinkett, the team’s radio analyst and a former running back for the Irish.
‘‘I don’t agree with those comments whatsoever,’’ Samardzija, the former AllAmerica receiver, said Thursday. ‘‘You definitely need guys with a chip on their shoulder, for sure, especially to play at that level.
‘‘But clean records help, too,’’ he added with a smile, ‘‘in case you need to get a job afterwards, you know? … It’s just an excuse. It’s just an answer for someone that doesn’t have an answer.’’
Discussing Notre Dame’s recent struggles during an interview on WSCR-AM, Pinkett said the team needed more ‘‘criminals’’ and ‘‘bad citizens’’ to help team chemistry and compete with the top teams in the country.
Given a chance in the interview to back off the ‘‘criminal’’ comment, Pinkett said, ‘‘I absolutely meant that,’’ excluding, of course, ‘‘ mass murderers and rapists.’’
Said Samardzija, who has never met Pinkett: ‘‘I guess everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Freedom of speech. … The thing is Notre Dame holds itself to a certain standard. You’ve got to have good grades. You’ve got to be a good student. That comes first. Obviously, you’ve got to be a good kid, too, to go there. They don’t accept just anybody. That’s how it’s always been there as long as I can remember. …
‘‘Recruiting’s recruiting, man. You’ve got to get good athletes. You’ve got to get good talent. But obviously character has to become involved, too, because you’re representing the school; you’re representing something other than yourself. It’s no different than playing for the Cubs or playing for any team: You represent not only yourself but them and that organization as a whole. It’s got to come into account, at least a little bit.’’
As for having so-called criminals in the program when he played, Samardzija grinned. ‘‘We had a couple guys that had some run-ins. But nothing too serious. I don’t think we had any felonies.’’
Samardzija said Notre Dame’s reputation as an academic institution has always come first, as it should.
‘‘And if you’re not a good student or a good citizen, they’ll kick your butt out,’’ he said. ‘‘One dude’s comments are not going to change that.’’
Manager Dale Sveum said he expects five or six players to be called up when rosters expand in September (and the Class AAA season ends), but all the key prospects worth a look already are here. Pitchers Chris Rusin, Casey Coleman and Jeff Beliveau, along with outfielder Tony Campana and possibly newly acquired catcher Anthony Recker are expected to be among them.
The Cubs snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Brewers with Thursday’s win and finished the season 4-13 against them.