Samardzija joins short list of Opening Domers

When Jeff Samardzija delivers the first pitch of the Cubs' season on April 1 in Pittsburgh, he'll be the fourth pitcher to come out of Notre Dame and make an Opening Day start in the Major Leagues.

And he'll be the first to do so in 99 years.

The last Domer to toe the rubber as a starter on Opening Day was Ed Reulbach, when he raised the curtain for Brooklyn at Ebbets Field on April 14, 1914, manager Wilbert Robinson's first game at the helm. Fellow Notre Dame grad George Cutshaw started behind Reulbach at second base and a future manager manned right field: Casey Stengel.

Brooklyn -- nicknamed the Robins in the days when nicknames were a bit more fluid (they had been and would again be the Dodgers) -- won, 8-2, over the Boston Braves with two runs in the second, one each in the third and fourth and four more in the fifth. Reulbach went seven innings, allowing two runs, six hits, one walk and striking out five. He had a hit and a walk at the plate, the free pass coming in the two-run second, which may have produced more runs had Reulbach not been caught trying to swipe home on a double-steal.

With Reulbach on third and Dalton on first the double steal was tried, but Whaling fooled Reulbach by feigning a throw to second and caught him between the bases. -- The New York Times, April 15, 1914

The start was Reulbach's second on Opening Day. He'd previously done so for the Cubs in 1911, a game that ended in a 3-3 tie after 11 innings. And the only other Domer to get a start in his team's opener was Willie McGill, who got the start for the Chicago Colts (later the Cubs) in 1893. Chicago lost that game to Cincinnati, 10-1.

So teams are 1-1-1 on Opening Day when a former Notre Dame player throws the first pitch. Whether or not Samardzija gets the decision, that record will change on April 1.

From ND to MLB: Jeff Samardzija

I've fallen way behind on my Notre Dame to MLB project, so it's time to pick it up again. In an effort to move things along, I'm going to do something I don't generally like to do -- post a Q&A or two. It's just a personal thing. I don't do that much writing anymore, unless it's on this blog, so I like to weave the comments I get into stories rather than simply posting a transcript. But those long-form explorations of a player's history can take time, especially when I delve deeply into the past -- his early years, his time at Notre Dame, his signing with a team and the climb through the minors. And I'd like to get back to some of that with the older, more obscure players, those who have been forgotten -- or were never really known in the first place.

These next three, all of whom are still active, have come up in the digital age, so their histories are a bit more known. There's not much to uncover there. But I'll still look back a little before getting into the questions and answers. First up: Jeff Samardzija.

Samardzija, as pretty much everyone knows, made his name on the Irish football team, specifically in 2005 and '06 under Charlie Weis. During those two seasons, he established new school records for single-season receptions and yards and in three seasons on the gridiron set all three primary career marks: receptions, yards and touchdowns. His 15 TDs in 2005 remain the single-season record, tied in 2009 by Golden Tate (also an Irish baseball player, drafted by the Giants that year in the 50th round, but now a receiver with the Seattle Seahawks). Michael Floyd has since surpassed all of Samardzija's career marks.

As a receiver, Samardzija made some amazing and memorable plays, two of which stand out above all others for me. The first was a spectacular one-handed diving catch on a long pass at Purdue in 2005. I recall watching that from the 21st Amendment brewpub in San Francisco while on my honeymoon (thanks to my wife picking the place for pregame drinks the previous night, when we went to a Diamondbacks-Giants game).



The second was his thrilling catch-and-run to beat UCLA in 2006. I was at this game, sitting with a Bruin grad (the friend and business partner of a Notre Dame friend) in the corner of the north end zone above the student section. We watched as Samardzija took Brady Quinn's pass and dodged and weaved his way into the south end zone for the winning score. Don Criqui's radio call is outstanding:




On the diamond, Samardzija didn't have any heart-pounding plays like that, but he made an impact beginning in his freshman year, going 5-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 20 games (six starts). He held opposing hitters to a .209 average, easily his best mark for the Irish. In his sophomore season, he started 10 of the 15 games in which he appeared, and by his junior year he was a full-time starter.

Year	ERA	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	2B	3B	HR	BF	Avg.	WP	HBP	SFA	SHA
2004	2.95	5	3	20	6	0	0	1	64	50	25	21	17	42	2	1	5	0	0.209	3	3	0	3
2005	3.89	8	1	15	10	1	0	0	78.2	85	39	34	30	56	10	3	3	360	0.272	3	10	1	6
2006	4.33	8	2	15	15	0	0	0	97.2	101	51	47	37	61	24	2	3	426	0.272	5	5	3	10
Total	3.82	21	6	50	31	1	0	1	240.1	236	115	102	84	159	36	6	11	786	0.256	11	18	4	19

After that 2006 season, the Cubs selected Samardzija in the fifth round of the draft. He signed and reported to their short-season Boise affiliate. Before the summer was out, he earned a promotion to Peoria, then returned to campus in August for football camp. After his senior football season and a 2007 Sugar Bowl appearance, speculation began as to whether Samardzija would try to play both baseball and football professionally. He was considered a mid-to-late first-round pick in the NFL, but he didn't stick around long enough to find out. In late January 2007, he signed a five-year deal with the Cubs.

Samardzija spent just one full season in the minors in 2007, going 6-11 with a 4.57 ERA between high Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He spent 2008 split three ways: 16 games at Double-A, six games at Triple-A Iowa and 26 in the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs, debuting on July 25, 2008, pitching two innings in relief of Ryan Dempster at Wrigley Field. Another split season in 2009 saw Samardzija wearing an Iowa cap for 18 games (17 starts) and a Cubs lid for 20, though two of those were his first starts in the Major Leagues. In 2010, however, he saw action in only seven Major League games -- starting three and compiling a 2-2 record, though with an 8.38 ERA. He appeared in 35 games for Iowa in 2010, starting 15, and going 11-3 with a 4.37 ERA.

The 2011 season was Samardzija's first spent entirely on the big-league roster and it resulted in career bests nearly across the board: 75 games, 88 innings, 8-4 record, 2.97 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 87 strikeouts, etc. In fact, the only stat in which he did not set a new career mark was home runs allowed -- yielding just five, compared to seven in 20 games in '09.

As the Cubs head into the 2012 season -- pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz., on Saturday -- Samardzija will be stretched out to compete for a rotation spot, though at the moment it looks like he'd be eighth (at best) in the pecking order. Barring an injury or a dominating spring, I'd expect Shark to return to the bullpen as the top setup man -- and sometimes closer -- for Carlos Marmol. And should Marmol be traded, Samardzija could become Chicago's stopper.




So here's our conversation from last September, when the Cubs were in New York to play the Mets. We spent a few minutes after this discussing the current state of Notre Dame football, but since that's now both dated and not related to Samardzija's ascension from Eck Stadium to Wrigley Field, I didn't bother to post it.

Did you follow the Irish before you got there?
Yeah, we always kept our eye on them. Became a little more in touch with what was going on over there when they started making their runs in the [NCAA] playoffs, and then my senior year in high school they went to the [College] World Series. I went to some camps over there when I was a kid. I went back and forth. [Valparaiso University] was right there in my back yard. We kind of went back and forth with ND and there, watching baseball and football and so on.

What was it about ND that drew you in?
My decision to go to ND was based more professionally, based on being a student and where I was going to go after my college career. My dad always told me growing up, "You never know what's going to happen on the field." Playing sports is a crazy business -- college, pro, high school -- you just never know what's going to happen. My dad instilled in me early to make a decision based on what I was going to do for a job, pretty plain and simple. And then everything I ever heard about Notre Dame was, you go there, when you leave, you're gonna be in a good situation to have a good life and take care of your family. But fortunately, things worked out the other way and I didn't have to use my degree [in business marketing] too much yet. But hopefully down the road.

What's it like playing baseball there, opposed to football.
It's totally different. Football, you get the silver spoon. Baseball at ND, I don't want to say the bronze spoon -- they get a nice spoon, but it's not as good as the football one. [Laughs.] It's totally different, you're under the radar a little bit more in baseball. You're just kind of playing your sport, you get some fans -- 2,000, 2,500 people -- so it's more intimate. It's a good situation. Football's just so blown up there. Every move is watched, every player is watched. It was almost nice for me to go from football into the spring, summer, and play baseball and kind of unwind. Baseball's always been a good release for me, helps me get away from things.

What do you remember about draft day?
It was awesome. It was pretty much all I could ask for. I was a White Sox/Cubs guy growing up. I was a Cubs fan, but we could [better] afford tickets to White Sox games, they were like nine bucks. I've always loved Chicago. Been a big Bears, Blackhawks fan my whole life. To be able to stick around the city and have that weigh into my decision was huge. Sometimes things fall into place, man. It was kind of funny.

In baseball, nearly all players have an apprenticeship in the minors, whereas in football, you'd go straight to the NFL after being drafted. Did that play into your thoughts at all?
I don't think I ever let myself believe I was going to be in the minor leagues for too long. [Laughs.] I'm not saying that that's the truth or that was going to happen, but I guess I just had my eyes on the big prize and where I wanted to end up. Looking back on it, maybe I should've spent some more time in the minor leagues. But that's alright, I guess you just cut your teeth whenever you get a chance to in the Major Leagues.

What memories do you have from the minors?
I remember being in Daytona, and I was not having a very good season at all, by any means. But I still remember being down there and wanting to be there, you know? And that was a year out of playing football. To realize I was there and having fun, really enjoying what I was doing, baseball-wise, and getting better. Again, I was looking at the big picture and where I wanted to be, in Chicago. To me, that meant a lot to me to not sit there and just loathe over not playing football. That's how I knew -- little situations like that help you realize that you made the right decision, that you did the right thing.

Other than that, the minor leagues are fun, dude. With the bus trips, it's like you're kind of still in college, in a way. In the minor leagues, you learn to grow up, how to balance everything and have an everyday life with baseball.

What do you remember about your MLB debut?
I remember it was against the Marlins. Struck out the first guy I saw. [Alfredo] Amezega, I believe. Threw two innings, I think. It was cool. It was cool for me to come up and get called up by Lou [Piniella], have my first experience under Lou, first half-season under Lou. It was something I think that will be with me for a long time. He's a very interesting guy, to say the least. It'll be a good story down the road.

Do you still follow the Irish?
I'm a little different, man. I watch [football], but it's hard for me to watch. I played there, so I kind of know what's going on, but it's hard for me to communicate with other people about it because they base their opinions on what they see. But ND has a lot of things going on that people don't know about. There's a lot of alumni and a lot of outside influence. I watch, but I take it with a grain of salt. I try to do it just more for entertainment than trying to break it down and scout our own team. I had my fun while I was there, and now I'm happy to take a deep breath and be able to enjoy watching as a fan.

{NOTE: At this point, Jeff and I started chatting like fellow Notre Dame alumni, not as reporter and athlete, about the football team. It was six days after the Irish opened the season with a loss at home to South Florida and a day before they went to Michigan and lost on the final play of the game. After this question about John Axford, Jeff then asks me where I lived while on campus and tells me how much he hated my second dorm, O'Neill Hall, because of the memories it brought back about August football training camp. That pretty much wrapped up our conversation.}

I talked to Axford, he said he stops by campus after the season on his drive from Milwaukee to Ontario.
Everybody usually does. I played with Axford two years, had a good time. Ax is a great dude. I never played with [Brad] Lidgey. He was there a little before me.

Where'd you live?

I lived in Grace Hall, then the first year O'Neill was open.
Oh nice, man. New one. O'Neill, summer camp. I walk in that front door, I'll take a breath in, I'm like ... I start twitching. They put up these big tents, dude. Huge tents. These wood floors down, they put up all these chairs there as our lockers, man. It's hot. You could smell, going from O'Neill into that tent, you could smell that wood. You were just like, "Man, I'm in camp, I know it." You could be blindfolded and you'd know it. I was in Alumni. I just roasted, dude. And I can't sleep when I'm hot. I need it cold. Being from the north, I like it when it's 20 degrees outside and I can put about 10 blankets on. Those windows would be open and I'd have fans just on my face. It's tough man, it's tough.

All my jerseys in Jersey

Fanboy

There's an interesting discussion over at Mets Police about personalized jerseys. I find it interesting because I have not come across such a large group of people who are in the "Your Name Here" group.

I have been drawn to sports uniforms since I was a kid, and I think the desire to own an authentic jersey for myself stems back to the sixth grade, when a classmate with generous parents would sport various jerseys, including an authentic Blue Jays shirt that still sticks in my memory all these years later. A couple years later, after saving up enough money, I had my dad take me to the mall, where I purchased a blank San Francisco Giants home jersey. I chose the Giants because, at the time, they sported the button-down design, while the Mets were still pulling theirs over their heads. My first had to be button-down.

There was no name or number on that Giants jersey, and there still isn't. It hangs in the back of my closet, too small at size 40 for me to wear anymore. Perhaps someday I'll have it autographed and framed, but there's no point now in getting Will Clark's or Matt Williams' name (the candidates at the time) sewn onto it. I own dozens of jerseys now, and while it may be a weird hobby to have, I'm lucky to work in an office where I can wear them during my shifts at night and on weekends. Truly, the dozens of ties I own, while not as costly to acquire as authentic baseball jerseys, are more of a waste of space and money, particularly now that I am at that age where most of my friends are already married.

Personally, I've always considered putting my name on a jersey to be a weird choice, and I've never done it. I don't have a common surname, so I'm pretty sure any jersey I put it on would be the first, unless there's a second cousin out there who has already done so. I just don't see the allure in taking the fantasy that far, though I do understand the awkwardness of wearing the shirt of a man 10 years younger and of far superior physical ability. As a teenager, my Nolan Ryan Rangers jersey was a sign of fandom; as an adult, my David Wright road jersey is slightly weirder, but still an indication of my admiration for his character and talent and the way he plays the game. Plus, I find the design of the Mets' road jerseys to be as much a work of art as any jersey design is, even with the black dropshadow.

I do suspect that many, if not a majority, of the unknown names on jerseys I see at Mets games are worn by former fantasy camp participants. (That's my theory on the above photo.) I tend to see a lot of men in their late 30s and older who sport the blue and orange with what appears to be their own names and some unique numbers on the back. Some years ago, I came to this conclusion, but I have yet to do any research. Perhaps, if I get to enough games this year and see enough examples, I'll start asking questions.

Along the same lines is the obscure player on a jersey. Straight Cash Homey chronicles this phenomenon, and I suspect the proliferation of these "in the wild," as Shannon likes to say, stems from the market available on eBay, at club fanfests in the offseason and in team clubhouse stores at the ballpark. Some people may get a kick out of sporting a game-worn jersey by a player, no matter how obscure he is or how small his role may have been.

There's only one authentic jersey I've ever bought and later sold. In 2006, fresh off the Mets' dethroning of the Braves, which was the only competitive rivalry in the NL East at that time, I purchased a Ryan Howard Phillies jersey with the All-Star Game patch from Pittsburgh. I loved the design of that patch (my wife is from there, so I have an affinity for the Steel City now) and the idea of commemorating Howard's first All-Star nod. I covered Howard when he played for the Lakewood BlueClaws in 2002 and enjoyed his rise to stardom -- before 2007, when his rise contributed to the Mets' demise. After that season, knowing I couldn't comfortably wear that shirt again, I sold it on eBay to someone in Atlanta who said he'd get it signed when the Phillies came to town the next season. I'll probably become a fan of Howard's again should he ever leave the Phillies, except if it's to bring Albert Pujols to Broad Street (but it won't be).

I now have nearly 50 Major League, minor league and college jerseys. Most are authentic, several are true-to-life remakes (mostly Mitchell & Ness) and a few are game-worn. For no particular reason other than I tend to be a completist -- I've started discussing my baseball jersey collection, so now I want to give the whole story -- here are the jerseys I own, in no particular order, grouped by various themes.

THE NEWEST ADDITIONS
2000 Rick Ankiel St. Louis Cardinals road gray
2006 Alfonso Soriano Washington Nationals red alternate
2008 Jeff Samardzija Chicago Cubs home pinstripe.
I obtained all three without names about two years ago through various means (a friend bought the Cardinals at the team fanfest one winter; I got the Nationals at a sample sale and the Cubs on eBay) and the friend who procured the Cardinals jersey also got me in touch with a guy he knows who does professional stitching at a reasonable price. A few weeks ago, these three came back with the names. Ankiel is with No. 66, his pitching number, because a) the jersey is from the 2000 set (it's on the tag on the inside) and b) I was at Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS at Shea Stadium. I purchased the Nationals jersey because it sports my initials, DC, and decided to go with Soriano because 12 was one of the numbers I wore in high school and his one season in D.C. was historic -- 40 homers, 40 steals, 40 doubles. Samardzija is a Domer, simple as that.

THE BLANK ONES
Circa 1989 San Francisco Giants home
Circa 2007 Cleveland Indians home sleeveless
2008 Altoona Curve home sleeveless
1993-94 Florida Marlins home pinstripe sleeveless
1995-97 Mets home pinstripe
1998-2000 Arizona Diamondbacks black alternate
2001-04 Pittsburgh Pirates home sleeveless.
The Giants one has been discussed. I stumbled upon the Mets jersey in a fan shop near Tiger Stadium in Detroit in 1999, when they'd gone to the black, and jumped on it because it has no dropshadow. I'm still debating what name and number to adorn it with. I bought the Indians, Marlins, D-backs and Pirates jerseys for cheap on eBay and will one day choose names and numbers to go with them. I'm leaning toward Grady Sizemore for the Indians and perhaps former Met and original Marlin Dave Magadan for the Florida shirt (Mike Piazza didn't wear this style during his one week in South Florida). I had long considered former Trenton Thunder prospect Freddy Sanchez for the Pirates jersey, but now that he's in San Francisco, I may go with Andrew McCutchen if he blossoms this year. I am still unsure about the Arizona choice.

THE MITCHELL & NESS COLLECTION
1944 Stan Musial St. Louis Cardinals road gray
1953 Satchel Paige St. Louis Browns road gray
1959 Nellie Fox Chicago White Sox home pinstripe
1968 Denny McLain Detroit Tigers home white
1969 Nolan Ryan New York Mets road gray
1973 Nolan Ryan California Angels home white
1976 Rollie Fingers Oakland A's green alternate
1979 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates yellow alternate
1993 Nolan Ryan Texas Rangers home white
2001 Cal Ripken Baltimore Orioles home white
All were purchased at steep discounts, either at sample sales, with online discounts or at this year's Super Bowl week sale at the Mitchell & Ness flagship in Philadelphia. In addition to being a fan of the 1969 Mets road jersey style, I'm clearly a big Nolan Ryan fan. The '93 Rangers jersey was a sample-sale find and augments the original authentic I received for my birthday in 1993. Like the Giants jersey, it's now a too-small size 40 for me. The last time I wore it was the day he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in July 1999. I didn't go to the ceremony, but I was at the ballpark in Detroit, visiting Tiger Stadium before the club moved to Comerica the next season. The Musial is a zip-up; the Paige is a mostly plain jersey save for the classic Brownie logo on the sleeve; the Fox sports No. 2 (another number I wore throughout my youth, because of my Sept. 2 birthday); the McClain is the classic Tigers "D" I've always loved; the Fingers is both from my birth year and he went into the Hall with Tom Seaver (an induction my family did attend); the Stargell is that garish-yet-beautiful gold; and the Ripken is the modern Orioles design that has always stood out to me.

THE MINOR LEAGUE COLLECTION
1966 Tom Seaver Jacksonville Suns home white
1998 Witchita Wranglers home white (there are two; one is a throwback, the other pinstriped)
2000 Cape Fear Crocs road gray
2001 Lakewood BlueClaws red alternate
2002 Williamsport Crosscutters road gray
2005 New Jersey Cardinals road blue
2006 Trenton Thunder home pinstripe sleeveless
2008 Altoona Curve home sleeveless
2004-07 Swing of the Quad Cities rust alternate
2004-07 Billings Mustangs home
The '66 Seaver and '08 Curve are reproductions/replicas obtained for their uniqueness (Seaver) and style (Curve). All the others are game-worn. The Wranglers were bought on eBay with letters of authenticity; the pinstriped one sports No. 15 and was worn by Carlos Beltran. Likewise for the Swing and Mustangs jerseys, bought because I love their quirky (Swing) and classic (Mustangs) lettering and colors -- the Swing is a rust orange with sky-blue lettering; the Mustangs features black lettering with red outlines in a old-West font, with a pair of horseshoes forming the "M." The Crosscutters features a cool lumberjack logo on the sleeve (and was worn by one-time Mets farmhand Henry Owens) and the Thunder is a simple, classic look I liked that season and features No. 12. It was bought from the team, as was the BlueClaws jersey from their inaugural season. Both were bought to fit me more than for the players who wore them (Vince Faison in Trenton and Anthony Kennedy, No. 33, in Lakewood). I bought the N.J. Cards jersey after the team's final season in 2005 because it was the one that had "New Jersey" written across the front. The Crocs were the franchise that was bought and "moved" to Lakewood; the jersey is in rough shape, not surprising for a team that played at an American Legion field and had its offices in mobile trailers.

THE RECENT DESIGNS
2004-07 Craig Counsell Milwaukee Brewers road gray
2006 Moises Alou San Francisco Giants 1982 orange throwback
2006 David Wright New York Mets road gray
2007 Pittsburgh Pirates red alternate vest
2008 J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners powder blue throwback
2008 Johan Santana New York Mets home white
2008 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks home white
2009 Victor Martinez Boston Red Sox home white
2009 Joe Mauer Minnesota Twins 1982 home white throwback
Yeah, the Counsell is definitely a weird choice, but it was a relatively cheap game-worn jersey of a Domer found on eBay. My initial bid won out, so I can't complain. The Alou and Putz jerseys were clearance items at MLB.com, both bought after they'd become Mets. The Wright has been explained and the Santana features the Shea Stadium patch. The Pirates is the garish and not-so-great and now-ditched alternate. I bought it to actually play in (when it's not too hot) because no one would really wear that design as a sports fashion statement. I bought the Big Unit on eBay because I liked the new design of Arizona's uniforms. The Martinez Red Sox jersey, with no name on the back, can double as a rare Seaver as well, if you ignore the MLB logo on the back by the neck or the Majestic logo on the sleeve. The Mauer is a great classic design that now has more staying power, even though that version was nameless on the back as well.

THE ALL-STAR GAME JERSEYS
2007 Jose Reyes National League (San Francisco)
2008 David Wright National League (Yankee Stadium)
2009 Francisco Rodriguez National League (St. Louis)
2009 Carl Crawford American League (St. Louis)
I bought these because I like the designs, the incorporation of the Golden Gate Bridge and Gateway Arch into the lettering in the '07 and '09 versions and the Yankee Stadium facade in '08. Though I understand they're mostly for marketing purposes and I hope MLB never goes the way of the NBA and has the teams wear uniform uniforms in the actual exhibition game, they are cool and comfortable on hot summer nights. The three Mets choices are obvious, and I bought the Crawford because I had him in the MVP pool at work last year. I used the modest winnings to buy the jersey. I'm still trying to obtain a yellow National League jersey from 2006, preferably Wright or Reyes, but I'm no longer being picky. I missed out on a Reyes jersey in my size that went for cheap on eBay several months ago. I opened the daily e-mail alert for 2006 MLB All-Star jerseys too late and the auction had ended. I believe the winning bid was under $15. Alas.

Finding the treasures in a pack of cards

Here we are in another year -- and another chance for me to make promises about being a better updater of this blog, of trying harder to use this space as an outlet for my thoughts and ideas on the game. And writing, like other pursuits, is one which is best kept fresh and in top form with regular practice and challenges. Yet, I've let it slide much too often.

Finally, I've realized that because my job involves baseball around the clock (and writing about it in short form, like headlines and paragraphs), one of the last things I want to do in my free computer and blog time is to write more about it. So no promises this time, other than I'll try. I've found a way to keep my photo blog fresh and interesting (to me, which is all I really care about), so perhaps something will strike me for this one, too.

Today, though, I picked up a box of Bowman Prospects. It must be noted that a "box" today is nothing like it was in the late 80s when I was collecting. Then, a box contained 36 wax packs and cost about $16. Packs held 15 cards, giving you 540 cards in one box. The Bowman "box" I bought today at Target held seven packs of seven cards, for a mere 49 -- and cost $20.

The purchase was for one main purpose -- I hoped to obtain a card of Jeff Samardzija. After opening about three packs containing various prospects whose names, if not faces, were familiar, I got a Samardzija in the mother lode of packs (for me, at least). Behind Samardzija's square-jawed glare was Mets prospect Fernando Martinez, and behind him sat former New Jersey prep standout Rick Porcello.

But then the next pack held the top card in the box. There was a chance that, in the seven packs I'd bought, I'd find a "relic" card (one with a piece of jersey worn by the player depicted) or an authentic autographed card.

I got the second one, my first authentic autographed card of any kind obtained this way (in a pack of cards rather than at a ballpark). And as a bonus, it meant just a little bit more that it was of the Mets' Daniel Murphy.

I don't actively collect cards anymore, but I do enjoy buying a few packs (or a "box" or two) each year. I'm sure I will again when the 2009s come out in February. And it's finds like those today that make it worthwhile and bring back a little bit of the joy and excitement I felt in opening those wax packs and peeling the cardboard gum off the cardboard of a Mark McGwire or Will Clark on a 1989 Topps card.

Samardzija chooses the national pastime

Jeff Samardzija on the mound

Rather than drag out the process, Notre Dame two-sport star Jeff Samardzija signed a five-year deal with the Cubs on Friday that guarantees him $10 million and means an end to his NFL dreams.

Prior to last June's draft, Samardzija said he hoped to play both sports as long as he could. But then his "hometown" Cubs took him -- "hometown" in the sense that a kid growing up in northwestern Indiana, as Samardzija did, will probably choose the Cubs or White Sox as his team, and "Shark" was drawn to the Northsiders.

That changed things, and he and the Cubs chose Friday's team convention to announce the deal.

As he got his first taste of pro ball, pitching seven games between the Cubs' short-season Boise affiliate and their low-Class A Peoria team, he was drawn more to the bush-league life, it seems. He drove to Idaho shortly after the draft -- but before he'd signed a contract, such was his dedication to what he knew would be a short initiation to the minor leagues. But who does that? Who drives to the team he'll be joining as a negotiating ploy? Usually, amateur players are heading to school as a threat that they'll enroll rather than sign unless their contract demands are met.

In his short time with Boise and Peoria, though, Samardzija seemed to enjoy the experience (including an amusing Xbox anecdote) so much that in signing his deal on Friday, he insisted that the contract read that he must return his $2.5 million signing bonus should he go back to catching footballs -- or pursue any sport other than baseball.

My guess is that, in addition to the security that this baseball deal offers, Samardzija was drawn to the mound because of several other factors. For one, his signing bonus likely surpasses what he'd make from his first NFL contract -- and those things are not guaranteed.

I also wonder what projections he was hearing regarding the draft. With several top juniors foregoing their senior seasons -- Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Jarrett, Ted Ginn Jr. (though I don't know if he's strictly a better receiver -- as a prospect -- than Samardzija) -- to enter the draft, Samardzija's draft stock was falling. His performances against top defenses like Michigan and LSU -- while not horrible -- may have also raised enough doubts in scouts' minds about how he would handle the bump-and-run world of the NFL.

Finally, it sounds like his career upside is brighter -- and likely much longer -- on the diamond as opposed to the gridiron. Those who know such things -- or at least project them -- seem to think that if he were to devote all his efforts to improving his pitching, he could be a No. 2 starter in the major leagues. With a high-90s fastball and good command of his changeup and slider, there are some who put his ceiling as a No. 1 starter.

It'll be interesting to see how his spring goes, how he takes to pro ball in spring training and how his season starts down at Daytona. His ability suggests he should make it to Double-A Tennessee sometime this season, though no one's making any predictions on when he'll get his locker at Wrigley Field.

Teams acting fast to make changes

And it begins.

Not 24 hours after the final outs were recorded -- probably before some ballparks were completely cleaned up -- Dusty Baker is out in Chicago and Felipe Alou will not be renewed in San Francisco.

You could see the writing on the wall with Baker, but come on, it's not like he broke Derrek Lee's arm. And the Cubs have had issues with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood long before Baker arrived. With that track record, Jeff Samardzija will be better off playing wide receiver in the NFL than working his way through the Cubs' system as a pitcher.

Alou, like the Nationals' Frank Robinson, who also did not get a new contract, is 71 years old. Yet, like a lot of managers in baseball, Alou was only about 30 years older than most of his players. Only that wasn't a good thing.

The Red Sox dismissed pitching coach Dave Wallace and hitting coach Ron Jackson. Right, like Wallace was responsible for the Sox having no depth to their rotation -- their pitching staff as a whole, in fact -- and Jackson ... well, they had issues even with Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek healthy.

The Marlins will be idiots and fire Joe Girardi tomorrow, then watch him accept his Manager of the Year Award in November and speak to the media from Wrigley Field.