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With the athleticism that made him an All-American wide receiver, a frame suitable for a future workhorse, and an arm that’s both live and fresh, he fits the physical standards for your prototypical major league pitcher.

With a focused demeanor on the mound that could become a formidable presence in the coming years and the kind of work ethic that can only come from within, he has the intangibles you wish for too.

The only thing that Jeff Samardzija has always needed more of is experience. Of course, that’s just how it is when you grow up playing multiple sports.

He lettered in baseball, football, and basketball in high school, never missing a start in over 160 games between the three sports. He even played some hockey in his youth, helping to exclude him from summer and fall baseball and basically leaving him with one-third the practice and playing time of his peers right from the outset.

Continuing as a two-sport athlete on a football scholarship to Notre Dame didn’t exactly help him find time for baseball, but even then he played in every football game for four years and never missed his turn on the mound.

It was only in 2007, at the age of 22, that he finally got to concentrate solely on the one sport he loved the most.

He’s had his share of struggles since then—both in the majors and the minors, in the rotation and the bullpen, in this season and the last. But he’s also shown glimpses of what he could one day become, such as his debut in the big leagues back in 2008, when he allowed only seven earned runs in 27.2 innings.

When Carlos Silva was scratched from his start against the Cardinals Monday night due to tendinitis, the 25-year-old was called upon to take his place. With all of his minor league options used, it was an important test for an undeniably gifted athlete.

Although by no means perfect, the hard-throwing righty got the job done and helped the Cubs defeat Jaime Garcia, a potential National League Rookie of the Year candidate, by a score of 5-1.

Using a minimalistic windup, Samardzija featured a fastball that was consistently between 93 and 96 miles per hour. He also used his slider and splitter a good deal, both sitting in the low to mid 80s and both being thrown with much more confidence than they had been earlier this season.

His command was a little shaky, leading to four walks and a hit batter, but he was effective enough in 5.2 innings to not allow a single run to score and to allow one fewer hit than his counterpart.

Once he gets a little more comfortable with his secondary pitches, it wouldn’t surprise me if he went back to a more conventional windup to the benefit of both his velocity and movement. He just needs to get better command of all of his pitches first.

There’s still plenty of room left for improvement, but Monday night was at least an encouraging sign for the future. He even hit an RBI single in the top of the second inning to give himself a two-run advantage.

When he makes his next start, most likely against the Marlins in Miami on Sunday, the Cubs’ brass will be paying close attention to help inform their decision on what to do for next year. Maybe you should keep an eye out too.

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Major League Baseball is about to get a serious face-lift on the managerial front this offseason considering that already this regular season there have been five managerial firings. These include Seattle’s Don Wakamatsu, Kansas City’s Trey Hillman, Baltimore’s Dave Trembley, Arizona’s AJ Hinch, and Florida’s Fredi Gonzlez. 

Once this season ends, we won’t see Bobby Cox, still managing the contending Braves, or Lou Pinella, who got a head start on retirement, any longer as a manager. The duo have combined for over 4,300 major league victories, six National League pennants with a pair of World Series titles. 

We can’t forget about Cito Gaston who is managing in his final season with the Toronto Blue Jays and his managing career. Gaston has as many World Series titles (two) as Pinella and Cox. 

Yet as we look upon this season as the Year of the Pitcher how about can we have a standing ovation for the Year of the Manager? This offseason will dictate the future of Major League Baseball for years to come because as many as 10 teams will have probable openings with a few other teams on the bubble depending on the rest of the hirings or firings. That’s nearly three quarters of the entire league, perhaps getting a new manager from Opening Day 2010.

Even though the regular season ends in early October, expect for their to be as much as a handful of managerial moves during the postseason. 

In an earlier article, I wrote about the possible MLB managerial changes this offseason and headlined those teams but a lot has changed and with a month left in the regular season, this can be seen as the update to what’s to come, whose on each teams radar, and the probable choice for the team’s new manager. 

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Lou Piniella is home.

Sweet Lou, the manager of the Chicago Cubs and four other teams since 1986, has called it a career, and what a career it was.

Piniella ranks 14th on the all-time wins list for managers, he’s been a three-time manager of the year, and he won the World Series as manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1990.

As a player, he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1969 and an All-Star in 1972 with the Kansas City Royals. He ended his playing career with the New York Yankees in 1984, but not before winning two World Series championships with those Bronx Bombers in 1977 and 1978.

Piniella has lived in the public’s light for over 40 years. During that time he’s been a winner and an enigmatic personality. He will be remembered for his famous tirades on the field as much as anything else. More than once he’s been known to rip first base right out of the ground and toss it across the field, and his post-game press conferences are the stuff of legend.

Yes, Lou Piniella wore his heart on his sleeve, and there was never a moment he couldn’t be called genuine. He loved the game of baseball; I’m sure still loves it, but he had to walk away. In a profession where all he need do is desire a job and it would be his, for as much money as he would ask, he left for something more important. Sweet Lou has come home to take care of his mother.

Throughout the history of sport there have been several moments that created fanfare, tears, and praise when sickness and death of family members have inspired and sometimes crippled athletes.

There was Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen, who fell twice in the 1988 Olympics after learning of his sister Jane’s death to leukemia. Jansen ended up winning a gold medal in the 1994 Olympics in a world record-setting time. He dedicated the skate to his departed sister and took a victory lap with his one-year-old daughter, Jane.

For me the biggest example was Brett Favre’s performance in a Monday Night Football game in December of 2003. The Green Bay Packers were facing the Oakland Raiders. The day before, Favre’s father was taken by a stroke, but taking what he knew of his father, Favre played in that game, knowing his father would have wanted him to play. 

From the start of the game, you could feel something special was happening. Favre was crisp and focused, and even on the plays when he wasn’t, his players seemed to make unbelievable plays for their mourning leader. Packer receivers caught touchdown passes that seemed impossible to grab in what could only be described as divine intervention.

Favre threw four touchdowns in the first half alone in the 41-7 Green Bay victory. Even Raider fans, known for their brashness and hatred of all things not wearing the Raiders’ silver and black, were compelled to cheer for Favre. I would dare say that anyone who witnessed that final tribute from son to father and didn’t get choked up must have an empty space where their heart should be.

It’s been a strange marriage between sadness and sports. We see athletes as icons, sometimes infallible models of what can be achieved when a person is truly dedicated. We cheer with them when they succeed, and we weep when they fail.

Sometimes, more often than we would care to admit, tragedy strikes, and we see our heroes as one of us. We feel their pain and in our own way try to lift them up as if they were our own family, because in a way, they are.

67-year-old Lou Piniella has come home to take care of his ailing 90-year-old mother. He did it without fanfare, just a quick press conference to let people know that Sunday, August 22, would be his last game as manager.

A somber Piniella made his announcement, and while he wept at the thought of leaving the game he’s loved for all these years, we wept with him. Not for leaving the game, but for the realization of a fact that we all know to be true…we are all mortal, and we will all suffer sad times. 

Above fame and accolades and money comes family. Many of us have already felt what Piniella is going through, and the rest of us know one day the pain will be ours. We wish him a peaceful and loving resolve to this transitional time in his life.

Sweet Lou is no longer a player in the majors, nor is he a manager in the majors. He’s once again become one of us, a boy from West Tampa who loves his mother.

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For the past week, the Chicago White Sox made no secret that they wanted Manny Ramirez to be their DH for the remainder of the season.

After some waiver formalities and some back and forth, yesterday they finally made it happen.

The White Sox acquired Ramirez yesterday on a straight waiver claim from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The White Sox will pay the remaining $3.8 million left on Manny’s contract.

I absolutely love this move by the White Sox. Do I think it’s too little, too late? Yes, I do, but getting Manny for the final 25 or so games is absolutely worth the risk.

White Sox DHs were hitting a combined .241/.310/.405 with 16 HRs this season. Mark Kotsay was good in college, but that’s about it, Andruw Jones isn’t a spring chicken anymore, and Carlos Quentin is hitting just .202 as a DH this season. Let’s just say Kotsay, Jones, and Quentin don’t represent the Three Faces of Fear.

Ramirez might be a buffoon at times and is clearly past his prime, but he can outproduce those three with his eyes closed. While Ramirez is having a down year by his standards, he still had a .311/.405/.510 hitting line in 66 games with the Dodgers.

Ramirez was so great in his prime that even when he has a .915 OPS, he is considered to be having a down year.

The question with Ramirez is will he be motivated to play? I really believe that answer to be yes. I think that Dodger love affair ended last year and he was tired of LA. I think Ramirez comes to Chicago motivated by a pennant race and is ready to rake for a month to get one last shot at a payday.

Ramirez will join the White Sox in Cleveland tonight as they take on the Indians.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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It’s official.

Manny Ramirez and the nearly $4 million left on his contract are heading to the South Side of Chicago to finish the season out for the White Sox.

Manny, of course, will play his first game for the White Sox against his former team, our Cleveland Indians.

It’s unclear whether or not Manny will play tonight or debut tomorrow for the White Sox, but either way, it could prove to be an interesting conglomeration of personalities.

Manny has been a non-entity with the Dodgers since June 29th because of a calf strain, only playing in six games since then. One of those games was Saturday’s one-pitch performance in which the enigmatic outfielder was thrown out of the game for arguing a call.

When he has played, he’s been effective, batting .311 with eight homers and 40 RBI. Still, it’s distinctly arguable whether at this stage of his career, hitting or not hitting, Manny is ever really effective in helping his team win games.

We all know Manny. When he’s interested, there really isn’t a better hitter in baseball. The swing is sublime and hasn’t changed since picking up his first bat. He’s absolutely a hitting savant. When he’s not interested, well, he’s still a great hitter, but one could argue that he takes more away from a team than he brings to it.

How will this translate to the Chicago White Sox, who are 4.5 games behind the division leading Minnesota Twins? I’m not sure, but it should be an interesting watch.

Manny may show up and may help this team offensively. As a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee it. Ramirez has something to prove, and he’s known to respond under similar circumstances. But you do have to wonder, as a Tribe fan, what could happen if something goes wrong.

What happens if something tweaks Ozzie Guillen? What happens if Manny is Manny, and Ozzie realizes that it isn’t just “Manny being real,” as Guillen stated in his comments about Man-Ram coming to the team just yesterday? What happens if he really gets under the skin of the outspoken White Sox manager?

Well, that could be an explosive proposition, couldn’t it? I, for one, can’t wait to see it happen. There isn’t a team that deserves it more than the Chicago White Sox.

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The Chicago White Sox announced Monday afternoon that Manny Ramirez had been claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers and will join the team Tuesday in Cleveland.

The White Sox will be responsible for paying $3.825 million of Ramirez’s contract this season.

With three trips to the DL this season and the inability to play defense, Ramirez will most likely slide immediately into the DH spot, which has been a black hole for the White Sox thanks to Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay.

The White Sox have lost nine of the team’s last 14 games and have fallen to 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central with three remaining against their division rival. The White Sox are about to begin a 10-game road trip that includes stops in Ramirez’s former homes of Cleveland and Boston.

Ramirez should be in uniform for both series unless he plans on another trip to the DL.

Ramirez is batting .311 with eight home runs and 40 RBI but has only played in 66 games this season due to injury.

With dreadlocks flopping, Ramirez became a fan favorite in Los Angeles and performed so remarkably down the stretch of his first season that the Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $45 million deal.

After Ramirez’s 50-game suspension due to a failed drug test and his injuries this season, Los Angeles’ feelings toward him have soured. He has not spoken to reporters since spring training, when he announced this would be his last year in Los Angeles.

Ramirez has never handled disdain for a situation too well. In fact, he’s been downright unprofessional, having those feelings spill out onto the field.

We saw what he did in Boston when he was not happy, eventually forcing a trade.

And how did he leave the Dodgers? By getting thrown out of the game by the home plate umpire, pinch-hitting with the bases loaded after seeing one pitch with his team hanging by a thread in the National League wild-card race. 

Joe Torre even benched Ramirez for Scott Podsednik. Yes, you read that correctly. Manny Ramirez for Scott Podsednik. It sounds like a laughable offer you get from a friend in fantasy baseball.

What the White Sox have going for them is the fact that, like a child learning to walk, they aren’t asking Ramirez for much. Be a great hitter who doesn’t ever have to play the field for 31 games, and you will receive a good contract from some idiotic team in the offseason. 

It’s baby steps. Seeing as Ramirez is done pouting, perhaps he can start stepping.

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In 2003, the Boston Red Sox put Manny Ramirez on waivers. They had enough of his antics and were displeased with his eyesore of a contract. He was still in the heart of his career, slugging 40 homers and driving in 130 annually at that time. But the team didn’t want him in their clubhouse anymore. They willed anyone to take him off their hands.

No team did—not one.

So, he went on to hit 163 homers and drive in 532 RBI over the final four-plus seasons in Boston. Despite his incredible production, he did all he could to earn a one-way ticket out of Boston.

He ended up with Los Angeles. He was a hitting machine after joining the team for the stretch run in 2008, batting a whopping .396 in 53 games, and then hit well the following season despite missing 58 games. The injury bug continued to bite him this season, as he has made three trips to the disabled list.

The 38-year old is healthy enough to play now, but he hasn’t seen much action of late for the Dodgers. The Chicago White Sox were one of three teams to make a claim, Tampa Bay and Texas being the others, and ever since they did so this past week, Ramirez has played sparingly.

He didn’t appear in three straight games, and in Sunday’s game came in to pinch-hit only to be tossed arguing a terrible strike call with the bases loaded in the sixth. It was clear that his lack of playing time meant Los Angeles was on the verge of sending him packing.

It turned out that was his final appearance as a Dodger. It was a fitting end to a disappointing season with the team. And, considering his standing with the team soured, a fitting end to his career in L.A..

The White Sox won the claim, having the lowest winning percentage of the three playoff contending teams. There was some question whether Ramirez would waive his no-trade clause to go to Chicago and another whether a deal could actually be reached by the two sides.

Those two questions are moot now, as Ramirez will join the White Sox on an outright claim, meaning Chicago will pay the remaining $3.8 million of his salary while the Dodgers will get nobody in return.

Los Angeles, just like Boston years ago, didn’t seem to care if nothing would come their way for his services. It’s sad, really. He has always been a gifted hitter. But what’s done him in with two organizations is his outspoken nature and famed Manny being Manny persona. He’ll take that and a still very potent bat to the South Side, where he will fittingly join manager Ozzie Guillen.

What a dividend-paying move this could be for the White Sox. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. Their next two opponents on the road are the Cleveland Indians, whom he played for early in his career, and the Red Sox. Won’t this be an entertaining start to a career in Chicago!

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Haven’t seen too many of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, but came upon this one while flipping through the dial.

Jordan Rides the Bus is a nifty piece by Ron (Bull Durham) Shelton that takes a studied look at Michael’s days as member of the Birmingham Barons, a minor team in the Chicago White Sox system.

Throughout the program, thanks to the miracle of editing, Jordan always seems to be pounding the ball, running the bases like a deer, or making a great defensive play, and you hear comments along the lines of “He could have been a good/great/serviceable player if he’d stuck with it.”

One of my old bosses shocked us at a meeting once after a co-worker had made some excuse about being able to do a job better if he had more resources. The boss replied, “and if my mother had wheels, she’d be a bus.” The incongruity of the comment with the situation has never left me, and whenever I hear “if” now, I’m temporarily immobile while I recall that moment.

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During Wednesday night’s Texas Rangers-Minnesota Twins game, the ever woeful and insufferable ESPN announcer Rick Suttcliffe was posed a question by his partner in the booth Dave O’Brien regarding Manny Ramirez, who was placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers this week. He basically said he didn’t care for him. He thinks he would be a cancerous pick-up and also believes he has nothing left in the tank.

Sutcliffe, as usual, is full of baloney. Yes, Ramirez has his problems. He’s gained a pretty poor reputation, with antics that have sometimes been hilarious and sometimes very serious and detrimental to the team. His attitude on the field and through the media, which fueled his departure from the Boston Red Sox, was as bad as it gets.

Some believe that he has now worn out his welcome in Los Angeles, too. I just think the team, 12 games out in the National League West, has become a seller and wants to get value in return for Ramirez, whose contract runs out after the year.

With that said, he may have rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way in Los Angeles, as he did in Boston, but the guy is a future Hall of Famer. He is, in my opinion, one of the five purest hitters in baseball history. And he can still hit. Ramirez, 38, is batting .313 with eight homers and 40 RBI during a 2010 season that has been shortened by three disabled list stints.

The Chicago White Sox want his bat, and they may get the chance to bring him to the South side. They claimed him and are reportedly in the works of hammering out a deal with the Dodgers, according to the Chicago Sun Times. This is a very intelligent move by Chicago, a team that is currently 3 1/2 games behind the Twins.

Ramirez would have to approve a trade, considering he has a no-trade clause, but he reportedly told his friends he would be willing to go to Chicago. If all goes as planned, the White Sox would get a powerful hitter who could sway the division into their direction, and Ramirez would get out of Los Angeles and join in on the pennant race fun.

Ramirez is unpredictable, injury-prone, a nuisance, old, and doesn’t hustle all the time. Still, it’s Manny Ramirez, a 17-year veteran with 2,500-plus hits, 550-plus homers, and, among other otherworldly statistics, a .313 career average. I’m sure the White Sox would gladly take the baggage that may still be attached if Ramirez produces like he’s still capable of.

Carlos Quentin and Andruw Jones, a duo that has seen action both in the outfield and as the designated hitter, have 41 homers combined but are hitting just .222. The two deserve time down the stretch despite their dreadful average, but Ramirez would seemingly be an upgrade over both.

Alex Rios is their center fielder and Juan Pierre holds down right field. Chicago wouldn’t bring Ramirez over to platoon, nor would he agree to. Given his erratic outfield play throughout his career, the White Sox would ideally plug him in as their designated hitter and let Quentin and Jones rotate in and out in left.

This is the perfect kind of team for Ramirez, too. He was a lovable character in Boston until it turned ugly. He was just one of the Kevin Millar-proclaimed “Idiots” that always had an enthusiastic attitude, though he would get lackadaisical and more than occasionally drift in and out of his own little world.

The White Sox have some oddballs on their team already, none bigger than manager Ozzie Guillen. Oh what a pair Ramirez and Guillen would make! A match made in baseball heaven.

It looks like it might happen, too. Aside from the Padres, none of the National League contenders need a bat; and I don’t think San Diego would want to bring someone with Ramirez’s background in and have his aged legs play the outfield down the stretch.

The San Francisco Giants already have six quality outfielders and certainly don’t have room for another.

Boston won’t go down that road again, and even if they tried, Ramirez would probably pull a Johnny Damon and decide not to return.

New York’s General Manager Brian Cashman has said his team plans to stand pat.

The Rays could be interested, but they may have other plans.

And the Twins already have Jim Thome, who is still very serviceable despite being one a member of baseball’s version of AARP.

With that said, best of luck to the White Sox. If Ramirez is happy, hustles, and gets along with Guillen (which shouldn’t be too hard) and the rest of the team, this could be a steal for Chicago. And I believe it will. Ramirez may have more negatives than positives, but his positives outweigh them. He’s a risk worth taking, a risk that could propel the White Sox into the playoffs.

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As the White Sox have hit a bump in the road, their arch nemesis, the Minnesota Twins, has been surging.

With less than a week left until September, the White Sox find themselves 3.5 games behind the Twins in the AL Central race.

Already, the articles have been flowing, calling the White Sox done. The tombstone has been placed and all but the official date of elimination etched in.

Articles on Bleacher Report have already begun to fly about the Sox’ “unimpressive season” and “10 reasons the White Sox will lose the AL Central.” Sox fans seem ready to throw in the towel and throw on their Brian Urlacher jerseys.

This leaves me wondering: Do Sox fans really have that short of memories?

Undoubtedly, the Sox are not in an ideal position. But at 3.5 games back, there’s plenty of room to rejuvenate themselves and take back the AL Central.

As of late, the Twins have put together somewhat of a hot streak while the Sox have been fading. However, it may be a little early for the Twinkies to get hot. No team stays hot all season, and no team stays cool all season. The trend is a cycle of turning the oven on and off. Right now, the Sox’ oven is off—which leads me to believe that that trend may be about to benefit the Sox in a big way.

The Twins, who have somehow played exceedingly better without Justin Morneau, have hit a wall named the Texas Rangers. If there’s anything that can cool a team off, it’s four games in Texas (because we all know how cold Texas is).

In the doomsday scenarios I’ve been reading about, the underlying point seems to be the White Sox’ schedule. Everyone is so afraid of the Yankees and Red Sox, who will be playing the White Sox in September.

However, consider this: The White Sox have a combined 15-13 record against the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Rangers, Angels, and Braves (the six best teams the Sox have played outside the Central). Would you be surprised if I told you that is far better than the record the Sox have compiled against the Indians, A’s, Orioles, and Royals (17-21)?

Clearly, playing tougher teams hasn’t been the issue for the Sox (or the Twins, for that matter). The issue is not who the teams play, but where. The White Sox are 36-24 at home while being 32-33 on the road. Similarly, the Twins struggle on the road (32-32) while playing well at home (40-22).

So where will the teams play this September? Of the Twins’ remaining 36 games, 19 will be played at home. Of the White Sox’ remaining 37 games, 22 will be played at home.

While it is very close (although three games will be huge in this race), the important factor is where they are playing from Sept. 10 on, when the Sox will play 16 (of 22) home games and the Twins will only play 10 (of 22). This home field advantage will certainly be key down the stretch, even more important than schedule difficulty.

Next, we need to examine why the Sox fell so hard so fast. The answer is, of course, their bullpen. What has been their strength throughout most of the season has been a glaring weakness as of late. In the last 10 losses the Sox have suffered, the pitcher of record (the losing pitcher) has been out of the bullpen seven times while getting only one win during that same stretch. Most of these losses came in the form of blown saves.

However, this seems to have just been a freak coincidence that so many games were lost by this solid bullpen. J.J. Putz, Bobby Jenks, and Matt Thornton have all had some struggles with injuries during this time, and all are on the verge of being fully healthy. Chris Sale has been a huge lift out of the pen and will be a huge part of the bullpen down the stretch.

I fully expect this one strong part of our team to get back on track and get us winning games again.

The big point is, the Sox still have the best pitching in the Central. They are seemingly getting quality starts night in and night out. The offense has done its part as well. With the bullpen getting back and playing well, I see no reason why the White Sox can’t put together another solid run and get back out in front of this race.

By no means is this a guarantee, but Sox fans should begin to expect it. This team simply has too much talent not to be in it until the end, and players on both sides seem to have the feeling this thing is going down to the wire.

So while all you doubters and haters out there write about “needing a miracle” to get back into this race, I would like to remind you that just months ago, it took us about two weeks to come from a near 10-game deficit. Imagine what these Sox could do with a whole month.

(Don’t look now, but the Dodgers just placed Manny Ramirez on waivers…that 3.5-game deficit shrinks every day.)

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