Aug. 16--White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija has given up 22 earned runs over 15 1/3 innings in three starts in August, but pitching coach Don Cooper classified their next step to getting him back on track as "support."
"There's not much work going on other than support," Cooper said. "We're telling him to keep his angle. We're telling him to stay tall, stuff like that. Jeff has been betting on himself for a long time. He's a free agent, and he's in a big year. When he came here, we didn't acquire him for me to make changes, adjustments or fix him. It just comes down to making pitches or not making pitches."
Samardzija had a nine-game stretch from June 13-July 28 when he didn't allow more than four earned runs and didn't pitch fewer than seven innings in any start, so the slump is more frustrating for a team that held out hope for a wild-card run when they kept him on board at the trade deadline.
Cooper said he didn't know if the weight of impending free agency was getting to Samardzija but said he was "confident we can do some things with guys and get them better."
"Jeff has pitched some great games," Cooper said. "Jeff has pitched some lemons -- so has Chris Sale. But consistency has not been where he or we want it."
Surprising news: Sox manager Robin Ventura has known Red Sox manager John Farrell from their days at Oklahoma State and said he was "shocked" to hear the news that Farrell temporarily is stepping away because he has lymphoma.
"Anytime you hear that news, it's always shocking and you feel for him," Ventura said. "You put things in perspective (about) what's really important."
Ventura said they're "fortunate and lucky" Farrell's lymphoma was discovered during hernia surgery. Meanwhile, Ventura was wearing a bandage over the bridge of his nose after a Sox skin cancer screening found a potential problem area, and he had it removed.
"You're always protective of putting sunscreen on, but when you're a kid you probably didn't put it on as much as you should," Ventura said.
Celebration time: Ventura said celebrations like Pedro Strop's fist-pumping display Friday are becoming more acceptable, pointing to the Sox's tradition this season of hand gestures whenever they get a big hit.
"(In the past), you were glad to get a hit, but you didn't have to signal the dugout when you do it," Ventura said. "In today's game, it just seems that's what guys do, and it's different. But fans enjoy that stuff."
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