Cubs Notes: Samardzija could replace Wood

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CHICAGO - Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was mum on who would replace closer Kerry Wood, who was placed on the 15-day DL on Thursday, on the active roster, only saying no decision had been made. Most, however, believe the Cubs will call up Jeff Samardzija from Triple-A Iowa. A hard-throwing righty, Samardzija would pitch out of the bullpen. “[He's] a possibility,” Hendry said. “We'll probably see how [Thursday] goes, then decide. “You never want to get out ahead of yourself and say it might be this guy or that guy ... and then something changes. But he'll be considered.” Samardzija, 23, is 4-1 in six starts since being promoted to Iowa. His ERA, walks and hits allowed are down over that span - his strikeouts are up. “[He's shown] tremendous progress,” Hendry said. “He's been outstanding. He's coming along at a real nice pace - he's exactly where we could have hoped.” A two-sport standout at Notre Dame, Samardzija gave up football when the Cubs offered a 5-year, $10 million major-league deal in June of 2006. He started his first full professional season at High-A Daytona, then advanced quickly through the system - he began this season, his second, at Double-AA Tennessee. Now, he appears on the verge of making his major-league debut. “He's pitched good. He's pitched real good,” Hendry said. “The kid has a load of potential. We've obviously loved him since we signed him.” With a rested bullpen, the Cubs could opt to go in a different direction - call up a position player, Micah Hoffpauir, for instance, and go with 11 pitchers. Samardzija, however, is a power pitcher, and Lou Piniella loves power pitchers. Over his past two starts, Samardzija has struck out 18 in 12 innings. Edmonds update: OF Jim Edmonds told trainer Mark O'Neal his injured left knee “felt a lot, lot better [Thursday],” Hendry said. Earlier this week Edmonds aggravated an old injury to his knee - he was unavailable Wednesday and Thursday. “He feels he'll be good to go for [Friday],” Hendry said. Edmonds saw orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Gryzlo before Thursday's game. Hendry said Edmonds had a MRI exam earlier in the day. “They put him on a Z-pack, which is for inflammation,” Piniella said. Record breaker: The Cubs broke the two-million fan mark Thursday, establishing a new single-season club record by reaching the milestone in only 50 games. The Cubs have drawn 2,030,517 to Wrigley Field this season, or 40,610 a game. At this pace the Cubs would shatter their single-season attendance record. Last year, the team welcomed 3,252,462 to Wrigley. “We are so thankful for our fans,” club chairman Crane Kenney said. Rule breaker: Hendry explained the $500,000 fine levied by MLB for a violation of draft rules as “a few clerical errors in the dates of reporting.” It was not because the team was overpaying draft picks, he said - other than the team's fourth-round selection, high-schooler Matthew Cerda, the first 10 picks were all paid according to their draft slot. “There's no dollars that weren't spent or hidden or anything like that,” he said. “It was just a matter of a few ... I think only two of our entire draft choices were signed to above-the-slot figures. But the protocol with when the amounts were called in ... maybe they should have been called in a day or two before they should have been called in.” Hendry said the ordeal was under review. “Hopefully it will be rectified in the next few days,” he said.