Mark DeRosa's Blog is updated

[ryno4ever]

http://markderosa.mlblogs.com/

Just a bit of it, but much more good stuff on there....check it out!

L.A.'s always fun. Vince Vaughn was sitting in the front row of the game on Sunday. Every guy on our team was trying to make eye contact with him. I had a chance to have dinner with a bunch of guys on the team and our wives, and sitting next to us at dinner was Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore and John Mayer. That stuff -- we become starstruck in a hurry. For me and my wife, you're trying to take pictures with your phone under the table because no one's going to believe you.

[ryno4ever]

Here's a heartfelt blog from DeRosa...

I think Brian Roberts is an amazing player, and I think he's one of the best, if not the best leadoff hitter in the game. I know him off the field as well, and think he's a great person. We talked for awhile during batting practice Tuesday about the whole thing, the trade rumors, and the way things were handled during the course of Spring Training. He knew it was difficult for me, and I'm sure it was difficult for him as well dealing with the daily questions of whether he was coming here or what was going to happen.

My problem with the whole thing was never with him -- I really do think he's a phenomenal player. Anytime you bring to the table what he brings, it's tough for any team to not want him. But his move over here, if it would've taken place, would've directly impacted on my position and my playing time. That's something I didn't want to have happen. I don't think that's being selfish. I've worked hard in my career to get to this point and thought I played well last year -- I didn't play great but I played well. I think when I signed I came in and did exactly what the Cubs expected me to do, and I felt I could build off last year and get better. I feel like my numbers so far this first half have been good -- nothing great, but they've been good. I feel I've helped the team win ballgames.

I'm really happy with the way things worked out, or I guess didn't work out. Look at us -- we're 19 games above .500, we've got a 3 1/2-game lead, we're in first place, we're playing great ball. I'm on the best team in baseball right now. If things had gone another way, it would've been upsetting.

[bringbacktuffy]

I appreciate his honesty about it. Seriously, how would you feel if you were doing your as well as DeRosa has since he's been here, and management tells you that they are looking for an upgrade? I wouldn't be too happy about it either.
However, it would have been pretty nice to have Roberts in the leadoff spot this year. But, I think Fukudome might as well take that role over with Edmonds raking like he is in the 5 and 6 spots.

[cubbie_kern]

He's a competitor and it shows with that statement. He's a valuable player for our team and I'd hate to see his playing time get cut too much.

[Cubbies10]

Mark is one of my favorite Cubs players on this team and was MVP last year for this team, his versatility is ireplacable and he seems like a great guy. He is having a good year and i'm damm happy that we have the man.

[ryno4ever]

Catching up with Jeff Samardzija
MARK DEROSA: I'm going to interview Jeff Samardzija, who to me is by far the coolest guy on this team. What he's been able to accomplish in his career, none of these guys can hold a candle to it. To play in front of 110,000 in Ann Arbor, to play a game against USC -- I don't think Ted Lilly has ever done that.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: He only likes me because my bobblehead has given him a couple bombs, including a grand slam.

DEROSA: I'm going to say there's not a quarterback-wide receiver connection who can come close to what we're throwing out there.

OK, was it an easy decision to sign with baseball or did you lose some sleep over it?

SAMARDZIJA: I don't lose any sleep over anything, but it was a hard decision. I had a premonition that my locker would be smashed in between Mark DeRosa, the good, and then the evil of Jason Marquis. It's a constant battle for me, but I knew that's where I wanted to be, so it wasn't too bad of a decision.

DEROSA: Did you know I played quarterback [at Penn] when we first met?

SAMARDZIJA: I did find out the first Spring Training, someone told me about it, and said you had some skills. I'm guessing it was probably George [Castle]. I'm sure if anybody told me, it was George.

DEROSA: Do you feel like in the Minor Leagues, you could've performed better if you were on a bigger stage? Were you bored with the Minor Leagues? And, I'm not disrespecting the Minor Leagues.

SAMARDZIJA: It wasn't the same, let's just say that, as playing in front of a lot of people and playing against better competition. I felt I was there for a reason to work on stuff, but I knew where I wanted to be.

DEROSA: So, not so much result.

SAMARDZIJA: Not so much result, as you can tell.

DEROSA: Are you able to go to dinner in the city of Chicago and lead a pretty normal life?

SAMARDZIJA: Are you able to go to dinner in Chicago and live a pretty normal life?

DEROSA: Yes, very much so. I'm a happily married man with a wife and child. I'm not single with long, flowing locks, who was an All-America at Notre Dame.

SAMARDZIJA: I think you're answering the question for me.

DEROSA: We've talked about throwing passes many times.

SAMARDZIJA: We feel we're under a pretty tough radar here, throwing passes.

DEROSA: I'm very impressed with how this guy has come up and been able to fit right in. The guy's got ice water in his veins and that's a direct reflection of playing football. It's something that shapes your life. People who've never played football don't understand the bond. You could tell by the play [Friday against St. Louis] in the ninth -- he gave me a huge chest bump when I made the barehanded bunt play. It was right out of catching a touchdown pass, but I was playing against Cornell and he was playing against USC.

good stuff again