Quade: Samardzija needs command

It was hardly a command performance by Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija Sunday in an 8-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wrigley Field finale for 2010.

In fact, command was virtually nonexistent for Samardzija, who walked seven and gave up 7 hits and 8 runs in 41/3 innings.

The Cardinals took an 8-0 against the Cubs, who rallied in the late innings but fell just short before an announced crowd of 38,057.

Manager Mike Quade made it quite clear where he believes the onus is for Samardzija to gain enough command of the strike zone to be a major-league pitcher.

"It's a big challenge for Jeff to get his command where he wants to be," Quade said. "There's a lot of good people in this organization who have been working with him, and there's two very good people (coaches Larry Rothschild and Lester Strode) up here. He'll keep working, but that's the deal. It's about command."

Samardzija gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters of the game before Albert Pujols crushed a line-drive homer to left to highlight the Cardinals' 4-run first inning. After opening the season in the Cubs' bullpen, Samardzija went to Class AAA Iowa in late April and wound up having success as a starting pitcher.

"Today aside, I feel great," he said. "I feel great with how I've been and how I've pitched. I've won a lot of games this year, and it feels good. It's a positive year, I think, as a whole. It would have been a lot better if it would have ended on a better note today, but that's the way it goes."

The Cubs began chipping away against Jake Westbrook with 2 runs in the fifth and chasing him with 3 in the sixth.

"It's about winning ballgames," Quade said. "You're still disappointed. But we hung around. We had opportunities to get the lead. They played 27 outs, which is what they're supposed to do."

Thanks to the fans: Sunday's announced crowd brought the season total to an announced 3,062,973. While still good, it's the smallest home gate since the Cubs drew 2.96 million in 2003.

Cubs players saluted the crowd and tossed autographed balls into the stands before the game.

"They're so good to us here," said Mike Quade, a Chicago-area native. "You say it over and over, but you really need to because it's phenomenal, the support that we get here. And it's always been, from when I was 7 years old to 53 now."

Defense, defense: Mike Quade was asked what his advice for rookie shortstop Starlin Castro would be this winter. Castro is hitting .302, but he also has 27 errors.

"Just work on his defense until he's blue in the face," Quade said. "The first thing he should do is go home and take a rest. This is a grind for everybody. He needs work. He's got a ton of work to do. I wouldn't care if he ever picked up a bat, because he swung the bat great all year."