How soon can Samardzija get back here?

The Jeff Samardzija watch is on - again.

Samardzija had a strong first start of the season for Iowa (AAA) Monday, striking out four and allowing only 2 hits in 4 scoreless innings.

You have to believe that with one more of those, or maybe two, Samardzija will be on his way back to Chicago.

Lou Piniella has little confidence in Neal Cotts at this point, so he might like to keep Sean Marshall in the bullpen.

Or at the very least, if Marshall stays in the rotation, Samardzija can serve out of the pen, where Piniella also has almost no belief in Angel Guzman or Luis Vizcaino.

Piniella knows he can't overuse Carlos Marmol like he did early last year without risking some tough times for Marmol, so he'd like to get this straightened out quickly.

Firing bullets

Cubs catcher Koyie Hill absolutely marvels at the potential of reliever Aaron Heilman.

"He can be a real difference-maker for us,'' Hill said. "He's got a great, live arm, and he's got a deceptive motion. He can run it up there 95 or 97 mph. When he's in the zone, he's really tough.''

Harry Kalas

Harry Kalas was not only a star, but he was one of the nicest stars you could ever hope to meet.

In Philadelphia, he was as big and beloved as Harry Caray was in Chicago, he was the type who remembered your name, and he always was there with an inside tip about his team or a helpful note that could make your story sing.

During my years traveling with the Cubs, I can't tell you how many times he gave me a ride after a game from the Vet back to Society Hill.

It was out of his way, but if he saw an acquaintance waiting for a cab, he thought nothing of offering assistance.

Occasionally, he'd even suggest we stop along the way and visit an establishment in Philly I'd never seen before.

His journey was as remarkable as his career, and while I can't say I knew him well, I was glad enough to have known him at all.

He was not only a legend in baseball and a superstar in broadcasting, but he was one of the good guys.

And he is already missed.

Short stops

Watching Alexei Ramirez play center field during the opening week in Cleveland last year was not pretty, and though it's likely he could play just about anywhere on the field if given enough practice, the White Sox would be better off leaving him where he is and finding another spot for Gordon Beckham.

Just in case anyone's pondering such a notion.

Catching on

Weather permitting, catcher Michael Brenly will make his debut this week in Peoria (A), where he's expected to get significant playing time.

The 22-year-old Brenly suffered a concussion about a week ago that forced him to shut it down for a few days.

"He took a foul tip off that stupid goalie mask they wear. I like the old-fashioned masks,'' said Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly, himself a former catcher and, as if you didn't know, Michael's father. "It's too bad because he was having a great spring.''

The Morgan files

It's awfully early in the year to award the "Joe Morgan Ridiculous Line of the Season,'' but Morgan might have trouble topping this from Sunday night's ESPN broadcast of the Cubs at Milwaukee.

After an Aramis Ramirez flyout to deep left-center, Morgan said, "The ball is just not carrying like it was in batting practice. I don't know what the difference is. Balls were flying out of here in batting practice."

The difference? Well, let's examine, Joe.

Batting practice is when coaches throw 70 mph and tell hitters where the pitch is going to be thrown.

In an actual baseball game, the object is for a major-league pitcher to try to retire a major-league batter, so they throw 90-95 mph and keep hitters off balance with nasty breaking stuff so that if they do make contact it doesn't travel 450 feet.

During a game, hitters do not confer with pitchers ahead of time and learn the precise speed, spin and location of a thrown ball.

That's at least one difference, Joe, between batting practice and a major-league baseball game and why the ball sometimes doesn't travel quite as far.

Blast from the past

Former Cubs and White Sox reliever David Aardsma has 2 saves and a hold in 4 outings for first-place Seattle (6-2), having allowed 1 hit and no runs with 3 strikeouts in 42/3 innings.

It's too early to say, but could it be that at age 27, and on his fifth big-league team, that the flame-throwing Aardsma finally has figured it out?

Just thinking

Kind of early in the season for Aramis Ramirez to pull his disappearing act, isn't it?

The Masters

So the affable Kenny Perry blames himself for giving away the Masters, and the annoying Sergio Garcia blames Augusta for never allowing him to get in the hunt.

Shocking.

And finally -

Theonion.com: "Anticipating that new quarterback Jay Cutler will need more targets than converted cornerback Devin Hester and undersized journeyman Rashied Davis - the only receivers on their squad who have ever caught an NFL pass - the Bears signed a tire swing to their roster Tuesday.''

brozner@dailyherald.com