Ex-Sox Samardzija surprised by LaRoche fallout

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija, the one-time Sox pitcher who left for free agency after a disappointing 2015 with his hometown team, still seems surprised two weeks later by the falling out between the Sox and Adam LaRoche over the amount of time the first baseman’s son spent in the clubhouse.

“When I was there with them, little LaRochy was a pretty cool little dude, and he wasn’t in the way,” Samardzija said. “He worked his butt off, did a lot of clubbie work for free, if you ask me. And he got me a lot of ice cream and a lot of cokes. I even tipped him here and there to tell you the truth.

“It’s just a touchy situation. As a player you don’t get a lot of time to see your kids, and when the kid’s old enough to be around it’s nice to have him around and enjoy it. I can also see the other side, where at times if you’re another guy that likes to come and do his work, maybe you don’t have your kid there, and it’s a little tough.”

He said he doesn’t remember any Sox teammates complaining last year, even quietly or privately.

“Maybe something changed from the beginning of camp or maybe some feelings changed over the offseason when there was a chance to sit and think about it. I don’t know,” he said. “It’s just a tough situation because both sides were right. Just maybe it wasn’t handled in the best way possible.”