I've had enough of Carlos Zambrano's childish antics. The Cubs will never win anything of importance let alone a World Series with him on their squad.
If you bet it would be before July when the Cubs $91.5 million dollar asshole would blow up and make a fool of himself, congrats. You’ve won 3 more months of god awful baseball on the north side. It’s been a few days since Zambrano went postal on Derrick Lee, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to waste time writing about the mental midget. Z has been suspended by the Cubs and has been placed on the restricted list. He won’t return to the Flubbies until July 15, if at all. FYI- I’d love to be a fly on the wall during Carlos’ “evaluation” with doctors. They may need more time than until July 15th to figure out what’s wrong him. Just to be clear, I’ve never been a Zambrano guy. I was at Wrigley in June of ‘07 when he went after Michael Barrett like a crazed lunatic. The spin back then was that the Cubs were fueled by the fight and Lou Pineilla’s subsequent tirade that weekend. All I thought at the time was what I think now, “Carlos Zambrano is a Chris Brown sized piece of shit.” Fast forward to last Friday and there was Zambrano at it again. He has always to felt the pressure of big games, in my eyes. Not one time have I ever had confidence that Little Z would come up big when his team needed him to. Once again, Z didn’t let me down. Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly said it was nice to see a little fire because the Cubs have been “A dead ass team.” Sorry Bob, but Zambrano wasn’t trying to fire up his team. You’ll hear comparison to the Rays Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton getting into it. The difference is Longoria is a respected leader. Zambrano isn’t a leader, he’s a unstable mental patient who can’t control his emotions. After his latest tantrum I have to ask, “Is it finally time to sever ties with the petulant child?” If Tom Ricketts is back from his African safari, someone please ask him.
Zambrano should only point the finger at himself. It wasn't Derrick lee's fault that he served up this meatball to Carlos Quentin. Yes, the home run came on an 0-2 pitch.
His antics towards one of the best teammates in baseball (Derrick Lee) just goes to show he doesn’t respect anyone he comes across. Thanks for your 1 inning of work Carlos. I wonder how much of his $18 million dollar salary he earned Friday? I wrote earlier this season that the Cubs created a monster with Zambrano because Jim Hendry has babied him since Z got to the Cubs. I wrote that when you create a monster who feels he can get away with anything, that monster grows into an uncontrollable beast. Cubs fans can thank Jim Hendry for creating this nut job’s massive ego.
I sound cynical when I talk about the Cubs, but I truly feel that they needed to suck in 2010 so that new owner Tom Ricketts had no choice but to clean house of his baseball atrocity. Here’s hoping that the Zambrano blowup will be the last straw. I understand why Ricketts didn’t fire Hendry and Lou Piniella’s corpses before the season. When you pay close to $1 billion dollars for a team and have a $25 million dollar note it’s hard to eat any more money. The time has come, however, for Ricketts to rid himself of Zambrano. Trading Zambrano will be difficult, but what other choice does he have? Find some stiff with an equally horrendous contract, and make a deal happen. Piniella’s corpse will be gone after the season. Hendry, too, will likely be fork lifted out the door. Those moves will be a step in the right direction, but Zambrano can’t return to this team. The players talked about the atmosphere in the clubhouse on Saturday and Sunday at The Cell and how different it was. When you remove a cancer from the clubhouse, the attitude and moral improves. And, you thought the Cubs’ chemistry would improve with Milton Bradley gone. If the Cubs welcome Zambrano back, the countdown starts to another meltdown.
Random Tangent: Firing Hendry has to be done, but the Cubs feel the wrath of Lord Fatso for years to come. The back loaded deals and no-trade clauses will be the death of the Cubs for the next 4-5 years. It doesn’t matter who the Cubs bring in to replace Hendry, his stench will be felt for a long time. That being said, the move still has to be made. The guy gave Jeff Samardzija a no-trade for Christ’s sake. I mean, anytime you can give a scrub pitcher who should be playing the flanker in the NFL, you have to do it, right? Ugh. Excuse me while I throw up on my keyboard. On the Zambrano deal, Hendry didn’t have to sign Zambrano to that extension. Teams don’t sign pitchers to big money extensions who aren’t headcases and actually take care of their bodies. However, there was Hendry with the $91.5 million deal. Smart teams (not the Cubs) pay for future production and what they think a player WILL be. You don’t pay for past production–especially not for a guy who refuses to do his required rehab work. Thanks again, Jim.
I’m not the guy who gets off on calling for managers and coaches to be fired. I’m not a guy who wants a guy to be cut or traded at the drop of a hat. This Zambrano situation is at the point of no return. There is no other choice but for Ricketts to pry Hendry away from the buffet table and make him trade his boy at any reasonable cost. I don’t care what the Cubs get in return. I’d be happy with a bucket of balls. I don’t care if Tommy Boy Ricketts has to take back an equally bad contract in return. Zambrano is finished in Chicago. How many times have we heard him in his monotone spring training voice say he’s a changed guy? It’s the same routine every year. People are tired of it. Cubs fans are already staying away from Wrigley. An estimated 1,500 less seats per game so far this season. That number will dip even lower as this dog and pony show of a season continues. It’s become obvious by their indefinite suspension that the Cubs don’t want the big headache anymore. Put down the Italian Beef and get on the horn Jim.
I always laugh at Cubs fans who say that Zambrano is different, and this is the year he fully reaches his potential. By the time you’re a certain age (Zambrano is 29), you are the person you are. This is who he is and the way he’ll always act. Bringing him back and putting him in the bullpen won’t solve anything. Teams know what he is as a pitcher–starter, reliever, Gatorade jug thrower, raging penis, they know. He’s a 29 year old pain in the ass who’s had shoulder issues, drinks Red Bull like water, never hits 93 mph on his fastball anymore, can’t keep his emotions in check in a big game, is no better than a 5th starter, cares more about dinner plans with Ozzie Guillen, and is HATED by teammates. This is known. His stock is lower than the self esteem of girls who hook up with Patrick Kane. The Cubs need to be proactive and, basically, give him away. He’ll wave his no-trade clause if he’s not welcome back to the team. If he is, then the monster is that much closer to another blowup. Ricketts has a lot on his agenda, but the $91.5 million dollar douche bag just moved himself to the top of the list. Your move, Tommy Boy.
Post Published: 28 June 2010Author: LKR
