Sosa & Nats looking at 1yr deal?/Possible Retirement?

[Andy]

Z may lose it a little when his D screws up, but he is twice as much more positive when a great defensive play is made. After that CPatt catch and double off against Milwaukee on 6/28, Z was jumping up and down like a 6-year-old on Christmas. :D

[Neuby]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

 

there was one over-publicized incident against the Astros in June 2004: Z threw a tantrum on the mound when Todd Walker missed a play on the field. Walker called him out on it in the press after the game, which was a mistake: Dusty should have been settled that in the clubhouse, and besides that the Cubs won the game. Z apologized the next day and everyone put on a nice public face after that.

 

 

 

The mistake was Z not apologizing to Walker at the end of the inning or after the game.

[Blueheart05]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

 

there was one over-publicized incident against the Astros in June 2004: Z threw a tantrum on the mound when Todd Walker missed a play on the field. Walker called him out on it in the press after the game, which was a mistake: Dusty should have been settled that in the clubhouse, and besides that the Cubs won the game. Z apologized the next day and everyone put on a nice public face after that.

 

 

 

The mistake was Z not apologizing to Walker at the end of the inning or after the game.

 

 

The mistake was having a tantrum to begin with. It was ridiculous and unnecessary but many people will excuse it because Zambano is "emotional." The inning was not lost on that play and IIRC, it was Zambrano that caused the trouble by pitching wildly and putting the team in a situation where they had to execute perfectly on defense to get out of the inning unscathed. Walker also did not handle the situation well. I remeber him being interviewed on The Score about the incident and saying something like "he does that crap all the time."

 

I don't see how Baker is to blame. Dusty probably did talk to them about it in the clubhouse after the game but I don't know a manager that has been able to quiet Walker (especially when he is asked directly about an issue). Walker probably should have avoided the media until he calmed down. Zambrano did apologize but he has to learn to avoid those situations.

[Soul]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue.

 

Between 2001 and 2003, Wood made 93 starts. Only after the 2003 campaign in which he threw the most pitches in baseball did he break down again.

 

It might help my confidence a little if he would show up at Spring Training ready to pitch.....

 

This will be the 3rd year in row that Woody has not been able to make all his potential starts. We know this for a fact and we haven't even played a single Spring Training game yet. I'm on very solid ground here. I always wanted Woody to succeed, but it's not happening. It's just not looking good for the guy. Unless he starts turning it around, and I mean double-quick, you won't see him in a Cub uniform for much longer. He's sucking salary and not taking the mound. It's bad.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue.

 

Between 2001 and 2003, Wood made 93 starts. Only after the 2003 campaign in which he threw the most pitches in baseball did he break down again.

 

It might help my confidence a little if he would show up at Spring Training ready to pitch.....

 

This will be the 3rd year in row that Woody has not been able to make all his potential starts. We know this for a fact and we haven't even played a single Spring Training game yet. I'm on very solid ground here. I always wanted Woody to succeed, but it's not happening. It's just not looking good for the guy. Unless he starts turning it around, and I mean double-quick, you won't see him in a Cub uniform for much longer. He's sucking salary and not taking the mound. It's bad.

 

It's not Woody's fault that the team decided to postpone his surgery by having him relieve when they thought they were still in the WC race. I place this one on Hendry/Baker.

[Soul]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue.

 

Between 2001 and 2003, Wood made 93 starts. Only after the 2003 campaign in which he threw the most pitches in baseball did he break down again.

 

It might help my confidence a little if he would show up at Spring Training ready to pitch.....

 

This will be the 3rd year in row that Woody has not been able to make all his potential starts. We know this for a fact and we haven't even played a single Spring Training game yet. I'm on very solid ground here. I always wanted Woody to succeed, but it's not happening. It's just not looking good for the guy. Unless he starts turning it around, and I mean double-quick, you won't see him in a Cub uniform for much longer. He's sucking salary and not taking the mound. It's bad.

 

It's not Woody's fault that the team decided to postpone his surgery by having him relieve when they thought they were still in the WC race. I place this one on Hendry/Baker.

 

I won't argue on that one.

[FergieJ31]

I don't see how Baker is to blame. Dusty probably did talk to them about it in the clubhouse after the game but I don't know a manager that has been able to quiet Walker (especially when he is asked directly about an issue).

 

I have to disagree. Like so many things in the 2004 Cubs season, suffice to say there were multiple mistakes at several levels: the media for making a mountain out of a molehill; Baker for not keeping it in the clubhouse; Walker for publically dissing Z and of course Z for throwing the tantrum in the first place

 

That Z-Walker incident is precisely the sort of thing that should never leave a professional baseball clubhouse. We have no idea, of course, what (if anything) Baker said to Z and Walker, but if it didn't include something like "Nobody talks to the media about this, even if asked directly, are we clear?" (under an implied penalty of death) then Baker didn't do his job and control his team.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

I don't see how Baker is to blame. Dusty probably did talk to them about it in the clubhouse after the game but I don't know a manager that has been able to quiet Walker (especially when he is asked directly about an issue).

 

I have to disagree. Like so many things in the 2004 Cubs season, suffice to say there were multiple mistakes at several levels: the media for making a mountain out of a molehill; Baker for not keeping it in the clubhouse; Walker for publically dissing Z and of course Z for throwing the tantrum in the first place

 

That Z-Walker incident is precisely the sort of thing that should never leave a professional baseball clubhouse. We have no idea, of course, what (if anything) Baker said to Z and Walker, but if it didn't include something like "Nobody talks to the media about this, even if asked directly, are we clear?" (under an implied penalty of death) then Baker didn't do his job and control his team.

 

I thought it was an unspoken rule in baseball that you kept that garbage in house. Z lost it in the heat of the moment on the field. Walker lost it post-incident against the rules.

 

I really don't have a problem with Z or Walker in the incident. As long as there wasn't bad blood going forward, no harm, no foul.