We Should Worry about Zambrano

[Guest]

Pitcher begins to suck.....he's hurt and its Dusty Bakers fault.

 

Maybe he isnt that good? Where is it written that if you were good at one time....you will stay that good....and if you are not....then it is because of injury or because you pitched "too much".

 

Why is it always someone elses fault?

 

So you don't think he's injured?

 

The frequent dropping of the arm seems to paint a picture of someone trying to avoid hurting an already injured shoulder.

Edited May 10, 2007 by CaliforniaRaisin

[killthegoat06]

I'm worried.

[Mephistopheles]

If I told you in January that it on May 10th Carlos Zambrano's ERA will be HIGHER than Jason Marquis' ERA + Rich Hill's ERA + Ted Lilly's ERA, what would you say?

 

Z's ERA after the first was 6.26. Adding up the other three gives us 6.21.

[killthegoat06]

If I told you in January that it on May 10th Carlos Zambrano's ERA will be HIGHER than Jason Marquis' ERA + Rich Hill's ERA + Ted Lilly's ERA, what would you say?

 

Z's ERA after the first was 6.26. Adding up the other three gives us 6.21.

 

I'd say that his ERA would be over 15

[Banedon]

Pitcher begins to suck.....he's hurt and its Dusty Bakers fault.

 

Maybe he isnt that good? Where is it written that if you were good at one time....you will stay that good....and if you are not....then it is because of injury or because you pitched "too much".

 

Why is it always someone elses fault?

 

You own a ferrari. It runs great. It's the fastest car in town. Then one day, the engine starts knocking and it won't go faster than 65.

 

Which is more likely? Something is wrong with the engine, or its just not that good of a car?

[C.C.]

Pitcher begins to suck.....he's hurt and its Dusty Bakers fault.

 

Maybe he isnt that good? Where is it written that if you were good at one time....you will stay that good....and if you are not....then it is because of injury or because you pitched "too much".

 

Why is it always someone elses fault?

 

You own a ferrari. It runs great. It's the fastest car in town. Then one day, the engine starts knocking and it won't go faster than 65.

 

Which is more likely? Something is wrong with the engine, or its just not that good of a car?

 

At least the Car still looks good.

[C.C.]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

[jersey cubs fan]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

 

that could be fun

[Flames24Rulz]

Pitcher begins to suck.....he's hurt and its Dusty Bakers fault.

 

Maybe he isnt that good? Where is it written that if you were good at one time....you will stay that good....and if you are not....then it is because of injury or because you pitched "too much".

 

Why is it always someone elses fault?

 

So you don't think he's injured?

 

The frequent dropping of the arm seems to paint a picture of someone trying to avoid hurting an already injured shoulder.

 

While I believe he has to be hurt as well, I also think he's just developed some bad habits. It's not like he set the world on fire in the 2nd half of last year as well.

 

But his decrease in velocity is definitely a reason to worry. He's not getting any movement on his pitches at all. There's something definitely wrong with him.

[MustangMike]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

 

I didn't watch the game yet, but is the velocity that far off...and can inconsistant mechanics be the reason for his loss of velocity and/or movement on the ball? I guess I'm asking if its possible he's NOT hurt, and just having a bad stretch that's fixable with some coaching.

 

I have a bad feeling his hurt, but i'm a pessimist so I don't put too much thought behind this feeling. I know they cubs were sold, but it just seems odd they haven't locked him up. And even more to the point, since he's not locked up, for whatever reason taht is, that's usually when guys perform well, to get that big FA deal. Carlos seems lost.

[cjbucks]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

 

I didn't watch the game yet, but is the velocity that far off...and can inconsistant mechanics be the reason for his loss of velocity and/or movement on the ball? I guess I'm asking if its possible he's NOT hurt, and just having a bad stretch that's fixable with some coaching.

 

I have a bad feeling his hurt, but i'm a pessimist so I don't put too much thought behind this feeling. I know they cubs were sold, but it just seems odd they haven't locked him up. And even more to the point, since he's not locked up, for whatever reason taht is, that's usually when guys perform well, to get that big FA deal. Carlos seems lost.

 

I don't know this to be the case or not but Santo said he was hitting 95 on the radar gun today.

 

Whatever it is, he is going to cost himself a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Guest]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

 

Z's mechanics have never been pretty (to put it mildly).

[RichHillIsABeast]

I don't doubt Larry and Lou know what is wrong with Z's mechanics. Getting Z to pull his head out of his backside during the game is another matter. Supposedly he is great in all his side sessions and then come gametime...

[baseball7897]

Interesting! Lou just said that Carlos needs to close his motion more. Looks like Lou going to change his mechanics.

 

Z's mechanics have never been pretty (to put it mildly).

 

Z always struggles when his arm level drops. All of his pitches flatting out when he does that. If he stays on top of the ball he gets the ball down zone and he gets more movement on those pitches.

[Mephistopheles]

oddly enough his struggles seem to be confined to the first inning. if the problems were his arm angle or his arms health I would expect his struggles to be late in starts, not at the beginning. It could just be an anamoly at this time. When a pitchers arm gets tired theyre more likely to get sloppy with their mechanics and their arm angle (lowering it subconsciously as the start drags on). Since Carlos Zambrano is not doing this I do not think it is the arm angle. Same thing for the health, if he had a minor health issue I'd expect it to be more of an issue later in starts.

 

To be honest, I think his struggles are due to two things: 1 lefties, and 2 emotions at the beginning.

[Elrhino]

Generally all sinker ballers have problems at the beginning of games as they tend to overthrow early in the game and their ball doesn't get enough movement. Its doubly true for someone as emotionally high strung as Z.

 

I think his contract situation and impending free agency is also playing with his head. If he starts to mentally meltdown after a BB or fielding error, imagine what the added pressure of knowing this season could make or break him another $25-40 million in potential earnings could do to him.

[Connor McConnor]

Generally all sinker ballers have problems at the beginning of games as they tend to overthrow early in the game and their ball doesn't get enough movement. Its doubly true for someone as emotionally high strung as Z.

 

I think his contract situation and impending free agency is also playing with his head. If he starts to mentally meltdown after a BB or fielding error, imagine what the added pressure of knowing this season could make or break him another $25-40 million in potential earnings could do to him.

 

Yes.....oh the pressure of not knowing if you will receive 25 or 40 million to play baseball in the major leagues for 5 years.

[biittner77]

Generally all sinker ballers have problems at the beginning of games as they tend to overthrow early in the game and their ball doesn't get enough movement. Its doubly true for someone as emotionally high strung as Z.

 

I think his contract situation and impending free agency is also playing with his head. If he starts to mentally meltdown after a BB or fielding error, imagine what the added pressure of knowing this season could make or break him another $25-40 million in potential earnings could do to him.

 

Yes.....oh the pressure of not knowing if you will receive 25 or 40 million to play baseball in the major leagues for 5 years.

 

Playing baseball is a job. It pays better than most and it has some nice perks but it's still a job. We're talking about potentially making $15 million less on his next contract. To people not name Clemens or Arod that's a lot of money.

[rynefan]

Someday I want a job where I can feel slighted if the offer is $15 mill from where I want it to be! It's a whole other way of living.

[cubfan1955]

I didn't see much of yesterdays game so I'm not sure about it...but in Z's previous start I remember Len saying a pitch was a fastball...an 89 mph fastball. If that is Z's fastball that is disturbing.

[SouthSideRyan]

Bill Gates should sell all Microsoft products for 2 cents.

[Connor McConnor]

 

Playing baseball is a job. It pays better than most and it has some nice perks but it's still a job. .

 

 

Being a Machine Operator for 30k a year is a job. Being a professsional baseball player....and being paid millions of dollars to do so....is a GIFT!

 

Don't delude yourself.

 

If he "only" makes 5 million.....its enough to last a lifetime....and its not something to "worry" about. He's going to make a whole lot more than that....regardless of his performance. I dont begrudge his ability to do so...more power to him.....but to try to insinuate that he's not performing well because of the stress of not knowing how big his pile of money will be is ridiculous. This is frequently brought up by fans....and it's always ridiculous.

[TruffleShuffle]

If he "only" makes 5 million.....its enough to last a lifetime....and its not something to "worry" about. He's going to make a whole lot more than that....regardless of his performance. I dont begrudge his ability to do so...more power to him.....but to try to insinuate that he's not performing well because of the stress of not knowing how big his pile of money will be is ridiculous. This is frequently brought up by fans....and it's always ridiculous.

 

$5M is enough to last a lifetime if you're planning on living like you and me, but Carlos is probably planning on living in a much bigger house, and supporting his extended family too. There is stress involved when you're working toward a new contract, no matter what line of work you're in.

[Mephistopheles]

Generally all sinker ballers have problems at the beginning of games as they tend to overthrow early in the game and their ball doesn't get enough movement. Its doubly true for someone as emotionally high strung as Z.

 

i dont think that is it. Hes never had the problem before.

 

I Split          G    PA    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  BB  IBB  SO  HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB   CS  Pk   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS  BAbip tOPS+ Split
+-+------------+----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------------+
  1st inning    155   665   563   72  117  26   3  13   87   2  154   7   4   4   8   7    4   9   4  .208  .319  .334  .653  .260    95 1st inning   
  2nd inning    155   640   561   69  122  23   1  18   64   1  143   9   5   1   6  17    2   3   1  .217  .307  .358  .665  .259    98 2nd inning   
  3rd inning    152   632   541   60  114  21   2  11   70   2  126   9  10   2   9  13    2   4   4  .211  .310  .318  .628  .254    87 3rd inning   
  4th inning    150   628   544   58  126  20   3  13   63   6  136   8   8   5   5  14    5   2   1  .232  .318  .351  .669  .283    99 4th inning   
  5th inning    150   640   542   70  141  36   3   9   74   6  141   9  12   3   5  11    2   4   1  .260  .357  .387  .744  .334   122 5th inning   
  6th inning    137   558   485   54  117  28   3  11   61   8   98   4   3   5   6  14    4   3   0  .241  .328  .379  .707  .278   110 6th inning   
  7th inning    102   358   312   19   61  15   2   6   32   1   79   5   8   1   2  10    2   1   0  .196  .280  .314  .594  .241    77 7th inning   
  8th inning     49   184   162   16   41  10   0   4   16   0   18   4   1   1   1   5    0   0   0  .253  .333  .389  .722  .262   115 8th inning   
  9th inning     12    43    37    2    9   2   0   0    4   0    5   1   1   0   1   2    0   0   0  .243  .333  .297  .630  .281    88 9th inning   
  Ext inning      1     2     2    0    1   0   0   0    0   0    0   0   0   0   0   0    0   0   0  .500  .500  .500 1.000  .500   198 Ext inning   
  Innings 1-3   156  1937  1665  201  353  70   6  42  221   5  423  25  19   7  23  37    8  16   9  .212  .312  .337  .649  .258    93 Innings 1-3  
  Innings 4-6   157  1826  1571  182  384  84   9  33  198  20  375  21  23  13  16  39   11   9   2  .244  .334  .372  .706  .298   110 Innings 4-6  
  Innings 7-9   109   585   511   37  111  27   2  10   52   1  102  10  10   2   4  17    2   1   0  .217  .301  .337  .638  .252    90 Innings 7-9  
  Innings 10+     1     2     2    0    1   0   0   0    0   0    0   0   0   0   0   0    0   0   0  .500  .500  .500 1.000  .500   198 Innings 10+  

[Connor McConnor]

If he "only" makes 5 million.....its enough to last a lifetime....and its not something to "worry" about. He's going to make a whole lot more than that....regardless of his performance. I dont begrudge his ability to do so...more power to him.....but to try to insinuate that he's not performing well because of the stress of not knowing how big his pile of money will be is ridiculous. This is frequently brought up by fans....and it's always ridiculous.

 

$5M is enough to last a lifetime if you're planning on living like you and me, but Carlos is probably planning on living in a much bigger house, and supporting his extended family too. There is stress involved when you're working toward a new contract, no matter what line of work you're in.

 

I realize that.....but....it's relative. There is stress....and then there is STRESS. Carlos will live a good life...as will his family.

 

You need a lot of dough to care of that Unicorn though.