Z's MRI: Rotator Cuff Tendinitis; Could be back 9/12

[UMFan83]

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano has right rotator cuff tendinitis and inflammation, an MRI confirmed, a blow to Chicago's chances of winning the World Series, and exonerating the curse of the billy goat and making up for 69, Bartman, and Durham, for the first time in a century. Here is a quote from local goat herder, Tom Smith....

 

Fixed for typical ESPN journalism

[kujay]

The question is going to be, basically, whether Z with an inflamed rotator cuff something or other is better than a 100% Lilly.

 

huh?

 

All I'm saying is, if Z isn't 100%, which he probably won't be, is that still better than Lilly when it comes to the NLDS?

 

I gotcha! Lilly's going to pitch somewhere in the series.

 

Okay, then yeah, it doesn't matter.

[David]

lol at Levine just saying that Z's never been on the DL

 

I get his point, but yea

[ChiCubsfan0502]

Bruce: "Target return date is Houston".

[UMFan83]

Levine is coming on with Mac, Jurko and Harry in 5 minutes. ESPN 1000.

 

 

Please. give. updates.

 

Bruce: "Every pitcher in Baseball has this, it's normal this time of the year".

O:)

 

That's great, but why is he sucking lately, why did he ask to be taken out of the game, and will 10 days of rest do anything to make him good Z again?

[kujay]

The Trib online still only has Van [expletive]'s story from just before midnight last night.

 

That's pretty bad.

 

They just put up a new story:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-080904-chicago-cubs-carlos-zambrano,0,1290265.story

[Old Style]

THANK YOU, JEEBUS!

 

[David]

lol Bruce saying that players are now using Cialis combined with Red Bull/Coffee in place of amphetamines...

[kujay]

"You deal with it. No excuses. We're going play 22 games more and we'll wind up with our guys we have who we think are quality. It's a relief knowing 'Z' doesn't have anything more significant than what we thought. And hopefully he'll pitch in Housotn, which means he will only miss one turn."

 

Says Hendry in the Trib article.

 

So, no Howry on the playoff roster then?

[kujay]

lol Bruce saying that players are now using Cialis combined with Red Bull/Coffee in place of amphetamines...

 

I wouldn't imagine pitching a tent with a cup on is a lot of fun.

[C.C.]

"You deal with it. No excuses. We're going play 22 games more and we'll wind up with our guys we have who we think are quality. It's a relief knowing 'Z' doesn't have anything more significant than what we thought. And hopefully he'll pitch in Housotn, which means he will only miss one turn."

 

Says Hendry in the Trib article.

 

So, no Howry on the playoff roster then?

 

I don't like him only missing 1 turn?!?! No reason to rush him back.

[David]

The other problem with setting the expectations for an early return is that now people are going to freak the hell out again if they actually do the smart thing and wait a little longer (see Harden, Rich).

[ChiCubsfan0502]

Levine is coming on with Mac, Jurko and Harry in 5 minutes. ESPN 1000.

 

 

Please. give. updates.

 

Bruce: "Every pitcher in Baseball has this, it's normal this time of the year".

O:)

 

That's great, but why is he sucking lately, why did he ask to be taken out of the game, and will 10 days of rest do anything to make him good Z again?

 

Good question. It's hard to say but knowing Z, he should be ok.

[kujay]

The other problem with setting the expectations for an early return is that now people are going to freak the hell out again if they actually do the smart thing and wait a little longer (see Harden, Rich).

 

But they obviously don't seem very concerned about making us Howry our pants. They knew yesterday this wasn't a big deal, and didn't let on anything until today. I guess waiting for the MRI results is wise though.

[SouthSideRyan]

"You deal with it. No excuses. We're going play 22 games more and we'll wind up with our guys we have who we think are quality. It's a relief knowing 'Z' doesn't have anything more significant than what we thought. And hopefully he'll pitch in Housotn, which means he will only miss one turn."

 

Says Hendry in the Trib article.

 

So, no Howry on the playoff roster then?

 

I think he was alluding to the fact that Casey McGehee will be our starting 3B.

[TruffleShuffle]

fantastic news! i'd give him a couple of weeks off and hope that he's ready to go by then.

[PrimeTime]

lol.Fox Sports.com has it too.. CHICAGO (AP) - Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano has right rotator cuff tendinitis and inflammation, an MRI confirmed Thursday, a blow to Chicago's chances of winning the World Series for the first time in a century.

 

Then you have dumb fans..

#1That's at least 3 weeks without the Z-man Cubs Fans, Ouch.

#2WATCH! YOU HEARD IT RIGHT HERE.

THE CHICAGO CUBS WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS! IT WILL BE THE BREWERS FIRST AND THE CARDS ON THE WILD CARD!

 

Hey Fox,he's not having tommy john surgery .Its freakin inflammed..

And the dumbass people don't realize were a lock for the playoffs already

[wade]

Looks like they gave him a special MRI that didn't require the dye injections.

 

From a sound bite I just heard from Hendry, they injected him with some anti-inflammatories (cortisone I'm guessing?)

 

I think your garden variety MRI requires no injection, it's only when they need a real deep look that they have to inject dye. Regular MRIs are loud and annoying, but involve no pain at all. But yeah, it's good he didn't need the dye either way. And, if he got a cortisone shot, that'll stop the inflammation, but usually guys need a few days to get over that.

 

This is about the best news we could get, given the potential ramifications.

[C.C.]

lol.Fox Sports.com has it too.. CHICAGO (AP) - Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano has right rotator cuff tendinitis and inflammation, an MRI confirmed Thursday, a blow to Chicago's chances of winning the World Series for the first time in a century.

 

Then you have dumb fans..

#1That's at least 3 weeks without the Z-man Cubs Fans, Ouch.

#2WATCH! YOU HEARD IT RIGHT HERE.

THE CHICAGO CUBS WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS! IT WILL BE THE BREWERS FIRST AND THE CARDS ON THE WILD CARD!

 

Hey Fox,he's not having tommy john surgery .Its freakin inflammed..

And the dumbass people don't realize were a lock for the playoffs already

 

Idiots.

[David]

If it's the AP story that's running that "blow to the Cubs chances" thing, it's going to be on every national media outlet. Edited September 4, 2008 by David

[98navigator]

This thread is crazy with speculation and proves that no one should start to panic without facts. I was listening to Jesse Rogers yesterday and everything he said was speculation, as was Tim Kurkjian's fear mongering (who doesn't know anything about the the Cubs nor does he have any more sources here than the local media).

 

Some people in the media were all ready to report about Z's next appointment with Dr Andrews (and I think many of them are disappointed now).

 

Fans get off the ledge.

[Laura]

Chicago sports media is awful. How many different stories are out there? Ridiculous.

 

There will be as many stories as there are sources, especially if Z and Lou weren't talking (Lou because he didn't have the information, apparently).

[BigbadB]

I'm sure the goal isn't to rush Zambrano or Harden back. The more rest they can get, the better it will be for the whole team. But, the Cubs will still want to win the division. So, it becomes imperative that the rest of the team step up and allow Zambrano and Harden their necessary rest while still holding HFA.

 

And it wouldn't be a huge surprise if a lot of guys did step up, since playoff roster spots are up for grabs. Especially in the bullpen.

[17 Seconds]

This thread is crazy with speculation and proves that no one should start to panic without facts. I was listening to Jesse Rogers yesterday and everything he said was speculation, as was Tim Kurkjian's fear mongering (who doesn't know anything about the the Cubs nor does he have any more sources here than the local media).

 

Some people in the media were all ready to report about Z's next appointment with Dr Andrews (and I think many of them are disappointed now).

 

Fans get off the ledge.

 

I usually like Kurkijian, but he kind of pissed me off. It sounded like he wanted Zambrano to be out or something and was acting as though it was probable that he was done for the season. Buster Olney, on the other hand, was pretty realistic and even said the Cubs still ould be the favorites in the NL even without Zambrano.

 

And yeah, I hate how the media makes a bigger deal out of things like this just because it's the Cubs. I was up all night and ESPN was on in the background pretty much the whole time and I can't even explain to you how many times I heard premature negativity and doom about Zambrano. The radio is even worse. On the score they're like "Cubs streak stretches 5 blah blah....but more importantly they may have lost Zambrano for the season and possibly longer". WTF

[98navigator]

From Will Carrol. Not sure if it was posted

 

Carlos Zambrano (10 DXL)

The Big Z isn't feeling good, and even Lou Piniella, just days after insisting that Zambrano was fine, is admitting that something is wrong. After five innings of bad baseball, the Cubs are sending Zambrano to see the team orthopedist and will likely be shutting him down. This can be hard to manage at this time of year; if Zambrano is shut down for two weeks, he'll have to come back ready to go in order to get in a couple of starts before the playoffs. Would the Cubs be willing to put Zambrano out there in the Division Series without at least one good regular season start? Zambrano is clearly the ace of this staff, so this isn't exactly an Aaron Cook situation. The most worrisome aspects of Zambrano's start were the arm angle and the quick drop in velocity. By the third inning, he was down from 93 to 90, and by the fourth and fifth he was exerting more effort just to stay in the 90 range. The extra time off might have made him stronger in the early going, but it didn't last time out. The Cubs are going to have to make some some tough decisions soon, but they'll be waiting for word from the doctors first. I don't anticipate good news, and there is late word that Zambrano refused to have an MRI Wednesday, perhaps anticipating a visit elsewhere.

 

He seems pessimistic, but also gave him the time table of 10 days (isn't that what DXL means)

 

"Zambrano refused the MRI... blah, blah, blah"

 

This just proves that Will Carroll doesn't know anything about the situation as well. I heard a commercial of his on XM talking about Z and he was just trying to be pervocative and get listeners...