Carlos Zambrano's brouhaha and apology

[Outshined_One]

Z will be traded. We'll end up with a terrible player with a terrible contract in return. Hopefully it somes full circle and results in Lou and Hendry being fired. You better believe that Ricketts is taking note here.

 

If the Cubs could trade Zambrano, he would have been gone earlier this season. If the Cubs pay 50% of his contract ($23 million) at the deadline, they might find a taker.

 

Rangers could be buyers at that price. Z is at the the point where he has to be willing to waive his no-trade clause. He isn't a changed man and his daughter's request not to act like a child was obviously not enough to change him.

 

I don't think the Rangers can take on ANY salary.

 

Their sale hasn't been completed yet. I think they're in better shape compared to a few months ago, but yeah, the odds of them being willing to take on that kind of money are incredibly low.

[cubsfan5150]

MLB has loaned them 20 mil thus far and owners are screaming to not let them take on any more salary.

[inari]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

[17 Seconds]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

 

ooooo. that is interesting

[inari]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

 

ooooo. that is interesting

 

And fruitless. We all know it won't happen.

[Clem Fandango]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

 

That would be swell

[Elrhino]

Even if the Rangers had money, the last thing Nolan Ryan wants is another Vicente Padilla in his lockerroom.

[Old Style]

So long, Z.

[photoguy9883]

Per the AP Z's been suspended indefinitely

 

General manager Jim Hendry said Zambrano’s behavior was “not acceptable” and sounded as if he has lost patience with the volatile pitcher.

[Guest]

As an aside, does Jim Hendry only own one color of shirt?

 

Maybe he's like Einstein, a misunderstood genius.

[Guest]

Mets are starting Takahashi, Niese and RA Dickey. Even though two of those guys are doing well at the moment, the 0.5 games out of first Mets could easily be buyers at the deadline.

 

We should have dealt them Zambrano in the offseason like I wanted to. :)

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I didn't see all of the angles, but it seemed that Lee could have dove and knocked the ball down. I only saw the view from the third base camera. Did Lee have any play on it at all?

He was playing in to protect against the bunt. They're showing a replay of the game now, and that was the first thing Brenley mentioned. You don't have a lot of range when you play in, so if it's not hit right at you, no matter how slow it's hit, it's tough to get to. Even if he dives, I don't think he makes that play.

 

I'm curious how long this suspension will last. I guess they asked Hendry about sending Z to anger management classes and Hendry said there's no point. They tried that already and it didn't work. They also interviewed a lot of the players after the game. Many said they didn't see what happened. Soriano flat out said he's sick of Zambrano's antics. Lee refused to talk about it. Morale apparently at an extreme low, to no one's surprise.

[Guest]

Another aside, I'm almost positive Barry Rozner and Frodo Sullivan creamed their jeans writing their stories for tomorrow's papers.

[hardcorecubfan]

this was such a whitesox move today

[Sammy Sofa]

Ugh, what an idiot. Real smart decision to take yourself out of the game when your team has just played 13 innings the day before. Not that Z would have necessarily lasted too long with the way he was pitching, but what a stupid decision on so many levels.

[dew1679666265]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

 

ooooo. that is interesting

 

And fruitless. We all know it won't happen.

 

My guess is Gorz moving back to the rotation, which is fine with me. Cashner or Jackson may well get the rotation call if/when Wells goes to AAA or the pen.

[dew1679666265]

Lou needs to go. It's obvious he's lost complete control of his team. Incidents like this don't happen with managers who have control of the clubhouse.

 

I don't really see how this is on Lou. Z is an extremely hot temper as it is and then we compile onto that a team that sucks right now and him struggling quite a bit. It has much more to do with those two things than Lou having lost control of the clubhouse, I think.

[NCCubFan]

Unfortunately, at least at first Z will still be taking up a spot on the 25-man roster even when suspended; he can't officially be placed on the suspended list until MLB and the players' union complete their investigation. So in effect the Cubs will be playing with a 24-man roster and an 11-man pitching staff during a long stretch without an off day.

[XZero771679666304]

I'm hoping that Cashner might get Z's spot.

 

ooooo. that is interesting

 

And fruitless. We all know it won't happen.

 

My guess is Gorz moving back to the rotation, which is fine with me. Cashner or Jackson may well get the rotation call if/when Wells goes to AAA or the pen.

 

Gorz will replace Z, and it would be nice if Cashner gets Lilly's spot when he is traded.

[erik316wttn]

Lou needs to go. It's obvious he's lost complete control of his team. Incidents like this don't happen with managers who have control of the clubhouse.

 

I don't really see how this is on Lou. Z is an extremely hot temper as it is and then we compile onto that a team that sucks right now and him struggling quite a bit. It has much more to do with those two things than Lou having lost control of the clubhouse, I think.

 

Oh, believe me, Z is plenty at fault too. But as a rule you generally don't see dugout fights on teams where the manager has control.

 

We've known for quite a while that Lou phoned it in a while ago. This is yet another example.

 

Although I said at the beginning of the year, if we're going to suck, I want us to SUCK. Get those high draft picks next June and get a lot of the dead weight out of here. Maybe this team completely collapsing will be best in the long run.

[XZero771679666304]

Lou needs to go. It's obvious he's lost complete control of his team. Incidents like this don't happen with managers who have control of the clubhouse.

 

I don't really see how this is on Lou. Z is an extremely hot temper as it is and then we compile onto that a team that sucks right now and him struggling quite a bit. It has much more to do with those two things than Lou having lost control of the clubhouse, I think.

 

Oh, believe me, Z is plenty at fault too. But as a rule you generally don't see dugout fights on teams where the manager has control.

 

We've known for quite a while that Lou phoned it in a while ago. This is yet another example.

 

Although I said at the beginning of the year, if we're going to suck, I want us to SUCK. Get those high draft picks next June and get a lot of the dead weight out of here. Maybe this team completely collapsing will be best in the long run.

 

Z going on a tirade has nothing to do with Lou. I don't think Lou has control of the clubhouse, but what happened today is an unrelated issue. It wasn't a fight, it was Z having a tantrum. It wasn't the first time, and it wasn't the first manager.

[Little Slide Rooter]

http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/train_wreck.jpg

[dew1679666265]

Oh, believe me, Z is plenty at fault too. But as a rule you generally don't see dugout fights on teams where the manager has control.

 

We've known for quite a while that Lou phoned it in a while ago. This is yet another example.

 

How do we know when a manager is in control of his clubhouse, though? It's assumed a lot of times when a team is losing, but just because a team is losing doesn't mean the manager has lost control.

 

This is the only "incident" we've had this year and I really don't see anything else making me think the players are rebelling against Lou or anything.

[dew1679666265]

Gorz will replace Z, and it would be nice if Cashner gets Lilly's spot when he is traded.

 

I agree with Gorz replacing Z. I don't know if Cashner, Jackson or Atkins will be next in line for a rotation spot, though. My guess would be they'd go with Jackson over Cashner (since Cashner is already seeing ML time) if they choose to go with one of the top guys. They could look at more of a filler guy to finish out the year, though, which would be Atkins, most likely.

[hardcorecubfan]

Great question from ESPN "what do we do with a guy that has a 6.12 era and a 3-5 record with a 5 yr contract?