Carlos Zambrano's brouhaha and apology

[ScrubMD]

After Z's blowup I would have put the odds at greater than 50/50 that he's not a Cub next year. Now I think the percentage is in the high 90's that he's wearing a new uniform in 2011 after this.

 

Yeah, but now you have us all wondering how this relates to George Bush.

[NCCubFan]

Perhaps the reason Lou was so upset about Carlos having dinner with Ozzie is becoming clearer. Apparently Lou was supposed to have dinner that evening with his daughter, whom he hasn't seen for quite some time, but after the incident he was so upset he backed out of the dinner and stayed at home. And if Carlos is going to ruin Lou's dinner, dammit, he'd BETTER not be enjoying dinner himself.

[17 Seconds]

Perhaps the reason Lou was so upset about Carlos having dinner with Ozzie is becoming clearer. Apparently Lou was supposed to have dinner that evening with his daughter, whom he hasn't seen for quite some time, but after the incident he was so upset he backed out of the dinner and stayed at home. And if Carlos is going to ruin Lou's dinner, dammit, he'd BETTER not be enjoying dinner himself.

 

sounds like lou needs to prioritize better

[NCCubFan]

Perhaps the reason Lou was so upset about Carlos having dinner with Ozzie is becoming clearer. Apparently Lou was supposed to have dinner that evening with his daughter, whom he hasn't seen for quite some time, but after the incident he was so upset he backed out of the dinner and stayed at home. And if Carlos is going to ruin Lou's dinner, dammit, he'd BETTER not be enjoying dinner himself.

 

sounds like lou needs to prioritize better

No argument from me on that. It does seem strange given his seeming apathy most of this year.

[Sammy Sofa]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0627-bits-cubs-city-series-chi20100626,0,3803108.story

 

After I read that Zambrano had dinner with Ozzie after the blowup game, I have to admit that irritated me a little. According to the story above there are member of the Cubs front office and coaching staff that didn't like it either.

 

He's gone

 

i really don't see a problem with it at all.

 

Yeah, what a dumb spin. Wasn't it a charity dinner that had already been lined up for a while?

[Post Count Padder]

This is just an annoying situation. And I can see the front office trying to pawn Z on some team for a horrible return.

[bleedingblue]

This is just an annoying situation. And I can see the front office trying to pawn Z on some team for a horrible return.

 

Wait until he comes back, and sits in the bullpen until he gets traded (like Eyre).

 

Then, watch him go somewhere else and pitch like a maniac (like Eyre) for a contender while we suck another season away.

[Ballgame64]

The interesting thing to me is how Lou and the Cubs organization have targeted Zambrano all year. Has he performed up to his capabilities, no. But Zambrano's performance is only one of the many things that has gone wrong this year. Was Lou embarassed when they were swept in Pittsburgh? Was he embarassed when Soriano took off running from 2nd base with no outs on a line out to the left fielder in Seattle? Was Lou embarassed by Aramis Ramirez absolutey ridiculous laziness on the ball Alexei Ramirez hit today? Was Lou embarassed by Nady hitting into multiple double plays this week?

 

I find it particulary amusing when Jim Hendry acts all tough about suspending Zambrano, but doesn't do crap about a manager who admits he has no answers and doesn't know what to do. Hey Jim, why don't you think it is unacceptable to have a manager continue to let Lee and Ramirez bat in the middle of the line-up when they are not hitting? You pulled the same crap last year with Bradley, long after the horse was out of the barn. Calling out the last 50 starts of Zambrano? Really. Have you looked at YOUR track record?

 

Was Zambrano wrong to do what he did? Probably, but maybe he is sick and tired of watching the lack of consistency on offense and the ridiculous defense lately and he just couldn't take it anymore. Perhaps he was fed up with being the guy whose performance gets scrutinized so closely by management. Maybe Lou and Hendry are mad because they know deep in their heart that Zambrano was right. He brought attention to the lackluster effort of the team and that makes them look bad.

 

Arguments in the dugout happen. The way the Cubs are handling this is a joke. If they are really this fed up, just release him. You've destroyed any trade value he had and will continue to do so if you place him back in the bullpen.

 

As far as going to dinner with Ozzie Guillen, who cares? There are a lot more pressing issues with this team.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's amusing how some people keep trying to find roundabout ways to justify Zambrano's actions. I don't care how bad the team is; what he did was inexcusable.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Was Zambrano wrong to do what he did? Probably, but maybe he is sick and tired of watching the lack of consistency on offense and the ridiculous defense lately and he just couldn't take it anymore.

You're right. Zambrano is the epitome of consistency.

[TruffleShuffle]

marlon byrd has hit really well this year and tried hard; i guess that gives him the excuse to flip out on his underachieving teammates and try to fight them in the dugout.

[treebird]

It's amusing how some people keep trying to find roundabout ways to justify Zambrano's actions. I don't care how bad the team is; what he did was inexcusable.

 

zambrano yells at people in the dugout like three times a year, who cares.

 

i won't try to justify his hr/9, but i don't really care too much about this sort of thing.

[bleedingblue]

Was Zambrano wrong to do what he did? Probably, but maybe he is sick and tired of watching the lack of consistency on offense and the ridiculous defense lately and he just couldn't take it anymore.

You're right. Zambrano is the epitome of consistency.

 

I don't know about you, but an ERA+ of around 120 every year when he starts is consistent enough for me.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's amusing how some people keep trying to find roundabout ways to justify Zambrano's actions. I don't care how bad the team is; what he did was inexcusable.

 

zambrano yells at people in the dugout like three times a year, who cares.

 

i won't try to justify his hr/9, but i don't really care too much about this sort of thing.

 

I don't particularly care about it either, but there's really no defending it in any way. Yeah, he does it a lot...and most of the time he looks like an idiot. I'm not sitting here thinking he's some horrible person that needs to be "dealt with," but the "at least somebody is showing emotion" crap is dumb. He's showing emotion like a spazzy 5-year-old throwing a tantrum.

[17 Seconds]

bj upton flipped out at longoria today or yesterday just as bad as Z did, but nobody is talking about it.

[imb]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9422017&query=%26game_pk%3D264927

 

just in case anyone wanted to see it

[imb]

also, man i love those light blue rays jerseys

[Careless]

It's amusing how some people keep trying to find roundabout ways to justify Zambrano's actions. I don't care how bad the team is; what he did was inexcusable.

Do we actually know what he said? Without knowing that, it's hard to tell where it was between "obnoxious loud guy trying to fire people up getting yelled at by other player sick of him" and "obnoxious loud guy screaming his hatred of teammates in the dugout until he found someone he wanted to yell at"

 

Of course, the people who decided on the suspension would know, which is a strong suggestion towards it being on the latter end of the spectrum.

[JonJayCutler]

Suspend Z for however long you have to, but putting him back in the bullpen upon his return makes zero sense. And the fact that they announced this right away just a couple weeks after they all but admitted the Z bullpen experiment failed makes it apparent that the move back to the bullpen will be out of punishment instead of in the best interest of the team.

 

Suspending him is enough punishment. Let him return to the rotation and put Wells in the bullpen.

[17 Seconds]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9422017&query=%26game_pk%3D264927

 

just in case anyone wanted to see it

 

i think bj is just pissed that it turns out he sucks

[C.C.]

It's amusing how some people keep trying to find roundabout ways to justify Zambrano's actions. I don't care how bad the team is; what he did was inexcusable.

Do we actually know what he said? Without knowing that, it's hard to tell where it was between "obnoxious loud guy trying to fire people up getting yelled at by other player sick of him" and "obnoxious loud guy screaming his hatred of teammates in the dugout until he found someone he wanted to yell at"

 

Of course, the people who decided on the suspension would know, which is a strong suggestion towards it being on the latter end of the spectrum.

 

I think it was pretty obvious it was your second scenario.

[XZero771679666304]

Suspend Z for however long you have to, but putting him back in the bullpen upon his return makes zero sense. And the fact that they announced this right away just a couple weeks after they all but admitted the Z bullpen experiment failed makes it apparent that the move back to the bullpen will be out of punishment instead of in the best interest of the team.

 

Suspending him is enough punishment. Let him return to the rotation and put Wells in the bullpen.

 

 

It's stupid. Not only is Z more valuable as a starter, but banishing him to the pen reduces his trade value. It's petty and obtuse on multiple levels, and only works against the best interests of the team.

[Andy]

Suspend Z for however long you have to, but putting him back in the bullpen upon his return makes zero sense. And the fact that they announced this right away just a couple weeks after they all but admitted the Z bullpen experiment failed makes it apparent that the move back to the bullpen will be out of punishment instead of in the best interest of the team.

 

Suspending him is enough punishment. Let him return to the rotation and put Wells in the bullpen.

 

 

It's stupid. Not only is Z more valuable as a starter, but banishing him to the pen reduces his trade value. It's petty and obtuse on multiple levels, and only works against the best interests of the team.

There is no franchise in baseball that will let stupid petty garbage get between them and doing what's best for themselves like the Cubs. This is the third player in six years they've done this with. I suppose they should be counting their lucky stars that the last two times have turned out as well as they have, between getting a moderately useful backup infielder and a miraculous turnaround year out of a pitcher for the players they nuked bridges with.

[XZero771679666304]

Suspend Z for however long you have to, but putting him back in the bullpen upon his return makes zero sense. And the fact that they announced this right away just a couple weeks after they all but admitted the Z bullpen experiment failed makes it apparent that the move back to the bullpen will be out of punishment instead of in the best interest of the team.

 

Suspending him is enough punishment. Let him return to the rotation and put Wells in the bullpen.

 

 

It's stupid. Not only is Z more valuable as a starter, but banishing him to the pen reduces his trade value. It's petty and obtuse on multiple levels, and only works against the best interests of the team.

There is no franchise in baseball that will let stupid petty garbage get between them and doing what's best for themselves like the Cubs. This is the third player in six years they've done this with. I suppose they should be counting their lucky stars that the last two times have turned out as well as they have, between getting a moderately useful backup infielder and a miraculous turnaround year out of a pitcher for the players they nuked bridges with.

 

It's Jim Hendry's demonize and devalue problem player movement philosophy. I mean what better way to get the most in return for a player you want gone than to make them look as unappealing as possible while demonstrating your desperation to get rid of them?

 

This situation demonstrates just how inept Hendry is. Z was out of line, but the reaction by management was just about as counterproductive as you could possibly imagine. As were the Sosa and Bradley situations. It's almost as if Hendry likes to challenge himself by sacrificing all his leverage.

[OleMissCub]

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9422017&query=%26game_pk%3D264927

 

just in case anyone wanted to see it

 

A) I wish we had a young cornerstone leader like Longoria

 

B) Longoria didn't budge an inch. BJ's inyoface act didn't intimidate him in the slightest.

 

and yes, the powder blues are dope