Merge this if you want. It was breaking news on suntimes.com One of the immediate effects of the impending sale of Tribune Co. to Sam Zell is that contract negotiations between the team and ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano are on hold. ‘‘I think Jim [Hendry, the Cubs general manager,] and I need to dialogue a little bit more,'' Cubs president John McDonough said Monday. ‘‘There’s going to be a process that takes place, and I think all of this will be addressed at the appropriate time. When that is, I don’t know.’’ Hendry and Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, had come close to finalizing a deal in recent days. A deadline of Opening Day to finish talks was extended by Zambrano on Sunday, and only final details of a potential five-year extension of around $80 million were left to resolve. Gordon Wittenmyer