Outshined_One

Rumors that Bowden wanted him to play fifth base are unconfirmed at this point.

I thought LeMar was fired after the 2005 season? He was, but his replacement (Hunsicker I think?) hasn't been much of a step up.

Ladies and gentlemen, this system may well have its very own Bill Brasky with Holdzkom!

I have a couple of things to throw in there... 1) In spring training, a number of guys are not trying to be competitive or go all-out. With some pitchers, they might just be tossing pitches down the middle of the plate to build up arm strength. I think there is some credence to the idea that guys who are fighting for spots will try harder, but I don't think they're going to go out there and go all-out. That'd just kill them over the course of a long season. 2) Wasn't Dusty talking about starting off the season with a four man rotation thanks to the off days? What ever happened to that? 3) Since he pitched at VCU starting in 2001, Marshall has never thrown more than 100 innings in a season. The closest he ever got was 94 IP last season. His finger and shoulder injuries factored into this heavily, but I would be concerned for his endurance over the course of a season. He seems like a prime candidate for dead arm syndrome come July or August, assuming he stays healthy. 4) Guzman hasn't thrown more than 100 innings since 2002, when he combined for 150 IP between Lansing and Daytona. Since then, he's had a number of arm injuries holding him back. I'm not linking his arm injuries with his workload, but again, I worry about his endurance. There's something to be said for having these guys last over the course of a season and not burning them out in a hurry. I'm not saying it would be unwise to have Guzman and Marshall 4-5 for this very reason, but perhaps it is something that should be taken into consideration considering their respective injury histories. If they're in the minors, no one would care if they were kept on pitch counts and didn't rack up many innings early in the season. The same can't really be said for games in the majors.

I understand that this thread is dedicated to Zambrano, but come on, you're making it seem like he has a unique problem. You've discounted a number of Roger Clemens' antics on the field by saying he only had one emotional outburst during his career when he did something a number of times worse than anything Zambrano has done in a much more pressure-filled situation that could have had long-term ramifications if it weren't for the fact that the Mets sucked a little less than the rest of the NL that year. Heck, the only thing Raj ever got for that was Shawn Estes' hilarious retaliation that next season when Estes tried throwing behind him and failed miserably. As most Red Sox fans will tell you, Roger had his share of outbursts on the mound during his time with them. When Zambrano's antics get out of control, he'll go and do something out there like call out the umpire or throw at an opposing hitter. That will get a player ejected or at the very least warned. I cannot recall many instances of that happening last season. As it was mentioned above, he was ejected only twice in April; that was it. He didn't antagonize the umpires to the point of losing it after that. You're unfairly singling out Zambrano here. A number of pitchers throw tantrums on the mound. In the dugout and in the clubhouse, pitchers and position players will call each other out and get into arguments and, on occasion, fights. Grudges can be held. Things can get completely out of hand and spill into the media. At the very least, Zambrano is willing to man up and apologize for his actions. He also is well-liked in the clubhouse, from all accounts. Those are things I haven't seen or heard Roger Clemens do very much of in his long career. You're treating Zambrano like he's a cancer on this team because he does nothing but complain and that his emotions are out of control when things aren't going his way. Maybe you're not saying it, but you sure as heck are implying it. Guess what? It happens to most pitchers in baseball. Guys who were even more animated and intense than Zambrano managed to have long and productive careers. Zambrano has managed to grow up since he broke into baseball and also has grown up a ton in the past two years alone. The fact that he was a legitimate Cy Young candidate in 2004 and that he managed to improve on a number of statistics in 2005 (IP, K/BB, K/9, BAA) along with reducing his number of hit batters from 20 in 2004 to 8 in 2005 should say quite a bit about how together he is. If you can't see that, well, I don't know what else is left to say.

Thank you. :D One of the things that stuck out about last season was how Zambrano progressed emotionally over the course of the season. Instead of screaming curse words at the ump or opposing team, he'd turn around and do it into his glove (much like Maddux does). There was one particular instance where Zambrano was absolutely spectacular on the mound with CB Bucknor behind the plate and squeezing him (I want to say he helped cost Z a no-no), but Zambrano managed to keep his cool on the mound and didn't explode at CB. When Dusty came out to remove Zambrano, CB complimented Z by telling Dusty that he threw one heck of a game out there. We also have to remember that Zambrano is still only 24 years old (!!!). Most pitchers at his age are either in the high minors or just getting called up. While Zambrano is almost a veteran in terms of his major league experience, he still is a young man who needs to work on his emotional maturity. I think he has progressed by leaps and bounds since The Edmonds Incident two years ago. He still has some rough edges to work out, but I don't think he's any worse than some of the players who constantly bark at the umpires, show up other teams, and feud with players on other teams.

Who else on this team could be a backup in CF other than Pagan? I honestly don't think Grissom could do all that well out there.

I'm going to ask this again: How many games did Z get ejected from last year because of his antics? Was it just on opening day in Arizona? I can also think of a number of instances when Zambrano came back with a huge slap on the butt or a high five for a teammate that made a stellar defensive play. The man gives as much as he takes; that's a certainty.

Yep. Z was out of gas at that point and the wind had gone out of the Cubs' sails. Z knew he was done for that night and Dusty for some really stupid reason did not have Remlinger warmed up at that point. So, he took a rather smart route in plunking Edmonds and getting ejected, since Remmy got all the time he needed to warm up. Please tell me you're being sarcastic. You're telling me Zambrano doesn't fire up his teammates with his emotions? That he doesn't intimidate the opposition by snapping his glove, swearing like a madman, and throwing inside? Heck, that man running the basepaths might be the single most frightening thing anyone on the opposition will likely see on that day. Plus, Roger Clemens never exactly struck me as the cerebral type. The man threw at his own kid for cripe's sake.

I'd rather have Pagan than Grissom, that's a certainty.

This makes me feel ill in remembering this, but wasn't it Delino Deshields and not Lenny Harris?

I'm having flashbacks to when he had a great moment of futility in trying to destroy the bullpen phone.

Awesome.

Quick survey: Who's crazier, Bobby Jenks or Julian Tavarez?

Tavarez is also one of the most insane individuals ever to play the game. At least Zambrano has something of a limit to his anger; otherwise, Todd Walker would have been decapitated about seven or eight times by now...

I will admit to booing Todd Hundley, but only after he started to become a complete jerk towards the fans. Flipping the bird to the Wrigley faithful after hitting a home run isn't going to endear you to the fans, ya know? He's pretty much the only Cub I ever booed. Hawkins made me sit in dumbfounded shock on a number of occasions and Corey had me slapping my forehead in disgust on a number of occasions, but I can't ever recall booing them. However, there are a number of occasions I've booed the opposing team and umpires. That's pretty much another category altogether, in my opinion.

Who will be playing for SF after Bonds & Alou get hurt? Even when they're active, does defense count here? :D I know you're playing, but I was only talking offense. I don't think there's a single one in the NL you could say we're clearly better than. Other than Florida... Washington? Colorado?

Two reasons: 1) He has Kyle Farnsworth Syndrome. In odd years, he puts up very good numbers and is an excellent 3B. In even years...not so much so. Cripes, he didn't hit a homerun until July in 2004. 2) His home/road splits, while significantly improved this year, are a little...interesting. The man knows how to use the Crawford Boxes, ya know? Kinda takes away from his perceived value.

If this team is out of the race by the trade deadline, he might not even be GM by that time.

The Cardinals? ;) Or perhaps the Brewers? :P

Yep. Also FAs after this season are Maddux and Walker. Wood's a possibility if he waives his No Trade Clause (doubtful, plus he'd want his option picked up). Jock Jones and Michael Barrett could draw some interest as potential starters for teams in the hunt. It's hard to predict how this team will do, though.

I'm much more embarassed about the way Cubs fans treated Corey than the Cubs. Why? It's similar to what has popped up in this thread with people wishing Corey nothing but the worst. People were pretty much exactly like this while he was a Cub almost because these people seemed like they had a vendetta against him. People say he doesn't hustle, that he doesn't try, that he doesn't care, that he was a jerk towards the fans. Somehow, this all justified the heaps of booing that fans laid on him most of last season. The thing is, it shows a lack of class. Corey always struck me as a guy who didn't show any emotion on the field and kept it all internal. I don't remember him ripping fans or teammates in the media. He seemed like he wanted to succeed, but for whatever reason, things could never click for him mentally. Most people on this board who attended spring training also said that Corey was among the nicest players on the field, always stopping to sign autographs well beyond the time most player took off for their tee time. He deserves criticism, but having the fans try to boo the guy off the field was just taking it too far. What bothers me about all of this are the exact same fans who rip on Carlos Zambrano for basically the exact opposite reasons. Zambrano shows too much emotion. He gets too intense on the mound and lets things get to him. He overthrows and tries too hard. He shows up teammates and umpires on the field. Granted, he is incredibly talented and productive. Were he talented but not productive, something tells me he might well be in the same boat as Corey. There are very few instances I can think of when fans can be justified in booing a player on their favorite team. I don't think Corey really fulfilled any of those instances during his time with the Cubs. I wish Corey nothing but the best with the Orioles.

I refuse to count out the Astros. Last year's team looked offensively weak, too reliant on a bullpen that was a question mark, and had some health questions in the rotation. Yet, they somehow made the World Series. I'm convinced at this point that Lance Berkman could come into the season weighing 300 pounds, Roy Oswalt could get struck by lightning, and Brad Lidge's shoulder could explode...yet the Astros would still somehow win the Wild Card.

Fighting fire with fire, imo.

How many games did Z get ejected from last year because of his antics? Was it just on opening day in Arizona? Also, Zambrano doesn't swear nearly as much as Maddux does while on the mound. Maddux shows me how wrong I am when I think of swear words that seemingly could never go together.