Outshined_One

Zambrano on his way to hitting for the cycle. ;)

Seriously, is there some way the Cubs could work Zambrano into the lineup every day? :D

Considering his reported demands for Lugo and Huff (which weren't much different from LaMar's), I really don't think it was premature.

Meh, I figure he could be a decent 25th man off the bench.

He also was a Mets prospect, which automatically boosts his credibility by a factor of 10. At least Cubs prospects seem to only have it by a factor of five or so...

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