According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs plan to shop starter Carlos Zambrano this winter.

Despite the fact that Zambrano has a full no-trade clause, the Cubs plan on shopping him this off-season, sources said, believing he’ll waive the clause to go to the right team, as Jake Peavy eventually did when the Padres consummated a deal this summer with the White Sox.

Zambrano said recently he’s weary of the media scrutiny after being criticized for playing softball on a scheduled day off during his rehab stint.

“Maybe if I go to a different city next year, if I get traded, I can do what I want,” Zambrano told the Tribune.

Zambrano later said he was kidding and has veto power over any trade.

Zambrano is only 28, but he’s already stated that he wants to retire after the 2013 season when his contract is up. So it makes sense that the Cubs are thinking about moving him while his value is still somewhat high.

That said, good luck trying to move him, Jim Hendry. Big Z still has over $50 million remaining on his contract and there probably won’t be many clubs that will want to take on his salary plus give up multiple prospects.

Cubs’ starter Carlos Zambrano admitted that he’s been lazy in his conditioning over the years, which is one of the reasons he can’t seem to stay healthy.

From the Chicago Tribune:

“My problem is I’ve been lazy,” a contrite Zambrano said. “There are things in life you don’t like to do, but you have to do them. I don’t like abs [abdominal muscle workouts], but I have to do them. I have to start doing them every day and be serious about it.”

Doctors are convinced stronger abdominal muscles will ease the pain on back discs, one of which is bulging and has caused Zambrano pain on and off for a few years.

“I’ve got to be honest with me and with you [media] guys and the fans. I’m 28 years old, I’m not 16 anymore,” Zambrano said. “I’m a big guy and I work hard every day, [but] one of the things I don’t like to do is my abs, my core work. If I do abs every day and keep doing my job and be serious about my abs, I’ll be OK.”

I’m sure the Cubs and their fan base are thrilled to hear that Big Z hasn’t being working as hard as he could have been over the years, especially when you factor in how much he’s making.

I’m a little surprised that Zambrano wasn’t working on his core up until this point, given how important it is in baseball. Then again, there are a lot of players that rely solely on their God given talents and not strive to become a more complete player, so maybe this news shouldn’t come as a surprise

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Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is fed up with Cubs’ starter Carlos Zambrano and thinks the club should drop kick Big Z to the curb.

Get Carlos Zambrano out of here, even if the Cubs have to give him away. He’s not the guy you want as the ace of a curse-busting team, and at this point, it’s wishful thinking that he’ll ever mature into that guy.

Proving that I did not attend Kellogg, Wharton or even the Acme School of Business, I offer this proposition for Jim Hendry: First thing Monday morning, put Zambrano on waivers. If anyone claims him and the $62.75 million left on his contract, which runs through 2012, immediately trade him for whatever is being offered, from a bag of balls to a 32-year-old minor-leaguer.

Because Hendry gave Zambrano a full no-trade clause in a 2007 contract extension, Zambrano can choose: Either go where he’s being dealt, waving goodbye to Wrigley Field, or block the trade and deal with the knowledge that you’re playing for a team that believes it can live without you.

There are many reasons that a Cubs’ team with more than $140 million invested in payroll is in fourth place in the National League Central, and one of them is a front-runner, not a difference-maker.

The Cubs are 0-5 in Zambrano’s starts in the playoffs, being outscored 31-15. We’ll dismiss the 2003 NL Championship Series as old news and blame Piniella for lifting him when he was in a 1-1 game against Brandon Webb in the 2007 playoff opener, but his pitching had as much to do with the ugly Game 2 loss to Los Angeles last year as did the four infield errors.

Hendry had a chance to let Zambrano walk as a free agent after 2007, the season in which he beat up catcher Michael Barrett during a game at Wrigley, but injuries to Mark Prior and Kerry Wood gave Zambrano a hammer.

Too bad the one he now swings makes funny noises, like the one Moe favored when whacking Larry and Curly.

This seems to me like Rogers is either a) frustrated about the Cubs’ recent woes and decided to write an anger-piece or b) is just trying to get a rise out of readers right now because he’s tired of writing about how bad the Cubs’ offense is.

Either way, this article is absolutely absurd. Zambrano might lose his mind a couple times a start, but he’s still a damn good pitcher. You don’t put your ace on waivers and take “a bag of balls” or a “32-year old minor-leaguer.” The Cubs are trying to win (stop laughing – they are), not give away quality players like used toys at a garage sale.

This is an article that probably sounded good in Rogers’ head, but it just didn’t play well on paper.

After earning his 100th career victory on Friday in a win over the Reds, Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano was asked by reporters if he has visions of winning 300 games a la Randy Johnson. Instead of giving a clichéd response of, “We’ll see” or “I don’t think about that stuff,” Big Z dropped a bombshell that he’s walking away from baseball once his contract expires in five years.

“For 300, me? No, I’ll be out of here in five years,” said Zambrano, who is three years younger than Johnson was when the Big Unit won his 100th.

After his response drew laughter, Zambrano added, ”No, believe me. After this contract I’m done. … I’m serious. Because I don’t want to play anymore.”

Zambrano will be 32 when his five-year, $91.5 million contract expires after the 2012 season — 33, assuming a sixth-year, vesting option is reached.

After accepting a $100 bet from a beat writer that he was serious, Zambrano elaborated:

”I want to help this team and do everything possible to win with this team. After five years, or four years, or whatever it is, that’s it. I just don’t want to play. I want to stay at home and see my daughter grow up and be with my family more.

”You know how many Mother’s Days I haven’t spent with my mother? Twelve. You know how many things I lose in my life [because of the baseball schedule]?

”It’s good to be here, also it’s good to be in baseball. But in five years I will retire, and I won’t have to see you again.”

While his comments might come off as a little shocking to some, what Zambrano said shouldn’t be taken out of context. Sure the, “I don’t want to play anymore” might be a little unnerving for Cubs fans, you take everything he said into account and look at the big picture.

Zambrano is essentially saying that there is more to life than just baseball and once he fulfills his comment to the Cubs, then he’s walking away. He wants to enjoy other aspects of his life that he’s had to push to the side in the past because of the demands of baseball. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that and I think his comments are kind of endearing in a way.

Zambrano is a competitor – he’s not going to just take a paycheck over the next five years until his contract expires and then walk away. He wants to win and while he’s still playing, he’s going to do everything possible to help the Cubs succeed. But like he said, once his contract is up, it’s up and he’s done. And while he comments were a little out of the norm, I don’t find anything controversial with what Big Z said.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano will be suspended six games after he bumped umpire Mark Carlson and then went on to throw a temper tantrum on the field and in the dugout in a game against the Pirates on Wednesday.

Zambrano’s agent, Barry Praver, said the penalty, which included a $3,000 fine, a source told ESPNChicago.com, will not be appealed. The suspension began Thursday night and barring rainouts Zambrano will be eligible to pitch next Thursday at Atlanta.

The Cubs ace threw a baseball into left field, slammed his glove against the dugout fence, and used a bat to smash a Gatorade dispenser in the Cubs’ dugout after he was ejected Wednesday with Chicago leading 2-1 in the seventh inning of a 5-2 victory Pittsburgh.

“I apologize for that. Like I said, I should have more control of myself in that situation,” Zambrano said after the game. “I just wanted to get out of that inning and win the ballgame. I didn’t say a bad word. I should have gone to the clubhouse and keep watching the game. I apologize for throwing the ball and the other things.”

Six games seems a little extreme, but I like the fact that Big Z won’t appeal. What for? It’s like when you get a speeding ticket on the highway; yeah it sucks, but you got caught, so take your punishment and move on.

My question is, if Zambrano got a six game suspension for bumping an umpire, then why didn’t the ump that “forcibly guided” Tigers’ outfielder Magglio Ordonez out of the batter’s box during a game against the Twins a couple weeks ago not get punished? Zambrano gets six games for slightly bumping an umpire but an umpire who puts his hands on a player gets to skate with just an apology? This certainly isn’t worth a full on debate, but isn’t that a little ridiculous? Hey, if umpires don’t want to be touched, then they shouldn’t be touching players either.

Well here’s the video of Big Z’s tirade:

Love the bat-to-the-cooler part, although it kind of reminds me of one Andrew Bernard’s reaction in an episode of “The Office” when Jim hides his cell phone in the ceiling tiles and he can’t find it.

Classic.