Tag: Carlos Zambrano (Page 2 of 7)

      The self-implosion of Carlos Zambrano continues

      June 26, 2010 /

      Carlos Zambrano, who may or may not be certifiably nuts, was suspended indefinitely by the Cubs following his outburst in a game against the White Sox on Friday night.

      Here’s what happened (via the Chicago Sun-Times):

      Zambrano stormed up and down the dugout, turning on several of his teammates, including first baseman Derrek Lee. Zambrano accused his teammates of failing to dive for ground balls that went for hits.

      Piniella, pitching coach Larry Rothschild and other coaches interceded as Zambrano appeared ready for a physical confrontation. He was held back and sent to the clubhouse before the Cubs took the field in the bottom of the second.

      Big Crazy also apparently went into a tirade with some cameramen on his way out of the stadium last night, which should be really, really fun to watch whenever it reaches the light of day.

      Roughly $45 million is still owed to Zambrano, but it might be time for the Cubs to cut him like a dead limb and move on. He’s been nothing short of an absolute disaster both on and off the field the last two seasons and this latest outburst may have bought him a one-way ticket out of town – Milton Bradley style. I’m not sure if the Cubs could get anything in a trade for him (at least not without paying most of his salary), but if I’m Jim Hendry I’m on the phone right now figuring out which GMs didn’t see the outburst last night.

      “Hey Jon, it’s Jim. I was just wondering if you caught SportsCenter last night or early this morning? No? Great…I’d like to talk about Carlos Zambrano and what he’d look like in a Rangers uniform…”


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 10 active pitchers who keep it in the yard

      June 5, 2010 /

      Some pitchers give up 1-2 home runs or more per game, while some of them are masters at keeping the ball in the park. We did a gopher ball list last year, so here is the opposite…the pitchers who give up the fewest home runs per nine innings, and therefore the guys you want in the game when the game is on the line:

      1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (0.4953)—Amazingly, Rivera gave up 11 home runs his rookie year (1995) and since then, only 50. That’s 50 home runs in like 15 years, or about 3 per season. That’s just sick. No wonder the guy has so many career saves (538).

      2. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (0.7141)—If only Hudson was able to stay healthy for any length of time, he’d be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

      3. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (0.7221)—When you have a ball that drops like six feet before it reaches home plate, you’re not going to have a lot of hitters get under your pitches. What you’ll get are lots of ground balls.

      4. Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies (0.7384)—If you’re a pitcher in Colorado, it’s sort of like being a meatball sandwich in a pizza joint. You’ll get noticed, but only when they run out of pizza…or in this case, when the Rockies aren’t hitting. Still, when you think about Cook and how he’s spent his entire career in Denver, being fourth on this list is quite an accomplishment.

      5. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (0.7385)—A perfect game only added to Halladay’s Hall of Fame resume.

      6. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (0.7445)—He’s always angry but always has nasty stuff, and, like Cook, he pitches in a hitter-friendly park.

      7. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (0.7671)—Lucky for the Yankees, Pettitte’s career high of 27 home runs allowed was when he was with the Astros in 2006.

      8. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (0.7729)—He has an impeccable nose for the strike zone, but puts enough on his pitches to keep hitters guessing and in the park.

      9. Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians (0.7999)—He hasn’t pitched much in the last three years, but when he does, Jake Westbrook is very good at keeping the ball in the yard.

      10. AJ Burnett, New York Yankees (0.8213)—As if the Yankees needed another guy like this in their rotation.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Piniella on his way out? Not according to GM Hendry.

      May 18, 2010 /

      For those Cubs fans that have been clamoring for Ryne Sandberg to replace Lou Piniella as the club’s skipper, you’re going to have to wait much longer, I’m afraid.

      General manager Jim Hendry told the media on Monday that Piniella isn’t to blame for the team’s lackluster start (17-22 heading into Tuesday’s action, good for third place in the NL Central) and that the manager’s job is safe for the 2010 season.

      “We’re certainly not here to play the blame game,” Hendry said Monday. “We’re not here to put all the blame on the players that haven’t done as well as we’d like either. It’s been a good, collective rough start, but there has not been one thought in my mind of Lou Piniella not managing the team this year.”

      While many of the adjustments he has made with personnel certainly haven’t panned out this season, it’s hardly fair to blame all of the Cubs’ failures this season on Piniella. Two of his best hitters (Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez) have crapped the bed all season in RBI situations (and all situations for that matter) and he can’t find a reliable setup man to get to Carlos Marmol in the ninth. (He tried Carlos Zambrano there but much like his effort in 2010, Big Z was brutal in the role.) The bottom line is that the Cubs haven’t produced and a change in manager won’t magically remedy the situation.

      The good news is that Lee has started showing signs that he’s ready to break out of his funk, Alfonso Soriano has actually thrived batting sixth in the lineup and young phenom Starlin Castro (who struggled defensively when he was first called up last week but appears to be settling down) is spanking the ball. If A-Ram (who hit a walk off homer to beat the Rockies Monday night) can shake out of his slump and start producing, then the Cubs can easily turn things around.

      Things haven’t been pretty for the Cubs so far, but it’s early yet and the club’s issues aren’t un-fixable. Making a switch in managers would be premature and Hendry knows that. He just has to trust that Piniella can right the ship, just as Lou has to trust his players will snap out of it and start producing.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Are the Cubs trying to force Zambrano to waive his no trade clause?

      April 27, 2010 /

      When I heard about the Cubs’ decision to move starter Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen, I calmly waited for the backlash and fireworks to start. I was sure that the demotion would provoke Big Z to burn Wrigley Field down or at the very least, have a lovely meal with his family at Harry Caray’s Restaurant and not tip.

      But there was no backlash, no outrage or fireworks. Zambrano essentially took the move in stride and shut his mouth, which should make everyone curious about what the hell is going on these days on the north side of Chicago.

      Whatever it is, GM Jim Hendry says there’s nothing mysterious happening behind the curtain, which includes getting Zambrano so worked up that he agrees to drop his no trade clause.

      From the Chicago Tribune:

      Hendry shrugged off speculation the move was made for reasons that have nothing to do with the bullpen problems, such as tryng to get Zambrano to waive his no-trade clause.

      “There’s absolutely nothing mysterious about it,” he said. “The bottom line is at this particular time it makes us a better club… It certainly was not a situation he was expecting, so he had every right to think ‘Why this?’ That’s what players do. But he handled it well and I thought he did a real nice job the first time.
      Hendry said Zambrano didn’t “throw poorly,” but was the best choice of the starters to do the job.

      It all sounds good on the surface and seeing as how the Cubs have won four in a row, the move appears to be working. But whom does Hendry think he’s fooling here? Zambrano is making $17.85 million this year, is set to make $17.85 million next season and $18 million in 2012. Relievers don’t make that kind of money – aces do.

      Maybe the move really is only temporary. Maybe the Cubs really don’t have any plans to get Z to drop his no trade clause. Maybe this was a move that was made in the best interest of the team.

      All I know is that Carlos Zambrano is a 24/7 ticking time bomb and there’s no way he can be fine with this new arraignment. Something is going to go down at some point and when it happens, I’ll be the first to grab my popcorn and wait for the show.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      MLB Report: Heyward homers in first AB, Pujols, Lincecum dazzle

      April 6, 2010 /

      Braves 16, Cubs 5
      Rookie Jason Heyward had a picture-perfect start to his MLB career when he belted a three-run home run off Carlos Zambrano in his first at bat on Monday. Heyward finished the day with two hits, four RBI and two runs scored to lead Atlanta in the rout. Zambrano had a nightmarish debut, allowing eight runs on six hits in just 1.1 innings of work.

      Cardinals 11, Reds 6
      MLB might as well start the engraving process for the MVP award, because Albert Pujols is already making a claim that he deserves the honor. The best hitter in baseball went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two home runs in the Cards’ 11-6 victory over the Reds.

      Giants 5, Astros 2
      Concerns about Tim Lincecum after his so-so spring were put to rest on Monday in Houston after the two-time Cy Young winner blanked the Stros over seven innings. Lincecum held a weak Houston lineup to four hits and no runs, while also striking out seven. Outside of a small jam in the sixth inning, he was nearly flawless.

      Phillies 11, Nationals 1
      It didn’t take long for Roy Halladay to impress his new teammates. He pitched seven innings against the Nationals on Monday, allowing one run on just six hits while striking out nine. The lone run actually scored in the first inning, but Washington looked overmatched after that point.

      Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4
      Shaun Marcum had a no hitter through six innings on Monday before the Rangers finally got to him in the seventh. Texas erased a 3-0 and 4-3 deficit to win 5-4 with two runs in the ninth. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia came through in the clutch, delivering a bases-loaded, walk-off single to win it for the Rangers.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

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