Carlos Zambrano Pretty Much Confirms that Lou Piniella Was Checked Out
As Chicago Cubs fans, it seemed clear to us all that former manager Lou Piniella had lost his fire – indeed, he’d lost it as many as two years ago.
But of course, how much do we really know about that kind of stuff? Sure, we see Lou during the games and in post-game press conferences, but maybe behind closed doors he was as spitfire as ever?
Small news, maybe, but nah.
Even veteran Carlos Zambrano, tonight’s starting pitcher, is embracing Quade and the idea of a fresh start.
”It is,” Zambrano said. ”I think Q is more hyper than Lou. He has more energy. But we need to do our job anyway, whether with Lou or Q or [Alan] Trammell. We need to play for our team, we need to play for us and whatever we need to do we have to do it.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Does a manager’s energy translate to player performance on the field? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 answers. But the fact that a player is noting Quade’s energy specifically as higher than Piniella’s suggests that Lou was checked out and the players knew it.
EDIT: To clarify – I read Z’s quote as saying Piniella was not particularly fiery or enthusiastic in recent weeks/months, because, to suggest that the new guy has more energy than Piniella is to say that Piniella is no longer the top dog when it comes to his hallmark. Combined with what we all saw in Piniella’s press conferences, it sounds to me like managing the Cubs simply didn’t hold the same excitement for Lou as it once did – that’s what I mean by checked out, and I don’t think it’s a particularly shocking conclusion.
Carlos Zambrano Handled the Move to the Bullpen Like a Professional, Even if He Was Upset
Now that Carlos Zambrano is back in the rotation and pitching reasonably well (that is to say, the result have been reasonably good even if his pitches don’t look so good), questions are resurfacing about the Cubs’ decision to put Zambrano in the bullpen when Ted Lilly was ready to return to the rotation from offseason surgery.
Was it the right decision? Would he have turned his season around as a starter and avoided all the ugliness that percolated last month? What does he really think? We’ll probably never know the answer to the first two questions, but we’re getting a view to the third – because Carlos is talking.
Does he ever wonder if he’d be pitching like this had he stayed in the rotation from the outset?
“What do you think?” he replied. “The situation we were in, when they moved me to the bullpen, it was kind of weird. But at the same time, they needed somebody in the bullpen in the eighth inning. We were losing a lot of games in the seventh, eighth innings. I think from my perspective we get too desperate too soon. To make that decision, that’s OK. But you know what? I’m trying to finish the season strong and trying to be consistent and prepare for this last month.”
The Cubs were 5-9 at the time and John Grabow and Esmailin Caridad had failed as set-up men for Carlos Marmol. Sean Marshall eventually filled the role admirably, but not until the ill-fated experiment to move Zambrano.
At the time, Zambrano thought it was temporary, saying former manager Lou Piniella told him “when they find a guy and trade (for a) guy and get that guy here, I will be back to the rotation.”
He played the good soldier, even while his handlers were criticizing the decision behind closed doors. Chicago Breaking Sports.
And Z’s handlers had all the reason in the world to criticize the move – a good 8th inning pitcher is worth vastly less than a good starting pitcher. But, of course, at the time, Carlos was neither.
Interesting to learn that Zambrano was, in fact, told that the move was temporary pending a trade for a late-inning reliever, which never ultimately came. We all suspected as much, but now we have confirmation.
Zambrano’s description of the move as “too desperate too soon” is made even more obvious in retrospect – the team was a whopping 5-9 at the time. But then again, it’s easy to forget how well Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny looked at the time. So maybe, despite everything, it was the right move.
See, we still have questions.
Carlos Zambrano is Headed to Venezuela
Some sad news to report, as Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano, fresh off his best start of the season against the Nationals last night, is head to Venezuela to be with his family. Zambrano’s 11-year-old nephew is in the hospital with a life-threatening disease.
“I have a nephew that’s in bad condition,” he said. “He had a (bacterial) infection and is in a hospital in Venezuela.”
Zambrano will rejoin the team in Cincinnati this weekend, and make his next start on Monday against Pittsburgh at Wrigley Field.
Despite pitching with a heavy heart, Zambrano managed to strike out eight while allowing one run and five hits against the Nationals. He said it was hard to put the situation out of his mind, and kept telling himself “Don’t give up” in the first inning.
“But at the same time, I talked to my brother,” he said. “And he told me ‘Don’t worry about what happened there, just worry about what’s going on here and dedicate the game to his son.’ In the first inning I was thinking about him, throwing all the pitches saying ‘This is for my nephew.’ Chicago Breaking Sports.
The thoughts and prayers of the Cubs world no doubt go out to Zambrano’s nephew, Zambrano, and his family.
Now Carlos Zambrano Says He Wouldn’t Waive His No-Trade Clause
Not but a couple weeks ago, Chicago Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano – freshly off the restricted list, where he’d been serving a team-imposed suspension, and going to anger management, following a dugout tirade – said he would allow the Cubs to trade him this Winter if they really wanted to (protip: they do). Zambrano, you’ll note, has a no-trade clause, so he can block any potential trade.
Now, Zambrano has completely flipped, expressing a desire to stay in Chicago, and suggesting he would indeed veto any trade that takes him out of town.
Zambrano was asked what he thinks the team might have in store for him in the future.
“I don’t know,” Zambrano said. “But it’s my option. I don’t want to leave Chicago. I want to be successful here. I want to help this team, like I always say, be in the pennant race.”
When Zambrano came back to the team in San Francisco, he said at that time, he’d allow the Cubs to trade him if they decided they no longer wanted his services.
“I don’t want to leave,” Zambrano said. “And I don’t think I will leave.” ESPN Chicago.
For now, this is all academic – there will be no trades on the table for several months. The Cubs hope Zambrano continues to pitch well in his return to the rotation (though the word “continue” is probably not the right choice there, given Zambrano’s deceptively poor performances), and they’ll let the rest shake out however it does this Winter.
For what it’s worth, Jayson Stark quotes one NL Exec who says the Cubs can move Zambrano only if they eat almost all of his deal, and another who says the Cubs can’t move Zambrano no matter how much they eat. Both say that the reason is not Zambrano’s attitude or shenanigans – it’s his lost velocity and suddenly average pitches.
Series Preview: Padres v. Cubs, August 16 – 19, 2010
It’s series preview time again as the Chicago Cubs welcome the best team in the National League to Wrigley Field. So bring it on Braves… er… Dodgers … er Cardinals? Giants?
Wait. San Diego Padres? Um, what?
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of beautiful women, too. So there’s that.
Check out the Padres series preview, after the jump
Chicago Cubs May Make More Trades Before August is Up
Trades made after the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31 are rare – at least, far more rare than trades made before the deadline – but they do happen, as evinced by the Chicago Cubs trade last night with the Giants, sending Mike Fontenot out for prospect Evan Crawford.
With the Cubs thoroughly out of contention, you can bet they’ll keep looking for more deals, even if the deals are more difficult to make right now.
”It’s hard to say if it’ll be the last one,” assistant general manager Randy Bush said after the trade that netted the Cubs outfield prospect Evan Crawford. ”Anything that we can do that we feel is to the betterment of the organization we’re going to continue to look at.”
In other words, Xavier Nady should probably keep his bags packed. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
A trade of Nady would bring little more than salary relief to the Cubs, so don’t get your hopes up. In addition to Nady, realistically, the Cubs will look to move Jeff Baker. Beyond Baker and Nady, however, it’s hard to see another move – sure, the Cubs put most of their roster on waivers, but they won’t find a taker for the guys they really want to move (Carlos Zambrano, Kosuke Fukudome being the big two).
Carlos Zambrano Will Officially Rejoin the Rotation on Monday
The Chicago Cubs made clear yesterday that Carlos Zambrano will rejoin the team’s rotation on Monday when he starts against the Giants in San Francisco. Again: in San Francisco. It ain’t a coincidence that it’s coming on the road.
As for Zambrano, he’s unsurprisingly excited about the opportunity.
Whether the 11 starts he figures to get over the final two months wind up being his final 11 as a Cub, the embattled right-hander says he appreciates the assignment with a new outlook after more than a month away from the team.
”Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you lose it,” said Zambrano, who will be making his first start since airing out teammates June 25 at U.S. Cellular Field, earning a suspension and monthlong exile to the restricted list while he underwent anger-management counseling.
”When you lose it, you realize that you had something good — in your career, in your life. And I don’t want to lose this opportunity,” Zambrano said. ”Look, I just want to pitch here and just want to be happy here, in Chicago. And I just want people to be happy, and the way to do that is pitch good.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
All we can do is root for Zambrano at this point. Be angry or bitter if you want, but Zambrano pitching well will only help the Cubs – either allowing them to trade him this winter, or allowing him to get his head in the right place to succeed next year.
When Carlos Silva finally returns from the disabled list, Carlos Zambrano will almost certainly remain in the rotation, with whatever youngster is holding down a spot at the point getting bounced – be it Thomas Diamond or otherwise – unless the youngster is dominating and Zambrano is miserable.
Series Preview: Brewers v. Cubs, August 2 – August 4, 2010
It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Wrigley Field – still the one team, outside of Arizona, against whom the Cubs have played well this year. The Brewers didn’t conduct a sell-off, so they’ll be at full-strength.
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of beautiful women, too.
