Far be it from me to turn a late-night tweet or two into a bombshell, so, for now, I’ll preach temperance.
But, this was too much to sit on until tomorrow.
According to Gordon Wittenmyer and Paul Sullivan, after Carlos Zambrano was ejected tonight (for twice throwing inside on Chipper Jones after the Braves went back-to-back), he cleaned out his locker before the end of the game, and left. He talked about retiring. Mike Quade, Wittenmyer says, is fuming.
If true, this is a problem. A big one. Z was already going to face potential team discipline for his behavior in the game, but now? This feels like the moments leading up to Milton Bradley’s indefinite suspension and extrication from the team. I’m sure there will be much, much more on this tomorrow.
This could be a bumpy weekend.
And, for those getting hopeful that Z will indeed retire and the Cubs will save money, I’d again preach temperance: the Players’ Association will push him hard to stay active, and force the Cubs to pay him his $18 million next year – whether he pitches for the Cubs or not.