If there was ever another time for an Obsessive Watch, it’s now.
It looks like, as of this afternoon, Carlos Zambrano has not filed any retirement paperwork (no real surprise there), and Chicago Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry has been in contact with Zambrano’s agent.
General manager Jim Hendry was unavailable for comment. Zambrano’s agent, Barry Praver, did not return phone calls. Sources said the two have been in discussions, and that Zambrano has not filed any retirement papers.
If nothing is resolved by this afternoon, the Cubs are likely to place Zambrano on the restricted list indefinitely, as they did last year when Zambrano was sent to anger management counseling following his dugout incident with Derrek Lee on June 25, 2010 at U.S. Cellular Field. chicagotribune.com.
Presumably, Praver falls squarely on the dear-God-Carlos-don’t-retire side of things, with Hendry falling somewhere opposite that. The two could be discussing the circumstances of a Zambrano return or suspension, but it is not necessarily indicative of anything other than Hendry feeling out Zambrano’s true intentions. In other words, I wouldn’t get your hopes up for either a negotiated buyout or a true retirement just yet (to the extent you have your hopes up that Zambrano will be departing the Cubs, that is).
Don’t expect to see Zambrano at the ballpark tonight, either way. His future remains very much in doubt.