Cubs? Zambrano, Lee separated in dugout

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(AP)?Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano(notes) has been separated from teammate Derrek Lee(notes) in the dugout after the first inning of a game against the crosstown Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Zambrano was seen screaming as he walked down the steps past Lee after allowing four runs and stormed toward the other end. Lee appeared to yell something, and as Zambrano headed back toward him, manager Lou Piniella, pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Alan Trammell stepped between them.

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto(notes) then grabbed the pitcher from behind and pulled him away. Zambrano appeared to say something to Piniella on his way to the clubhouse after being lifted for Tom Gorzelanny(notes).

The volatile Zambrano might have been angry at Lee for failing to stop Juan Pierre?s(notes) leadoff double down the right-field line.

Alex Rios(notes) doubled in Pierre with one out, and after Paul Konerko(notes) singled, Carlos Quentin(notes) drove a three-run homer to left-center to extend the lead to 4-0.

Zambrano then struck out Mark Kotsay(notes) and retired A.J. Pierzynski(notes) on a grounder to first, taking the throw from Lee to end the inning.
 
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Action must back temperate words on Zambrano



Cubs' GM must move mountains to move out-of-control pitcher


Finally, finally, finally, from out of the clear blue, Carlos Zambrano gave his employers cause to admit what has been clear to outsiders for a long time.

Picking his words carefully Friday at U.S. Cellular Field, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry announced he was suspending Zambrano indefinitely as he summed up the pattern of selfish, childish behavior as "a bit of a tired act.''

Never mind that the language isn't strong enough. The bigger point is the Cubs' organization ? at least Hendry and manager Lou Piniella ? is ending its coddling of the man-child pitcher, whose once-powerful right arm earned him a separate standard for conduct both before and after he signed a five-year $91.5 million contract extension in 2007, the same season remembered for his vicious assault on teammate Michael Barrett.


Hallelujah.

No one, Hendry included, knows how long to expect this suspension to be. Milton Bradley received the same on Sept. 20 last year, and never wore a Cubs' uniform again. But things are different in June, with 89 games to play.

Zambrano's agent, lawyers from the Players Association and Major League Baseball will determine how long the Cubs can keep Zambrano sidelined for the dugout tantrum he threw after the White Sox's four-run first inning, screaming at Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Mike Fontenot for not diving to try to take away the hits that led to Carlos Quentin's three-run homer.

You wouldn't imagine Piniella is going to like playing with a 24-man roster, which Hendry said the Cubs must while Zambrano is getting his timeout. Sooner rather than later, Zambrano will be back in uniform ? two weeks, tops.

But Hendry can't stop here. He has to find a way to make Zambrano disappear permanently.

That will be a good trick given that he's guaranteed about $45 million through the end of 2012.But can Zambrano, who these days is in the bottom-third of major league starters in performance (Hendry's estimate, not mine), crawl out of his hole and become a contributor?

Getting rid of him would be addition by subtraction, like the deal that sent Bradley to the Mariners last winter. But are teams going to line up to get a spoiled, high-salaried pitcher who has gone 12-13 with a 4.24 ERA the last two years?

The only way to trade a guy like that is to take someone's bad contract off their hands. The Astros' Carlos Lee fits that bill (can you imagine him and Alfonso Soriano on the same diamond?) but the one that makes a little sense is Kei Igawa, the little lefty who cost the Yankees $46 million and hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2008, working on his craft with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

Coincidentally, it was 363 days ago, after watching Zambrano cold-bloodedly drill the White Sox's Dewayne Wise out of spite, at the end of another tiresome meltdown, that I wrote the Cubs should put him on waivers and see if anybody would take him off their hands for nothing ? sort of the way the Blackhawks just shed three Stanley Cup winners and the Bulls have agreed to trade Kirk Hinrich. More than 70 percent of voters responding to a Tribune poll agreed they would do it.

Hendry could put Zambrano on waivers now ? he probably will, judging from the disgust he and Piniella showed ? but would anyone want the contract? And don't forget that the Cubs also gave Zambrano a no-trade clause. He could block any move.

Hendry never should have given Zambrano the five-year extension. He should have seen he was a time bomb and either traded him ? now that would have been bold! ? or let him exit as a free agent, with only draft-choice compensation. But the Cubs were in playoff mode and counting heavily on their loose cannon. This qualifies as a tight spot for management.

History shows five-year deals for pitchers rarely go smoothly. But the Cubs labor under their own particular history, which two White Sox fans neatly summed up after Jake Peavy's 6-0 victory.

"Any team can have a bad century,'' one man said.

"And they're working on No. 2,'' another replied, laughing.


progers/tribune.com
 
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Jason-X said:
ZAMBRANO SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY!!

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37935008/ns/sports-player_news/
Click to expand...



At least there were no tantrums like the one a screaming Carlos Zambrano delivered in Friday's 6-0 loss, when he had to be separated from teammate Derrek Lee in the dugout and got sent home following a four-run first. The Cubs suspended Zambrano indefinitely, and manager Lou Piniella said Saturday he won't have a spot in the rotation when he returns.

LOOKS LIKE HE HAS NO CHANCE OF EVER RETURNING... WHAT A RELIEF I AM SURE FOR CUBS FANS... THAT GUY IS A BITCH, AND HE SUCKS AS A PITCHER... WHAT A JOKE!!!! I LOVED WHEN HE PITCHED CUZ I ALWAYS WOULD JUST BET AGAINST HIM THIS YEAR..... WAS THERE A GAME THIS YEAR HE DIDNT GIVE UP AT LEAST 1 RUN IN THE 1st????
 
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