Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Zambrano asks for money, walks three hitters
Carlos Zambrano, who I once thought could do no wrong, has done some wrong.
This is the first spring training in several years where people have actually had a reason to be excited about the Cubs, and maybe even a little reasonably hopeful. There's a new manager and a bunch of new players, and there's some reason for optimism heading into spring training.
But Carlos Zambrano had to open his mouth about how he's going to leave the team at the end of the year if Carlos Zambrano doesn't get his money. It's selfish, it's misguided and it's irresponsible.
There's no point in him coming out before the season and making threats like this to the general manager. What exactly does that accomplish? All it does it make everyone nervous, and puts tremendous pressure on Jim Hendry to sign him immediately.
Maybe if Carlos Zambrano wants his big payday, Carlos Zambrano should stop walking 115 batters per season. And maybe he'd win more ballgames if he could get through 8 innings without throwing 120 pitches.
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Notwithstanding the timing and all that, Carlos should be getting a raise very soon. Back on January 5th when you and JR did your top 10 most overpaid baseball signings, 7 of them were pitchers. None of them are as good as Big Z (thought Gil Meche is close), and if we are going to horribly overpay for pitchers this offseason, why not get in on the action? There might not be the free flowing money if Jim Hendry's heart gives out this season, which it is liable to do when he realizes he signed Mark DeRosa.
They'll pay him, and probably sometime in the next month. But to overpay Carlos Zambrano proportionate to the overpayment of Gil Meche, you'd need to give Z an 11-year, $288 million contract.
Don't float numbers around. I hear Carlos is very acclimated to the internet and might get ideas. Heck, he spent so much time on the internet that he hurt himself, remember?
When are baseball players ever true to their word on something like this? They start screaming about what they want or else, and then they cave and sign a deal during the season anyway. What, he's just going to ignore dollar amounts when the season is in full swing?
You hit the nail on the head. All he did was put Hendry in a huge quandary, and fans are going to be angry if an extension doesn't come in the next few weeks, which is an awfully tight timeframe for the money he'll be commanding.
I'll go one step further and offer a best case scenario for the Cubs.
Let's say Big Z gets his money before the season starts and he has an average season. But, what if Prior and Wood manage to stay healthy and have awesome seasons that dwarf Zambrano's?
Prior and Wood come knocking on Hendry's door saying, "Hey, Porky, you signed Ted Lilly to a deal and Big Z over there is making $100 million and he's not even as good as we are. Pay up."
At some point the Cubs are going to have to say no, and when it comes time, are they really going to say no to Prior and Wood after investing so heavily in Ted Lilly, Mark DeRosa, and Jason Marquis.