Author Topic: Cubs in '11  (Read 57287 times)

davep

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1215 on: June 05, 2011, 09:08:15 pm »
I agree with Buff, and mostly, I agree with Zambrano.  He is the first to say what everyone should be saying.  The exact quote - "We stinks".

The English isn't perfect, although he probably said it better than I would have said it in Spanish.  But the operative word there was not "stinks", but "we".

The Cubs are playing badly as a group.  Marmol didn't get the job done today, but each yesterday had it's own screw ups.

And Zambrano has the right to be the one to say it.  He has done his job better than anyone else on the entire team, with the possible exception of Barney.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1216 on: June 05, 2011, 09:28:47 pm »
Outside of Wood, is there anyone on the team with greater seniority?

JeffH

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1217 on: June 05, 2011, 09:37:29 pm »
Outside of Wood, is there anyone on the team with greater seniority?

Sadly, Hendry.

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1218 on: June 05, 2011, 09:47:18 pm »
Zambrano gave up the right to be the voice of reason by acting like a spoiled nut-job for the last four years.  He should be pitching, keeping his mouth shut and thanking the stars for the ridiculous contract Hendry gave him and leave the analysis to someone who hasn't disqualified himself from being listened to.

Chris27

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1219 on: June 05, 2011, 10:21:58 pm »
The Cubs did not play a horrendous game. They did nothing overly embarrassing on the field.  This is nothing more than Zambrano selfishly complaining because he had another personal victory taken away.

And it's not close to the first time he has put himself ahead of his teammates.

davep

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1220 on: June 05, 2011, 11:49:21 pm »
Zambrano has been by far the Cubs best pitcher this year.  He has earned the right to criticize a badly playing team.

Chris27

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1221 on: June 06, 2011, 12:07:15 am »
Actually, Garza has been the best pitcher, but who cares?

Zambrano called out his closer in the press. That's pathetic and indicative of a selfish person.

And it's quite ironic that Zambrano didn't bash his team after any of their other losses, most of which were far more embarrassing than Sunday's. Probably had nothing to do with him losing his second straight win via a blown save.

StrikeZone

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1222 on: June 06, 2011, 12:09:19 am »
Zambrano has been by far the Cubs best pitcher this year.  He has earned the right to criticize a badly playing team.

It's debatable whether or not he's been their best pitcher.  Matt Garza has also earned some consideration in that discussion, I think.

The media is going to rip Zambrano apart and Jim Hendry is going to be at the front of the mob with pitchfork in hand.

Chris27

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1223 on: June 06, 2011, 12:12:38 am »
Quote
Afterward, the human verbal grenade that is Zambrano exploded in the clubhouse, taking Marmol and the rest of the Cubs with him.

"The problem wasn't Pujols,'' said Zambrano, who, according to the Chicago Tribune account, spoke in a loud voice and kept looking at Marmol's locker. "The problem was [the pitch to Theriot].

But he wasn't done, of course. Nobody points a finger better than Zambrano.

.....


What a hypocrite. Zambrano leads the Cubs, maybe the majors, in tantrums, dugout confrontations, clubhouse fistfights, Gatorade cooler smashings, bat breakings, anger management therapy and calling out teammates in public. During his career he has been placed on the major league suspended list three times and the restricted list once. He has won a grand total of 25 games in the last two-plus seasons.

If it were any other veteran Cub throwing his teammates under a fleet of buses -- say, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, even Alfonso Soriano -- it might have meant something. But it came from Zambrano, so it doesn't.

If this was Zambrano's first meltdown, not his -- sorry, I've lost count -- it might have meant something. Or had the criticism been useful, rather than another accusatory rant, it might have meant something.

But it wasn't. Instead, it was Zambrano proving once again that he's a crummy teammate and can't be trusted.

....


The Cubs weren't Triple-A quality in Sunday's 3-2 loss. Their closer got beat on his best pitch. And the next Cubs reliever got beat by the best player in the game. There's no shame in that.

Zambrano didn't care. Marmol had cost him two consecutive wins, so he popped off. When it comes to the blame game, Zambrano has filthy stuff.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski/110605&sportCat=mlb
« Last Edit: June 06, 2011, 12:15:39 am by Chris27 »

Cubsin

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1224 on: June 06, 2011, 01:12:00 am »
Cubsin, what's this bit about the severe budget limitations?  When has that been true, and who told you that?  2009 they didn't superslot much, so coming off the really good 2008 season they drafted late and mostly paid mostly slot, other than Raley and some limited overslots. 

But they spent plenty last year, and have usually had plenty to spend. 

It may be that Wilken is a liar, many such guys are.  But he claimed that Simpson was NOT a signability pick.  So it seems to me that he's consistently been provided at least an industry-normal budget and often far, far above that. 

My perception is that the Cubs' total spending on the draft last year was below the MLB average. Part of that could be due to drafting late in each round, but I don't recall as many well-over-slot guys as usual. That might be due to (Larry) Bud and his stupid rules, of course.

Chris27

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1225 on: June 06, 2011, 01:16:06 am »
Quote
Summing up the way so many people on the North Side probably felt Sunday night, Jim Hendry just sighed when he answered the phone. On the eve of Major League Baseball's amateur draft, Hendry took precious time away from preparing for the Cubs to pick ninth overall to compare Carlos Zambrano's shenanigans.

....

"You don't want Carlos to break his bat over his knee in frustration with himself (as Zambrano did Tuesday night) and risk getting hurt, but if it's not directed at his teammates, I'm OK with that from time to time,'' Hendry said in a phone interview from Arizona. "But what I'm not OK with is calling out teammates publicly and even privately if somebody's giving their best effort.''

.....

"I see it as the height of frustration,'' Hendry said. "Obviously Marmol has done a tremendous job for a long time. He had a bad week, and unfortunately Zambrano was the victim of that and it cost him a couple victories. (But) Carlos' is not behavior I would ever condone. You have to be a good teammate in these situations. When times are the toughest, you have to be above that, and he clearly wasn't today.''

No, Zambrano was the same immature hothead he swore he wouldn't be again.

....

Zambrano's latest outburst wasn't a sign of leadership. It was another symptom of the immaturity that has made Big Z's career a big disappointment given his physical potential. Sunday just reminded us he's never going to reach it in Chicago for reasons that have little to do with his right arm.

Sure, he verbalized what many Cubs fans think about how bad this team is. But Zambrano didn't say it to motivate teammates. He said it to cover himself. From the shoulders down, Zambrano is a potential ace. From the shoulders up, he is a potential case study.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0606-haugh-zambrano--20110605,0,6141835.column

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1226 on: June 06, 2011, 06:54:22 am »
Interesting reading the comments on that Haugh article.  It sounds like about 90% of fans are taking Zambrano's side.

It was another symptom of the immaturity that has made Big Z's career a big disappointment given his physical potential. Sunday just reminded us he's never going to reach it in Chicago for reasons that have little to do with his right arm.

I wish the Cubs could develop just one more pitcher whose career was a "big disappointment" like Zambrano's has been.

StrikeZone

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1227 on: June 06, 2011, 07:01:25 am »
Yeah, it's a huge disappointment when a guy:

1. Has never had arm surgery of any kind.
2. Takes the ball every fifth day.
3. Has never had an ERA over 4.00 in any season.

I get that he's a headcase but calling Carlos Zambrano a "big disappointment" is a real stretch.

Ron

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1228 on: June 06, 2011, 07:19:36 am »
Too much gets made of things like Zambrano's comments.


Sensationalism reigns in our culture right now.  To me, that's more disgusting than anything Zambrano has ever done or said, or even than the Cubs' season.

buff

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Re: Cubs in '11
« Reply #1229 on: June 06, 2011, 07:19:41 am »
Just a thought but does Carlos even get interviewed when it isn't his day to pitch?