Carlos Zambrano Soccer bobblehead

On Friday Septmeber 3rd, 2010 the Chicago Cubs had Carlos Zambrano bobblehead day. The bobblehead was of Zambrano playing soccer. One thing that stood out to me as soon as I saw the Carlos Zambrano bobblehead was it didn't look like Zambrano!

Does this look like Zambrano to you?

Instead this Zambrano bobblehead looks a lot like Derek Lee to me.

Carlos Zambrano Demoted To The Bullpen

Carlos Zambrano, holder of a 3.38 xFIP at the moment thanks to a refound strikeout talent and extremely abnormal/unlucky HR/FB%, was just demoted to the bullpen to make room for Ted Lilly. Not that Zambrano pitches like the ace he is paid like, but he easily one of the team's best pitchers. Zambrano is light years better than Big Fat Carlos Silva and he is substantially more durable (only last year did he fail to pitch 200+ innings and he still pitched 188). This move is so baffling that it hurts my brain. Lamenting the stupidity of the move further is almost pointless, as it is so self evident. I might rather have Omar Visquel DHing 162 games than Zambrano in the bullpen over Silva.

Lemme quote Fangraphs to get across the point that I think all Saber-minded Cubs fans are thinking at the moment:

Instead of getting 180-200 innings out of one of his top pitchers, Lou Piniella is instead opting for about 40 to 50 innings from him and then 100 to 150 out of a pitcher who projected as average at best coming into the season. The Cubs’ chances at the division were low coming into the season. If Piniella’s rash and irrational decision stays in place, they become virtually nil.

Carlos Zambrano might not be the Cubs best starting pitcher option at this point, but he is clearly one of the top five. Check out the "Rest of Season projections" for the Cubs' six primary starting pitchers options, courtesy of ZiPS (as of April 21):

• Ted Lilly: 177 IP, 3.70 ERA
  
• Ryan Dempster: 177 IP, 3.71 ERA
• Carlos Zambrano: 179 IP, 3.82 ERA
• Randy Wells: 152 IP, 4.14 ERA
  
• Tom Gorzelanny: 139 IP, 4.40 ERA
  
• Carlos Silva: 98 IP, 4.96 ERA

The ZiPS-projected difference between Silva and Zambrano this year (I use ERA, because ZiPS ERA projections have team defense factored in) is more than a full run per nine innings. Given the team's early struggles to score runs, that additional run per nine innings counts quite a bit.

MLB Trade Rumors asks readers if they have "[e]ver seen a $17.875MM reliever?" It took a horrendous 0-6 start (and 7.53 ERA) to the 2008 season before the Giants banished Barry Zito (paid $14.5 million that season) to the bullpen and even that experiment lasted all of zero games. To put this all in perspective, Barry Zito's xFIP was 6.27 when they "demoted" him, almost twice as high as Carlos Zambrano's current xFIP of 3.38.

This organization is in dire need of a top-down gutting and I am in dire need of a Tylenol. The post-Jim Hendry, Ryno-era can't come soon enough.

(On a side note, my first "real sports article" was published in print today. You can read the [heavily] edited version of it here.)

(Also, happy 100,000 visitors since instituting Site Meter in August! Congrats to everyone on this blog for a job well done.)

What Happened to the Gatorade Cooler in the Dugout?

The Cubs used to have a Gatorade Cooler in the Dugout. This Gatorade Cooler became famous when Carlos Zambrano recently hit in with a bat after one of his bad starts which was shown on t.v. He broke the Gatorade Cooler and it was fixed. Then another player took their frustration out on the Gatorade Cooler and broke it again. On the Cubs last road trip, management decided to take the Gatorade Cooler out of the dugout. It wasn’t worth all the expenses to get it repeatedly fixed. So next time they show the dugout on t.v. look for the Gatorade Cooler because it won’t be there.

Is Zambrano insane?

It came to my attention today just how crazy Carlos Zambrano has become after signing his massive contract. We know that he has a tendency to be fisty, just ask Michael Barrett's face. He also refuses to drink water/stop emailing his brother that leads to constant cramping in his forearm. He is also very bipolar on the mound given the fact that he threw a no-hitter last september, yet still finished the last two months with an ERA above 7.

But none of that compares to the bat-shit craziness that comes out of his mouth. Recently he said that his favorite team in baseball is the White Sox. Seriously Carlos? You couldnt pick any other team in baseball? Couldnt just say the Red Sox or Yankees or maybe even the Cubs perhaps. You know, the team that sends to a million dollar check every other Friday. Might want to reconsider your words next time, i dont care that Ozzie Guillen is your homeboy.

After a 2 day trip to the new Yankee Stadium, Carlos suggested that the Cubs tear down Wrigley Field and build a new billion dollar stadium to make Carlos feel better. Seriously Carlos? Only the most historic, renowned, loved ballpark in the entire country. You want to tear it down. I think Carlos just wants a new, bigger clubhouse so his ego can comfortably fit inside, let alone his ERA. Yes, the new stadiums are nice and pretty, but you cant replace the 80 year stench of beer that only Wrigley can provide.

Just pitch Carlos. Just pitch

Carlos Zambrano Has A Huge New Moustache

Gotsta go with the red contacts bro

The big news today from the Cubs convention was the news that Carlos Zambrano is going to have laser eye surgery before the start of the baseball season. Somehow this is supports to add the 5 mph and nasty sink on his fastball that he has apparently lost the past 2 years. This procedure has actually improved many hitters ability to identify pitches. Denard Span of the Twinkies had the procedure last year allowing him to tear up AAA and secure a job in the majors. Consequently, both Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer are having the same prodecure done this winter.

I recommend something different, something better! In 2005, Brian Roberts started wearing special red contact lenses that helped him identify pitches better. Despite his season high of 5 home runs prior to the 2005 season, his 10 homers in April of 2005 seemed kinda strange. I thought this was the new steroid, but it never seemed to catch on. How awesome would it be if Big Z was starring down hitters with Bull red eyes and possibly a little more control