The Big Z. A book, written by Pedro Miranda, was even made about the Cubs' most troublesome pitcher. Supposedly an ace, he lost that role probably two years ago, yet he keeps starting Opening Days out of respect. Carlos Zambrano was relegated to the bullpen in a move I never thought I'd see. The Cubs have a reputation for sticking with bad players through struggles and not being aggressive enough on the hook, so this is a good sign. For the first time since 2002, the Cubs will look at a Zambrano-less rotation. The last time Zambrano pitched from the pen was also 2002. Despite the fact that this photo is from 2009, these types of incidents have frequented Zambrano's career the last five years or so. Lou Piniella and the Cubs drew a lot of criticism for waiting too long to take Alfonso Soriano out the leadoff hole, so this is a move that sends a message: The Cubs are cracking down on struggling players. No job is safe if they're not producing.
The new rotation looks odd with Dempster, Lilly, Wells, Silva, and Gorzelanny. Zambrano will become a setup man and I hope replace John Grabow for the moment. Grabow can't pitch. That's all I have to say about him right now. Zambrano will get straightened out in the bullpen, becoming available Friday and I predict he will be back in the rotation in three weeks. The biggest issue here is my fantasy team. The market for setup men on fantasy baseball is very, very small which means they better be playing half the games or striking out 10/9 IP. Since Zambrano does neither, there is no trade interest out there for the guy except that he could come back and start in a few weeks. I sympathize for fellow Zambrano owners. Go Cubs!
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