Zambrano Walks Out
The big news in American sports this weekend is Chicago Cubs'pitcher Carlos Zambrano being put on the “disqualified list” (a list which is, to put it lightly, seldom used). Zambrano will go 30 days without pay and without any involvement with the team after he lost his temper while pitching against the Atlanta Braves. Having given up five homeruns, the notoriously ill-tempered Zambrano threw a brush-back pitch up and in to Chipper Jones and was ejected from the game. He then cleaned out his locker and left the clubhouse immediately. In essence, he quit the team in anger.
Maybe this situation is best for everyone. After all, this isn’t the first time Zambrano has had these kinds of problems. Last season, he was forced to enroll in anger management classes after a conflict with a teammate. He has also had repeated altercations with umpires and opposing players. The anger problems stack on top of his physical health problems, which have also piled up over the years, and the fact that he’s pitching at an unimpressive 4.82 ERA so far this season.
Zambrano’s future is unknown. He’s made threats that he will retire, but he’s also due to earn 18 million dollars next year. Sure, he’s rich enough, but who walks away from 18 million dollars just because he can’t control his anger? (And who offers an 18 million dollar a year contract to a pitcher who so commonly creates as many problems as he solves?)
One thing I can say with confidence: if he does come back, I wouldn’t want to face him if things start going badly in a game — not without a good team of personal injury lawyers on my side. Because those fastballs are going to come closer and closer and harder and harder . . .
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