Jim Hendry announced, after today’s horrific loss to the Chicago White Sox, that former Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano would be suspended indefinitely for his tirade in the dugout following the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field Friday. Zambrano erupted in the dugout following a first inning in which he allowed four runs, three coming on a Carlos Quentin home run. The target of his anger appeared to be towards teammate Derrek Lee for perhaps a ball hit off the bat of Juan Pierre to lead off the inning. Luckily the feud didn’t end in violence, except for the Gatorade cooler, as it did with former Cub catcher Michael Barret a few years ago.
Following the tantrum Zambrano was pulled from the game in favor of Tom Gorzelanny and remained on the bench for a bit before allegedly being sent home. After the game Cubs manager Lou Pinella had this to say, “He was ranting and raving and out of control.
I’m embarrassed. Carlos should be embarrassed. We’ll see exactly what comes out of this. There’s no question he’s got to control his emotions better than this. He’s a grown guy. There’s no need for it. I know darn well it’s not going to be tolerated.”
Similar sentiments were stated by Cubs GM Jim Hendry who applied the suspension, “His conduct wasn’t acceptable. His actions toward his teammates and staff were not acceptable.
“He will not be at the ballpark tomorrow. We’ll play with 24. We’ll play with 24 before we tolerate that kind of behavior.”
The situation bears resemblance of Milton Bradley from last season who was suspended for the last month of last season and was later dealt during the offseason to Seattle for Carlos Silva. When asked if Z will pitch again for the Cubs Hendry remarked he, “certainly wouldn’t rule it out” and added “the rules of the game usually don’t allow long, long-term suspensions.”
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