Zambrano retires?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Some fascinating quotes by his teammates in this article

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4215921.story

 

I like Soriano ripping in to Z.

[Balta1701]

So, the updated versions for today.

 

Zambrano's agent emailed Hendry within 2 hours of the end of gametime saying that he wasn't retiring.

\

 

Zambrano returned later that night and re-filled his locker. He was still allowed in, somehow.

 

The Cubs have put him on the Disqualified list, whatever that is, which would remove him from the team for 31 days without pay. The Cubs however expect to lose their grievance when the Union files it on Monday, but they really don't care, they're making their point.

[southsider2k5]

Is that a good thing?

 

David Kaplan

Big Z: "I received text messages of support from Sosa, Byrd, Ozzie, Jason Giambi, Pena, and Soriano." Also said he and Soriano are cool.

[fathom]

Is that a good thing?

 

David Kaplan

Big Z: "I received text messages of support from Sosa, Byrd, Ozzie, Jason Giambi, Pena, and Soriano." Also said he and Soriano are cool.

 

Sosa, Byrd, Giambi and Pena....it's hard to write each of their names without including an asterix by it.

[southsider2k5]

jonmorosi Jon Morosi

Source: Zambrano grievance paperwork expected to be filed with union by end of today. #Cubs

 

[Rowand44]

Is that a good thing?

 

David Kaplan

Big Z: "I received text messages of support from Sosa, Byrd, Ozzie, Jason Giambi, Pena, and Soriano." Also said he and Soriano are cool.

That's quite the group of winners right there.

[southsider2k5]

The sad thing is with the dollar situation on the south side for next year, I could see Z on the sox next year with the cubs picking up ass loads of the deal or taking someone like Rios to get him away from the cubs.

 

Apparently I am not alone...

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...bout-with-ozzie

 

Carlos Zambrano's fate will be determined by Major League Baseball, his agents and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The process may take over a few weeks. Once the MLBPA's appeal over the Cubs putting Zambrano on the disqualification list is heard, negotiations will begin in figuring out how much money Zambrano can be fined and how long the Cubs can keep him from pitching in the major leagues.

 

Under normal conditions, Zambrano and the players association could assert that there was a miscommunication between the pitcher and the team after he was ejected Friday night against the Braves and left Atlanta's ballpark before the game was over. The fact he told club personnel that he was quitting baseball convolutes matters, as do his numerous transgressions against teammates and team rules during his career. The Cubs were hoping his cumulative record is taken into consideration in this case.

 

Although Zambrano has been an average pitcher in 2011, his last 10 starts have not been very good. In that stretch he's 4-4 with a 5.50 ERA. He hasn't pitched more than six innings in a start since June 25.

 

A likely scenario is Zambrano's agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro and the Cubs work out a deal that accepts some form of suspension with pay for the rest of the season. That would allow the Cubs to separate themselves from the pitcher and try to find a suitable team to trade him to after 2011.

 

The Cubs owe Zambrano $23.5 million for this season and next.

 

As far as the possibility of trading Zambrano, an MLB source said a disqualified contract can be assigned to another team, but they assume the status involved.

 

A possible destination for Zambrano would be to follow his friend and countryman Ozzie Guillen to the White Sox or wherever Guillen's next managerial assignment takes him.

 

Zambrano has let it be known that the only other team he'd want to play for is the White Sox because of Guillen. The future of the Sox manager is up for debate. There have been rumblings that the Florida Marlins would hire GUillen as soon as he leaves Chicago.

 

With the Marlins opening a new park in 2012, Guillen and Zambrano would create a major buzz.

 

Guillen tried to explain Zambrano's motivation to the Chicago Sun-Times.

 

‘‘He told my family he feels like he’s stealing money because he’s not producing," Guillen told the paper. "Maybe that’s why he did it. People don’t understand what he feels. He just wants to compete. The passion and love for the game come out.’’

 

The Sox have never shied away from acquiring controversial players in the past, going back to Albert Belle in 1997, A.J. Pierzynski in 2005 and Manny Ramirez in 2010.

 

Zambrano is 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA in 24 starts this season.

 

 

[Balta1701]

Still, the Players' Association will not go along with the Cubs' reasoning in placing Zambrano on the Disqualified List. Here are several arguments the Players' Association will likely raise in a grievance hearing:

 

1) While Zambrano may have cleaned out his locker and told teammates he was retiring, no evidence has surfaced that he communicated his purported retirement to his employer or to Major League Baseball. He did not speak with Cubs manager Mike Quade or general manager Jim Hendry about quitting, nor did he send an e-mail or file paperwork with the league. If all he did was clean out his locker and, while doing so, make exasperated comments to his teammates, his actions would seem more like those of an employee who had a bad day than one who was quitting for good.

 

2) Zambrano cleaned out his locker after he was thrown out of the game. Therefore the Players' Association will likely emphasize that Zambrano did not miss a game, and since he could not renter a game in which he was ejected, he at no time refused to render his services -- which is required for placement on the Disqualified List. In fact, within two hours of Zambrano leaving the clubhouse, his agent, Barry Praver (who earns a commission on salary payments to Zambrano and thus has a major stake in Zambrano playing), emphatically stated that Zambrano was not retiring.

 

3) Zambrano's alleged retirement comments were perhaps not as definitive as teammates have made them seem. Did Zambrano merely say he was thinking about retiring or taking time off, or did he say, with absolute conviction, that he was quitting? Put another way, would a reasonable person assume he was really retiring or quitting on his team, or would a reasonable person assume he was just momentarily upset and let his emotions get to him, as might happen to a lot people who get frustrated at their jobs?

 

4) Even if Zambrano deserves some punishment for his behavior, 30 days of no pay -- to the tune of $3 million -- can be viewed as highly excessive. In his defense, Zambrano did not endanger the safety of any of his teammates or other Cubs' employees, nor did he make any threatening comments to anyone. He also showed up for work and made his start. As a point of comparison, the Mets initially suspended Rodriguez for only two days after it learned of his fight (the team later placed Rodriguez on the disqualified list after his injury was revealed). If a fight warrants two days of no pay, why should cleaning out one's locker warrant 30 days?

 

5) Teams have not used the Disqualified List and Zambrano's actions, in the Players' Association's likely view, are not so egregious that they warrant its usage here. The Players' Association would be poised to take that view because of worries over precedent: other teams might cite Zambrano's disqualification in future disputes with players. Keep in mind, the Players' Association has a fiduciary duty to all players and is thus as concerned, if not more concerned, about the precedent established by the Cubs disqualifying Zambrano as it is about Zambrano.

 

6) Though unlikely and would require medical corroboration, the Players' Association could portray Zambrano as suffering from some type of illness or disability that helps to explain his unusual behavior in a less-blameworthy way. At the Cubs' behest, Zambrano enrolled in an anger management program last year, which suggests the Cubs are aware of Zambrano's behavioral issues.

 

While the Players' Association and Major League Baseball will prepare for a grievance hearing, the parties will attempt to work out a settlement long before the hearing's scheduled date. A settlement is probably the most likely outcome in this mess of a dispute, especially because it will remove from the headlines a story that serves no one's interests.

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...l#ixzz1V8kduFHc

[kitekrazy]

Zambrano and AJ on the same team....hahhaaaa...yeah...that'll work. What's really sad is Zambrano is still a better hitter than Rios and Dunn right now...and Beckham.

 

Cooper has openly opposed Z coming to the Sox. The last thing you want to add to an under achieving team is an under achieving cancer.

 

[Dick Allen]

Cooper has openly opposed Z coming to the Sox. The last thing you want to add to an under achieving team is an under achieving cancer.

I would take the Big Z for the minimum with no leash. He screws up once, he's gone. I do think he will be playing for Ozzie eventually.

[kitekrazy]

I would take the Big Z for the minimum with no leash. He screws up once, he's gone. I do think he will be playing for Ozzie eventually.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/unlo..._medium=twitter

 

Lot of former Sox there.

 

[southsider2k5]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/08/unlo..._medium=twitter

 

Lot of former Sox there.

 

This deal makes a ton of sense knowing the personalities here if Ozzie is back next year.

 

Zambrano to White Sox for Alex Rios and $20MM. The White Sox would reduce the years of their burden if not the money, while the Cubs could pray Rios bounces back next year or else cut him loose.

[Milkman delivers]

This deal makes a ton of sense knowing the personalities here if Ozzie is back next year.

 

Zambrano to White Sox for Alex Rios and $20MM. The White Sox would reduce the years of their burden if not the money, while the Cubs could pray Rios bounces back next year or else cut him loose.

 

If they bring back Ozzie and add Zambrano to the mix, I can't even imagine my reaction. I may kill a person.

[LittleHurt05]

Let's not forget that Zambrano is not the same pitcher he was. His fastball velocity is down & his ERA is the highest of his career, nearly 5.

[southsider2k5]

Let's not forget that Zambrano is not the same pitcher he was. His fastball velocity is down & his ERA is the highest of his career, nearly 5.

 

It would also ditch Alex Rios, which would make it worthwhile IMO.

[Balta1701]

It would also ditch Alex Rios, which would make it worthwhile IMO.

Who is the bigger attitude issue?

[bigruss]

Who is the bigger attitude issue?

I actually would want to save either more money or get a prospect in return, that's how low Zambrano's value is right now. Rios atleast has the upside of being better, so I would expect the Sox to save about 3-4 million in this deal if they made it.

[southsider2k5]

I actually would want to save either more money or get a prospect in return, that's how low Zambrano's value is right now. Rios atleast has the upside of being better, so I would expect the Sox to save about 3-4 million in this deal if they made it.

 

The Sox would lose years worth of Rios contract, which is the big win here.

[Balta1701]

The Sox would lose years worth of Rios contract, which is the big win here.

But, the way you wrote it, with $20 m going to the Cubs, the Sox would also have to come up with a substantial chunk of cash right now, or at least be on the hook for the next few years.

[southsider2k5]

But, the way you wrote it, with $20 m going to the Cubs, the Sox would also have to come up with a substantial chunk of cash right now, or at least be on the hook for the next few years.

 

That is copied from the link

[bigruss]

That is copied from the link

Yea the Sox lose the commitment, but really it would still be lopsided in the Cubs favor, imo. I would offer them $15 or so in cash throughout the rest of his contract.

[Balta1701]

That is copied from the link

If you could do it straight up, that's one thing. At the end of this year, Rios will have $38 million remaining on his contract (with a $500k trade kicker). So if the Sox did the deal straight up, they'd save $20 million. If the Sox had to send over a substantial portion of that $20 million, then the contract savings would go away.

[kitekrazy]

If they bring back Ozzie and add Zambrano to the mix, I can't even imagine my reaction. I may kill a person.

 

A change of scenery to the Sox = major regression. Even Z would get worse. If such a thing were to happen, I may be all out until a new GM is in place.

Odd how the organizations that are consistently good at baseball aren't jumping at this opportunity.