The Chicago Tribune’s Dan McNeil is no fan of Carlos Zambrano. After railing against his contract and going on about how he’s no Ted Lilly, McNeil predicts a Big-Z meltdown:
Put me down for the first week in May for not-so-Big Z’s first implosion. Not sure if it will be getting tossed for undressing an umpire or pulling up lame trying to stretch a double, but an eruption is a certainty. Until the man-child proves he’s as right between the ears as he is in the hips, I’m betting against the Cubs getting this cat’s potential actualized.
I think the richest thing about this is how he uses Ted Lilly of all people to demonstrate just how awful Carlos Zambrano is, because Lilly is no stranger to drama himself.
No wait, that’s not the richest thing. The richest thing is that just last summer McNeil wrote that the Cubs’ biggest problem was that Lou Piniella was acting all calm and professional instead of being a combative jackass:Unearthing bases. Kicking dirt. Spitting. Scratching. Fighting one of his own players, as he did in Cincinnati with the behemoth-sized Rob Dibble.
None of those outlandish behaviors will solve the Cubs’ most urgent problems, but when a historically fiery manager ceases to breathe fire, then you have a brand new problem to tack onto the list: resignation.
