If the Cubs have any hope of unloading Carlos Zambrano on anyone, they’re going to have to showcase him as a starter. That showcasing began last night. It wasn’t pretty, but it could have been way uglier.
Zambrano gave up only two runs over five innings, but that was deceiving: only 49 of his 96 pitches were strikes and he walked seven. The Giants were 2 for 14 with men in scoring position and left 15 men on base. If they had an inkling of where to find a timely hit last night this thing could have been seriously ugly.
But the Cubs have no choice: they have to run Zambrano out there every fifth day no matter what happens. If he can put together a handful of at least arguably respectable starts, there’s a chance that someone will take a chance on the guy (even then, I suspect they’d only take a fraction of the contract). If he can’t get anyone out and/or has another meltdown, the guy may very well be out of baseball next season.
