He was selfish for watching the ball instead of running IIRC

nah, it was on the radio, Brenly did an interview on 670 the score and basically ripped on him

Z to the pen is the most alarming thing yet in a series of alarming things over the last 18 months. What Hendry and Lou have managed to do to the 2008 97 win team is nothing short of breathtaking. It seems like it almost has to be intentional conduct, not just negligence, given how badly they have jacked things up.

And it all culminates in taking your best pitcher (yes, I know that he doesn't put up "true ace" numbers but he is clearly the best pitcher on the staff) and basically shuffling him to the bullpen in favor of Carlos f'in Silva, who would have to be considered a huge success if he can just maintain an ERA sub-5. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE.

i dont see any way zambrano is the best pitcher.

i dont know what to really think about all this .... he's what? the 5th highest paid pitcher in baseball? He isn't getting the job done, and really hasn't been the past couple of years .... yes he had that no hitter but ya know what, its one game ....

We have 4 more years of his contract i think left .... if this move forces Z to call off his no trade clause and we can get something back for him thats useful, im all for it

I don't see any way that Zambrano is not one of the best 5 starting pitchers for the Chicago Cubs, and I loathe Carlos Zambrano.

no one would disagree with that, but gorzelany to the pen doesn't really serve much of a purpose. The Cubs need a RHP in the pen. I think it's fair to argue that Z is the 4th best starter on this team right now which means it's between him and Silva. Silva is obv doing some serious work right now. Will that continue? Probably not.

I'm not saying I'm in favor of this, but I do understand it and I don't think it's quite the catastrophe that everyone is making it out to be.

Man, everyone hates on Z for last year, and yet he did put up 170ip and a 3.77 era. I'm not saying those are "ace" stats by any mean, but he was not exactly awful last year. Yes, he got off to an awful start opening day obviously. But his last start was a quality start for crying out loud.

This is truly a bizarre move. You'd rather have Silva or Gorz then Zambrano? Talk about the most massive overreaction of all time!

no one is saying that. You're the one with the hyperbole that Z is "clearly the best pitcher." No, he clearly is not the best pitcher.

least clutch team ever

Why are you focusing on that? You think Zambrano is our sixth best pitcher? This move is a joke that makes the Cubs even more of a laughing stock then they already are. It's the final straw leaving me convinced this organization will never move forward until Kenney, Hendry, and Lou are all gone.

I just don't think Z improves our rotation as much as he might possibly improve our bullpen. If he is really good down there and our rotation keeps pitching as well as they have all season I think it possibly could work really well. Instead of pitching 180-200 innings, Z turns into 2008 Marmol and pitches 85 high leverage innings. The way we're doing it clearly isn't going to work. Obv, it was a major **** up by Jim to have nobody in the pen outside of Marmol that can retire RH batters which has led us to this move.

and this

so nice to see Ted back

Taking Carlos Zambrano and his career 126 ERA+ (119 last year) and moving him into a setup role in April because you 'have no other option' is mind-bogglingly ignorant. Those of you defending this should really stop.

Finding an stopgap setup man that provides adequate production shoud not require dipping into the rotation and removing an above average starter.

MLB for the most part still subscribes to an antiquated logic that refuses to acknowledge or understand true player value. Jim Hendry is a champion of that logic, and that is why John Grabow and his career 1.45 WHIP are making $2.7 mil to provide replacement-level production. Now we see the organization compound that problem by overreacting with one of the more nonsensical moves in recent history.

Wish we coulda seen a grand salami from big z there

Zambrano is running absurdly bad this year. There's no way the .435 BABIP and 21% HR/FB rate will stand. His xFIP is still 3.38. Moving him to the bullpen is ******ed.

In fairness to Hendry, Angel Guzman was primed to be the Carlos Marmol of 2010 and I would imagine finding quality bullpen arms during spring training and into the early part of the season is tough. Everyone needs bullpen help and everyone thinks they are a contender.

That being said, shipping 120 of Z's innings to Gorz or Silva is probably the most ******ed baseball decision I have ever seen and, like has been articulated well above, shows that Hendry/Lou have not made the transition in any significant way to modern concepts of value in baseball.

I doubt he'll be there all year, anytime someone from the current rotation needs a start or more off Z will jump in. And once Z "starts playing good" he'll push out whoever is 5th.

I'm really liking this Colvin kid

exactly, as long as Silva and Gorzo are pitching like they're currently pitching, I fail to see the harm of stabilizing the bullpen.

and yes, Tyler Colvin rules. Too bad we can't play every game in Milwaukee. We own that joint.

well, well, smart posters with stats to back them up. as a lifelong cubs fan, of course, i have no use for that... lol.

i see the point all you guys are making, and of course it's true. the deal with z is that he's supposed to be our ace, we pay him like an ace, but we don't get ace effort from him in big games, ever. i'd be curious to break down his metrics by opponent, and sadly wouldn't be surprised to learn he looks awesome against the pirates and reds every year.

i've been one of his biggest supporters in the past, but the fact is, he's our 4th-best starter right now. so the questions becomes, which is better: demoting him to 4th starter, so to speak, or putting him in the pen for a while? assuming that he's sensitive and we're on the hook for all that money so we still need him.

and as for silva... maybe he'll never be as good as his potential seems to indicate, but i'm optimistic about pudgy latin pitchers... jose rijo, anyone?

tell me about it.

Come on, man. You're hanging around 2p2 so I have to believe you have at least some understanding of variance. You really think Silva/Gorz are likely to outperform Z over a season? Really? I expect that type of short-term, results-oriented thinking out of Lou, but not from most 2p2ers.

I don't think that matters in the short term. I think Z is a lot better at transitioning back and forth from bullpen/starter than Silva and I don't think Gorzo is of much value at all in the bullpen. Like I said before, wasn't Marmol our pitching MVP in '08 serving the role that Z will serve?