"It's all done," the Chicago Cubs right-hander said. "I'm cured."

[Saul Goodman]

I feel bad for Apex.  He's caught in a Sophie's choice situation between chugging Zambrano's dong and chugging Quade's dong.

He'll pick Quade, it's hairless.

"I have nothing against the Cubs," Zambrano told Gomez. "I have the Cubs in my heart. I was upset with myself because I wasn't pitching the way I am supposed to. It's frustrating. One of the things affecting me is that I'm being paid $18 million a year and I feel like I'm pitching like a $2 million dollar a year pitcher.

"I feel like I haven't been pulling my weight. I did want to retire for a short while that night but I changed after taking some time. I still feel like I could pitch for the Cubs, but it's obviously their decision at this point."

Hendry didn't discuss Zambrano's latest comments.

"Nothing else needs to be said (about Zambrano's situation)," Hendry said. "The process will run its course."

"That (talk of retirement) never should have come out of my mouth, but I said it," Zambrano said on Comcast. "But at same time ... so many people talked to me that night. I appreciate that Sammy Sosa called me ...

"The organization has been good to me. It's great. I've been with the Cubs 14 years, and they've been great to me, and the fans have been great to me. Nothing to complain. I've made some mistakes, yes. And when I make a mistake I accept it. But this time it was for something I say. For something I say I was punished or disciplined. So now I can't say nothing."

Zambrano said he has a good relationship with manager Mike Quade even though "some of the decisions that he made I didn't like" and called Hendry "a great person." Even so, he didn't understand why he was being punished. He said he deserved it following the blowup with Lee, but this time?

"This one I really don't understand," Zambrano said.

Zambrano was ejected Friday for throwing two pitches at Chipper Jones after surrendering five home runs to the Braves.

"Why would I be hitting Chipper that night," Zambrano said on Comcast. "He's the main guy on the Braves.

"I threw some cutters inside because I don't want them to extend their arms. They were too comfortable. If I want to hit somebody, I hit him. I have a good target when I want to hit somebody. I don't miss players. They were cutters. When a pitcher is trying to hit somebody, they do it with a fastball."

As for his future, Zambrano isn't sure what will happen. He did make it clear he hopes to stay put, though.

"If the Cubs welcome me, I'll be with the team again," he said. "If they decide to do something else, I'll have to play for somebody else. In the bottom of my heart, I will be a Cubbie forever."

Sincere, or what people want to hear?

[JakeD]

Maybe he's posturing for the Cubs to buy him out but I would like to see him back.  Though I'm sure he'll be sacrificed for the meatheads in the media and the stands.

[Slaky]

After watching his interview with the Orange One on CTL this evening I am firmly in Z's camp. Honestly, Mike Fucking Quade and his big mouth shouldn't have said shit. Yeah, someone could have questioned the nameplate being gone and Quade could have easily said he was pissed off and took it out on his locker and that he'd be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But no, he spoke from his inner-butthurt and whined about how Zambrano quit on the team.

Then there's David Haugh. Why and how does this guy have a job? He's got no idea what the fuck he's talking about. It's like he's never watched sports in his entire goddamn life. Suddenly he's an expert on how people are supposed to behave. I wish someone would follow him around and then hold a panel discussion on live television to dissect the way he closed up his laptop and left work early the other day after someone ate his Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini again and now he's going to have to send out a mass email begging people to stop eating other people's lunches and everyone's going to save that email until the end of time and forward it around every so often to remember the time that chinless dickload thought it was a good idea to send an email to everyone (even the directors) about lunch etiquette and what a whiny twat he sounded like.

[CT III]

After watching his interview with the Orange One on CTL this evening I am firmly in Z's camp. Honestly, Mike Fucking Quade and his big mouth shouldn't have said shit. Yeah, someone could have questioned the nameplate being gone and Quade could have easily said he was pissed off and took it out on his locker and that he'd be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But no, he spoke from his inner-butthurt and whined about how Zambrano quit on the team.

Then there's David Haugh. Why and how does this guy have a job? He's got no idea what the fuck he's talking about. It's like he's never watched sports in his entire goddamn life. Suddenly he's an expert on how people are supposed to behave. I wish someone would follow him around and then hold a panel discussion on live television to dissect the way he closed up his laptop and left work early the other day after someone ate his Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini again and now he's going to have to send out a mass email begging people to stop eating other people's lunches and everyone's going to save that email until the end of time and forward it around every so often to remember the time that chinless dickload thought it was a good idea to send an email to everyone (even the directors) about lunch etiquette and what a whiny twat he sounded like.

Why would you be in Z's camp?  Like SKO said, had he followed through on the retirement, it would have been the perfect Z way to end his career, instead he's just another gutless fucking asshole.

He can stay, he can go, I don't care.  He's just another Cub.

You don't have to choose sides, you're allowed to hate all of them.

Except Starlin.

Edited to agree that David Haugh is one of the dumbest pieces of shit to ever put pen to paper in Chicago.

[Slaky]

After watching his interview with the Orange One on CTL this evening I am firmly in Z's camp. Honestly, Mike Fucking Quade and his big mouth shouldn't have said shit. Yeah, someone could have questioned the nameplate being gone and Quade could have easily said he was pissed off and took it out on his locker and that he'd be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But no, he spoke from his inner-butthurt and whined about how Zambrano quit on the team.

Then there's David Haugh. Why and how does this guy have a job? He's got no idea what the fuck he's talking about. It's like he's never watched sports in his entire goddamn life. Suddenly he's an expert on how people are supposed to behave. I wish someone would follow him around and then hold a panel discussion on live television to dissect the way he closed up his laptop and left work early the other day after someone ate his Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini again and now he's going to have to send out a mass email begging people to stop eating other people's lunches and everyone's going to save that email until the end of time and forward it around every so often to remember the time that chinless dickload thought it was a good idea to send an email to everyone (even the directors) about lunch etiquette and what a whiny twat he sounded like.

Why would you be in Z's camp?  Like SKO said, had he followed through on the retirement, it would have been the perfect Z way to end his career, instead he's just another gutless fucking asshole.

He can stay, he can go, I don't care.  He's just another Cub.

You don't have to choose sides, you're allowed to hate all of them.

Except Starlin.

Edited to agree that David Haugh is one of the dumbest pieces of shit to ever put pen to paper in Chicago.

David Haugh drove me to this. Blame him.

[Canadouche]

Journalists have been trying to chase Carlos out of Chicago for years.  He's either too stupid or too stubborn to take the bait. 

Quade is a useless sack of shit.  It is not surprising that he was Jim Hendry's hire.  I hope they both stay in Chicago for as long as the other, because I can't handle the abortion of another Hendry hire. 

[Yeti]

I have a ZBoner

[Saul Goodman]

After watching his interview with the Orange One on CTL this evening I am firmly in Z's camp. Honestly, Mike Fucking Quade and his big mouth shouldn't have said shit. Yeah, someone could have questioned the nameplate being gone and Quade could have easily said he was pissed off and took it out on his locker and that he'd be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But no, he spoke from his inner-butthurt and whined about how Zambrano quit on the team.

Then there's David Haugh. Why and how does this guy have a job? He's got no idea what the fuck he's talking about. It's like he's never watched sports in his entire goddamn life. Suddenly he's an expert on how people are supposed to behave. I wish someone would follow him around and then hold a panel discussion on live television to dissect the way he closed up his laptop and left work early the other day after someone ate his Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini again and now he's going to have to send out a mass email begging people to stop eating other people's lunches and everyone's going to save that email until the end of time and forward it around every so often to remember the time that chinless dickload thought it was a good idea to send an email to everyone (even the directors) about lunch etiquette and what a whiny twat he sounded like.

I think Z, despite his hotheadedness, is looking the best here.  The Cubs look like they're overreacting.  Z might be playing us, but I buy he was pissed and said something out of frustration he didn't mean.  He's a competitive guy and he's stuck playing for a shitty team that everyone knew wasn't going anywhere before the season even started.  On top of that, his abilities are slipping away from him and he's lost figuring it out.  We later learned that within two hours of this episode he informed the team he didn't mean it.  And we've never had a very solid source on who overheard him talking retirement in the clubhouse.  His own teammates found out from reporters, and it's not like reporters have the players' best interests in mind by telling them.  It's only after all this blew up that assholes like Dempster gave those gutless quotes.  So, it would be a plausible story for Z to claim he never said it, or that someone misheard him.  But instead he owned up to it.  So why have Hendry and Quade acted like this is unforgivable?  (For that matter, why did Quade handle this through the media instead of behind closed doors?  He's embarrassed not just Z but himself and his employer.  Maybe there's a good reason he has toiled in the minor leagues for so long.)

Zambrano has yelled face to face with Derrek Lee with the cameras rolling.  (For which, yes, he was suspended...but not fired.)  He bumped an umpire and mock ejected him from the game.  He literally fought one of his teammates in the dugout, also on television for everyone to see.  Somehow being upset after getting lit up in the most embarrassing game of his career is the worst offense of them all.  What kind of standard is that?  And as for the Cubs' alluding to "other issues" with Z this season, it's possible he's been a horrible human being behind the scenes all year, but making excuses for suspending him and/or backing up Quade seems more likely.  Everyone involved could use a fresh start elsewhere, starting with Hendry, but you just don't get rid of the architect of a juggernaut like the 2011 Chicago Cubs.

[Waco Kid]

After watching his interview with the Orange One on CTL this evening I am firmly in Z's camp. Honestly, Mike Fucking Quade and his big mouth shouldn't have said shit. Yeah, someone could have questioned the nameplate being gone and Quade could have easily said he was pissed off and took it out on his locker and that he'd be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But no, he spoke from his inner-butthurt and whined about how Zambrano quit on the team.

Then there's David Haugh. Why and how does this guy have a job? He's got no idea what the fuck he's talking about. It's like he's never watched sports in his entire goddamn life. Suddenly he's an expert on how people are supposed to behave. I wish someone would follow him around and then hold a panel discussion on live television to dissect the way he closed up his laptop and left work early the other day after someone ate his Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini again and now he's going to have to send out a mass email begging people to stop eating other people's lunches and everyone's going to save that email until the end of time and forward it around every so often to remember the time that chinless dickload thought it was a good idea to send an email to everyone (even the directors) about lunch etiquette and what a whiny twat he sounded like.

It's comical watching Hendry, Quade, Soriano, Dumpster, the sacks of shit in the Cubs organization, and David Haugh wet themselves over Big Z like this. He blows up, that's what he does. Afterward, he comes back and he is fine. Shouldn't these idiots know by now that you just ride out the storm with Big Z.

With Ricketts, Crane, Jimbo, Quade, and the defacto captain Dumpster this team is going to suck for many years to come.

[Quality Start Machine]

Z will get dumped this winter for pennies on the dollar and spend the next 5 years sticking it up the Cubs' ass. It's gonna hai.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Somehow being upset after getting lit up in the most embarrassing game of his career is the worst offense of them all.  What kind of standard is that?

"Being upset" isn't the worst offense he did.  He left the park before he was supposed to without permission.

[Slaky]

Somehow being upset after getting lit up in the most embarrassing game of his career is the worst offense of them all.  What kind of standard is that?

"Being upset" isn't the worst offense he did.  He left the park before he was supposed to without permission.

Which could have easily been covered up. Instead Quade blabs to the media not only leaving his player unprotected but exposing the fact that he has no control over the clubhouse. Zero.

"I told Carlos to just head back to the hotel and shake this off as best as he could. He was very upset and I thought it was the best thing for him and the team at the time."

HOW HARD IS THAT? Then deal with the "fallout" of bailing on the team internally. What a novel concept.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Somehow being upset after getting lit up in the most embarrassing game of his career is the worst offense of them all.  What kind of standard is that?

"Being upset" isn't the worst offense he did.  He left the park before he was supposed to without permission.

Which could have easily been covered up. Instead Quade blabs to the media not only leaving his player unprotected but exposing the fact that he has no control over the clubhouse. Zero.

"I told Carlos to just head back to the hotel and shake this off as best as he could. He was very upset and I thought it was the best thing for him and the team at the time."

HOW HARD IS THAT? Then deal with the "fallout" of bailing on the team internally. What a novel concept.

Quade is not blameless in this.  You know, after giving up 4 dingers in 4 plus innings, perhaps a decent manager would have the bullpen up.

[Waco Kid]

Somehow being upset after getting lit up in the most embarrassing game of his career is the worst offense of them all.  What kind of standard is that?

"Being upset" isn't the worst offense he did.  He left the park before he was supposed to without permission.

Which could have easily been covered up. Instead Quade blabs to the media not only leaving his player unprotected but exposing the fact that he has no control over the clubhouse. Zero.

"I told Carlos to just head back to the hotel and shake this off as best as he could. He was very upset and I thought it was the best thing for him and the team at the time."

HOW HARD IS THAT? Then deal with the "fallout" of bailing on the team internally. What a novel concept.

Time for a Quade bashing of Castro in the media to show his reestablishment of his control over the clubhouse.

[Internet Apex]

Quade's teams finish strong, dude. With or without their horses.

I've been away and haven't read Quade's comments or anything more than what's been in a couple of Sullivan articles. I really liked Zambrano for a long time but I'm just done with the whole thing. When things are going well, we never have problems with Zambrano. When things get bad, he gets worse. Some of the comments from his teammates, including Soriano calling him, "mentally weak," are starting to resonate with me.

I'm not on the ZOMG, DISQUALIFY! bandwagon or anything but I've got one fewer reprieve for my fire barn. Castro, Marmol and Quade. That's it.

/fin