Carlos Zambrano Pitched, Too
Carlos Zambrano is back in the news. Unfortunately, in the world of Carlos Zambrano, no news is good news. This time, Zambrano exploded after giving up five home runs to the Atlanta Braves on Friday: he threw up-and-in at Chipper Jones, was ejected, and then promptly emptied out his locker and left the Cubs clubhouse with rumors of his retirement abound. Of course, Zambrano realized some $25 million over the next year-and-a-half is too much to walk away from. Now, the Cubs have placed Zambrano on the disqualified list for the next 30 days, and we surely haven’t heard the end of this battle.
All too often, Zambrano has made it difficult to remember he also, you know, pitches every once in a while. As Fox Sports’s Jon Morosi reminds us:
So while Zambrano told the Associated Press that he had a “fresh mind” after signing the extension, it didn’t last. Yes, he threw a no-hitter in 2008, but that’s not what comes to mind when you hear his name. You think about him attacking the Gatorade machine with the baseball bat (on live television). You think about him pitching a fit at Derrek Lee in the dugout (again, on live television). You think about him declaring the anger management issues a thing of the past, when in fact they were not.
Oddly enough, for having one of the most volatile personalities in the game, up until 2011 an above-average Zambrano was one of baseball’s constants. From 2003 to 2009, Zambrano threw at least 169 innings with an ERA- below 90 and an FIP below 100; even an injured 2010 saw him fulfill these constraints, albeit in only 129 innings. Zambrano never had particularly excellent control never limiting hitters to fewer than one walk every three innings, nor did he have big time strikeout stuff, never striking out more than a batter per inning. But Zambrano found ways to get outs recording a .276 BABIP, a number which could be considered fluky if not for the 7748 total batters faced and 5143 balls in play. Small sample caveats not necessary.
And we’d certainly be remiss if we forgot just how amazing Zambrano was as a batter against his fellow pitchers. Zambrano owns 23 career homers in just 708 plate appearances, and his .241/.251/.395 line is good for a career 59 wRC+. Adjusting for the responsibilities of pitching, Zambrano compiled a staggering 8.3 WAR just as a hitter.
It certainly appears that Zambrano’s declining phase had begun regardless of his off-the-field struggles. Zambrano’s ability to keep the ball on the ground has steadily declined since his breakout 2003 season — when he posted a 54% ground ball rate — to the point where he is only inducing 42% ground balls this season. With balls in the air come balls leaving the park, particularly at Wrigley Field, a particularly bad combination given Zambrano’s wildness. But at a mere 30 years old, the ability to stave off Father Time should have been there (and it still could be).
Unfortunately, at this point Zambrano’s legacy is one of emotional blowups and one of the league’s most unfortunate contracts, and not one of a consistently good pitcher and one of the best two-way players the game has seen in ages. If so, it is a legacy well earned (with some help from Jim Hendry). But let’s not forget — Zambrano was a baseball player too, and a very good one at that.
No mention of his bat-breaking prowess?
why do i even bother reading jack moores articles, he predicted and authors “bust posey injury opens the doors for the colo rockies” w.o mentioning the ariz d backs… lo and behold the dbacks are taking the west by storm as we speak.
j ack moore has no credibility anymore.
so in what ways does a jack moore hatter differ from a mad hatter? aside from you obviously being a bent out of shape dbacks fan
jack moore used to be good. google and search his article buster posey injury opens the doors to the colorado rockies!
I hope you at least make Jack Moore nice hats.
I think there’s a typo: “FIP below 100.”
I totally agree with this article–it’s a shame when good players’ numbers get because of their silly tirades.
FIP- is what he meant I think.
And ya, I completely forgot about his no hitter.
I admit that I had completely forgotten about his no-hitter.
Ditto
So how many of the league’s most unfortunate contracts does that give the Cubs?
Eh, two? Do not Fukudome me, because I will not have it.
Zambrano, Soriano, and Grabow are probably bottom-3 for their respective positions.
I’m not arguing with Soriano because all you need to say is “2014″ and that discussion is over. But the other two, bottom three? Well now… John Grabow’s not a good ML reliever, not even close, but it was still only $7.5 million over two years. Is that worse than Soriano? K-Rod? Valverde? Lyon? There’s so many bad contracts given to relievers, it comes down to splitting hairs, no?
As for Z: Ollie Perez, Mike Hampton, Barry Zito; that’s an easy one. Zambrano has never been worth his contract, not by a long shot, but often lost amidst the talk of his regular break downs was the fact that he could pitch. This is a guy with nearly 32 WAR at the age of 30. He was never an ace but you don’t accumulate that by just breaking bats and smashing water-coolers. It’s a pity it ends like this with the Cubs, and it’s a pity Z gets all the blame when that organisation would drive any sane person crazy.
All that said, why I’m defending Jim Hendry’s contracts is beyond me.
as an astros fan, i feel required to point out that zambrano’s no hitter came in an astros “home” game played in milwaukee against a line up of poorly-rested hitters coming off the evacuation prior to and the destruction during hurricane ike. while zambrano owned the astros for many years, on that day mother nature handled it for him. all no hitters are not created equal [/bitter astros fan rant]
As much as I want to give credit where credit is due, when that occurred was the day I first realized Bud Selig is good for baseball business but not good for the game.
IMHO, Zambrano only acts like this on the roster of a handful of organizations. Unfortunately for Z & Chicago, the Cubs are ones of those organizations. A long line of “hands-off” and “player’s managers” have basically provided the culture for Z to act like this and feel as if it is okay. I don;t think Z is as crazy as Bradley and would not act like this everywhere. Namely because most organizations won’t tolerate it. At all.
Baker was a very hands-off manager (didn;t Z’s teammates actually like it that he punched barrett?), and Pinella was there for show, and now they have a first year guy that no one seems to value (especially umpires).
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Patrick Roy is left in the game too long when he’s giving up a ton of goals and when he’s finally pulled from the game, he announces he’s played his last game as a Montreal Canadian.
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I’m not defending Z because his actions warrant criticism. IMO, Z is still a useful pitcher and on a team with structure and take-no-shit manager, Z will likely fall in line. But, his contract is too much for most teams.
I don;t think, however, that Z continues to act like an ass with an organization that won’t tolerate it (at all).
Yeah, I’ve always wondered if you can thank Dusty for the bratty habits several of these guys developed. Looking back, it was a poor combination
Maybe the Cubs should just trade him to an AL team so that he can DH and make an occasional relief appearance?
Who knows how good of a hitter he could be if he got regular at bats. Might help his temper if he was allowed to take his anger out on the ball 4 times a day
Huh? How many teams want to run this line out there as a DH? .241/.251/.395
A few more at bats might make him better, but not much.
The Mariners?
The White Sox would kill for that line right now from their DH.
28 or more starts every year from 03 to 08 as well.
i’m somewhat ashamed to admit that i forgot he was actually a good pitcher once upon a time.
Carlos should give Dr.Purita a call this off season and be next years Bartolo Colon.
I was shocked that Zambrano has a career .153 ISO
he was having a good year at the plate in 2011 too (.848 OPS)