It certainly seems as if Zambrano is headed down the same road as Milton Bradley with his histrionics par for the course.  Of course, if you are at the top of your game, some of that can be tolerated, but when you are blaming others for your own shortcomings it gets old fast.

Interesting that the Cubs are the same team to most recently give up on Bradley, and just a year later, Zambrano might be shipped out very similarly.  The Cubs, I believe would have to eat a ton of his contract however, if they decide to unload him.

Losing makes a lot of things difficult to bear, and the Cubs, expected to contend this season, are having a ton of difficulties.  As one fan wrote in the comments section of this very well written Carrie Muskrat piece- the team is working hard at bringing back the “loveable loser” moniker that used to allow them to sell out while playing under .500.  Zambrano hasn’t done much for the loveable part.

The players union and MLB itself are investigating the circumstances more closely to see just how long the team can “suspend” him for.  While that continues the team cannot call up anyone else.  If the Big Z must go through some counseling prior to his return, he could be put on the inactive list and a 25th man could be called up.

This is one of those situations where you are glad you have a seasoned manager who feels comfortable enough sending the starter home after 1 inning. It clearly sets the tone to the rest of the team of what will and won’t be tolerated.  A younger manager may have felt the need to send Zambrano back out, since the bullpen was depleted due to a 13 inning game the night before in Seattle. One game does matter, but not more than making sure the team knows what is and is not OK.