Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau
May 4, 2009
Carlos Zambrano has never been one to hide his emotions. In fact, part of the reason the Chicago Cubs ace is so beloved by Cubs fans is that he wears his heart on his sleeve for every pitch of every inning. But for those of us who have watched the big Venezuelan play for the Cubbies since 2001, we love to watch him play because he's so much more than just a pitcher.
Zambrano likes to refer to himself, not as a pitcher, but rather as a baseball player. With six straight winning seasons under his belt and more than 1,200 strike outs to his credit no one would blame Big Z if he simply wanted to focus all of his energy on pitching. But in addition to his solid work on the mound,Zambrano fields his position as well or better than almost anyone in the league and with a .240 career batting average coming into the 2009 season, he is one of the best hitting pitchers in the game. Actually he's such a good pitcher that he is occasionally used as a pinch hitter.
On top of all his talents, just like Pete Rose before him, Carlos Zambrano is the rare, highly paid superstar who goes all out all the time. And that is what made the injury to Big Z's left hamstring on Sunday afternoon so tragic.
OK, so maybe the use of the word tragic is a bit over the top in this case. After a post-game MRI the big right-hander was placed on the 15-day DL - not exactly career threatening or even season ending. The magnitude of the injury is not the tragedy, however - it's how he sustained the injury that really hurts not only for Cubs fans, but for any fan of the game who appreciates some hustle.
After laying a near-perfect bunt down the third-base line in Sunday's game against the Florida Marlins, all 255 pounds of Carlos Zambrano rumbled towards first base as he attempted to begin the 5th inning with a lead-off hit. As he approached the base he took one last extra long stride at full speed in order to make sure he reached base safely, but unfortunately, that stretch appears to have caused the strain to his left hamstring which, for now at least, keeps him off the field. You can check out video of the incident here.
With a 2009 salary of $18,750,000, Zambrano falls into the category of athlete who normally thinks of himself as too valuable to play the game the way it is supposed to be played. Whether it's just laziness or an aversion to the risk of injury, many highly-paid baseball players care little about their teammates and focus solely on advancing their own career and protecting themselves no matter what the cost is to their team. Carlos Zambrano's refusal to adopt that attitude is a breath of fresh air.
Big Z's attempted bunt-for-a-hit during Sunday's game is the perfect example of this refusal to put himself above the team. He was sharp enough to recognize an opportunity to lay down a surprise bunt, he executed it with precision and followed through by barreling down the line as fast as his 6-foot-5-inch frame could take him, only to come up limp - it hurts to watch - no matter how mild his injury may be and how little time he'll miss.
Sometime over the next 15 days one of WGN's cameras will take a shot of Zambrano hanging out in the dugout with his teammates and it will trigger an on-air conversation between Bob Brenly and Len Kasper about whether or not the $18.75-million-dollar-man should still be doing things like trying to bunt for a hit, or even occasionally pinch-hitting.
The question will be whether or not the risk is worth the reward for Carlos. Should he be diving off the mound for a ground ball? Should he try to stretch a single into a double? Should he continue laying down those bunts and hustling down the line?
In the short-term, the answer to many questions like this may be no, it is not worth having Carlos Zambrano risk injuries like the one he sustained Sunday, or even something worse. But in the long-term, Zambrano's hustle is what made him an $18.75 million dollar player in the first place.
Fortunately for Cubs fans, neither manager Lou Piniella or Big Z himself will accept the short-term argument and when he returns to the field in a couple of days there will be no change in attitude or approach to the game. Carlos will continue being Carlos.
...Well, at least Big Z (finally!) quit snapping bats in two over his leg when he strikes out. Every time he did that, I would wince, worrying that somehow, sometime he was gonna hurt himself doing THAT...
Posted by: Michael Sweeney | May 07, 2009 at 08:42 AM