09-15-2010, 12:37 PM
<!--quoteo(post=114309:date=Sep 15 2010, 11:11 AM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Sep 15 2010, 11:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114304:date=Sep 15 2010, 10:47 AM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ Sep 15 2010, 10:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114299:date=Sep 15 2010, 10:26 AM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Sep 15 2010, 10:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114291:date=Sep 15 2010, 09:47 AM:name=BT)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BT @ Sep 15 2010, 09:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114285:date=Sep 15 2010, 08:35 AM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Sep 15 2010, 08:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114275:date=Sep 15 2010, 07:12 AM:name=veryzer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (veryzer @ Sep 15 2010, 07:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=114204:date=Sep 14 2010, 02:40 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Sep 14 2010, 02:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/ne...id=5572170
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->General manager Jim Hendry said Tuesday he would like to see pitcher Carlos Zambrano back in a Chicago Cubs uniform 2011.
"We hope so," Hendry said Tuesday on ESPN 101.1 FM in St. Louis. "He really seems to have gotten himself in a good spot. His last five or six starts have been outstanding. We've had Carlos since he was 16. I know people don't believe this but 90 percent of the time he's really been a pleasure to be around and a quality citizen."
"He has his snaps obviously that have led to some of his demise, but he didn't pitch very well for a year, year and a half after such a great start to his career. I think when we gave him the contract he was only 26 years old and one of the elite guys in the league."
.
.
"He isn't too old to get it together and be a heck of a pitcher again," Hendry said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But he did pitch well for that year, year and a half. Maybe he wasn't dominant, but he was good.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, not sure what he was watching. Z was actually really good through last August. Same for 2008. The fact that he finished poorly only tells me that something was physically wrong with Z and he ran out of gas. As a matter of fact, he has spent time on the DL over the past few seasons, so this nonsense about his demise being <b>purely</b> pitching related as Hendry is implying gets kind of old.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you go by WARP, except for a small bump in 2006, Zambrano has gotten progressively worse every single season since 2004. Hopfeully 2011 breaks that trend.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My only point, that others have made as well, is that even though he clearly isn't the same pitcher he once was, it doesn't mean that Z is bad or doesn't deserve a spot on the team, which was apparently Hendry's view. It seems the media and many fans overlook a lot of other former elite pitchers who are still productive, and single out Z as though his career is over, mostly because he is insane and went through a few bad stretches late in the 2008 season and 2009 season, and started this season off poorly. Those periods skewed his numbers a lot.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Most people's argument seems to be; "He's getting paid like an ace, but he doesn't pitch like an ace."
Which makes me want to pull my brain out through my nostrils.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's not remotely close to what I'm arguing.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Believe it or not, I wasn't referring to you in this particular post. This is why I said "most people" and not "BT."
You've got a hair trigger this morning, dude.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->General manager Jim Hendry said Tuesday he would like to see pitcher Carlos Zambrano back in a Chicago Cubs uniform 2011.
"We hope so," Hendry said Tuesday on ESPN 101.1 FM in St. Louis. "He really seems to have gotten himself in a good spot. His last five or six starts have been outstanding. We've had Carlos since he was 16. I know people don't believe this but 90 percent of the time he's really been a pleasure to be around and a quality citizen."
"He has his snaps obviously that have led to some of his demise, but he didn't pitch very well for a year, year and a half after such a great start to his career. I think when we gave him the contract he was only 26 years old and one of the elite guys in the league."
.
.
"He isn't too old to get it together and be a heck of a pitcher again," Hendry said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But he did pitch well for that year, year and a half. Maybe he wasn't dominant, but he was good.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, not sure what he was watching. Z was actually really good through last August. Same for 2008. The fact that he finished poorly only tells me that something was physically wrong with Z and he ran out of gas. As a matter of fact, he has spent time on the DL over the past few seasons, so this nonsense about his demise being <b>purely</b> pitching related as Hendry is implying gets kind of old.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you go by WARP, except for a small bump in 2006, Zambrano has gotten progressively worse every single season since 2004. Hopfeully 2011 breaks that trend.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My only point, that others have made as well, is that even though he clearly isn't the same pitcher he once was, it doesn't mean that Z is bad or doesn't deserve a spot on the team, which was apparently Hendry's view. It seems the media and many fans overlook a lot of other former elite pitchers who are still productive, and single out Z as though his career is over, mostly because he is insane and went through a few bad stretches late in the 2008 season and 2009 season, and started this season off poorly. Those periods skewed his numbers a lot.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Most people's argument seems to be; "He's getting paid like an ace, but he doesn't pitch like an ace."
Which makes me want to pull my brain out through my nostrils.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's not remotely close to what I'm arguing.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Believe it or not, I wasn't referring to you in this particular post. This is why I said "most people" and not "BT."
You've got a hair trigger this morning, dude.