05-18-2010, 02:20 PM
Yet, on August 1 of last season when the Cubs were very much in the race and right before he ended up on the DL, Z was 7-4 with a 3.35 ERA. Who wanted to trade him then? Z is capable of A LOT more than some are giving him credit for, but it is still clear that he doesn't have the same trade value as he once did (due to injuries, overblown ineffectiveness, bad start to season, craziness, etc). Cutting him or selling low and paying a major portion of his salary at 29 and still in his prime is just wrong on so many levels IMO. I think we were spoiled by a few good seasons by Wood and Prior and have an unrealistic idea of what a typical #1 starter (I'm not talking about an elite SP) is supposed to be. I'm not even close to being ready to give up on Z and I hope the organization doesn't continue to mishandle the situation. Z hasn't helped his cause much lately either, but this the whole thing has been mismanaged from top to bottom for at least 2 seasons.