Cubs suspend Carlos Zambrano indefinitely following dugout outburst..
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 26, 2010
From the starting rotation to the bullpen, back to the starting rotation.
Now he faces an uncertain future on the North Side, as Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Carlos Zambrano was suspended indefinitely Friday after his dugout confrontation with Derrek Lee during their 6-0 loss to the White Sox.
It all began after the end of the 1st inning, when an angry Zambrano stormed into the Cubs’ visiting dugout after just giving up 4 runs. He apparently was upset that a couple of infield grounders were not fielded correctly, and started screaming as he walked past Derrek Lee.
Lee appeared to say something back at him, as Zambrano quickly turned around and got in the face of the Cubs’ 1st baseman. The twosome were then seperated by manager Lou Piniella, pitching coach Larry Rothschild and catcher Geovany Soto as Zambrano was then pulled from the game & was sent home by Piniella.
When Piniella was asked about the incident, he called it “embarassing”.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said that he wouldn’t rule out suspending Zambrano for the rest of the season, and also had this to say about the emotional pitcher:
“It becomes a bit of a tired act. People think that he hasn’t been spoken to by Lou and his staff or the general manager before. Things are sometimes construed as being let go or let slide by—that’s certainly not true. You have every right to say it like that, that it’s a recurring situation. And every time it recurs, it is a little bit more disappointing.”
Tom Gorzelanny will take Zambrano’s spot in the rotation & will start on Thursday afternoon against Pittsburgh.
