The Broadest Shoulders In Chicago
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by user Fornelli
The baseball landscape in Chicago these days features two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum.
There are the White Sox, who won the 2005 World Series and currently hold the second best record in the Majors.
And then there are the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs season has been excruciatingly long and we're only halfway through it. It started with the annual injuries to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Then a quick start to the season was killed when Derrek Lee broke his wrist catching a ball. A steady succession of loss after loss since then has Cubs' fans angrier than I think I've ever seen them.
They're screaming for blood right now on the North Side. You get the feeling they'd like nothing more than to see the heads of Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry replace the "L" flag flying from the flagpoles above the old scoreboard in center.
But there is one beacon of hope in Wrigleyville, a respite every fifth day.
The Chicago Cubs still possess the best pitcher in all of Chicago. His name is Carlos Zambrano (10-3 3.11ERA), and he pitches like a man possessed.
In my National League preview I predicted that Big Z would win the NL Cy Young award. A slow April and a bad team quickly put that in jeopardy.
In 6 starts Z was 0-2 with a 5.35 ERA.
But since May 1st, Zambrano has been everything he's supposed to be, if not more. Carlos is 10-1 with a 2.39 ERA, including a career-best seven game winning streak.
"He's having quite a run here," said Cubs beleaguered manager Dusty Baker. "Especially since it's his 10th victory and considering he didn't get a win in April."
Thursday afternoon, Zambrano obliterated the Houston Astros' lineup, throwing eight innings and giving up only two hits and one run. In fact, the Astros didn't get a hit until the 5th inning, which is becoming typical for Zambrano. Lately, it seems he never gives up a hit in the first five innings. And he's capable of throwing a no-hitter on anyday, against any team.
Still, in the fifth inning there's another Zambrano quality you wait to see: an emotional meltdown.
For all his ability, Carlos has a tendency to succumb to emotional outbursts and occasionally it costs him. Zambrano broached the subject after the game:
"When you drive a car, when you're the driver, you know what to do. When you go 100 mph in Venezuela, you know what to do. The people in the passenger seat can be scared, but the guy driving the car is not scared. It's the same way on the mound."
After a lead-off walk to Aubrey Huff, and a single (the Astros' first hit) by Luke Scott, Zambrano threw a wild pitch - giving the Astros men on second and third and no one out.
While Cubs fans shielded their eyes in the passenger seat, Zambrano kept driving. And instead of losing his cool, he struck out Brad Ausmus and Adam Everett before getting Willy Tavares to ground out to end the inning and the threat. Zambrano would finally surrender a run in the eighth inning, before Ryan Dempster came on in the ninth to preserve the 4-1 victory for the Cubs.
Zambrano's run has vaulted him right back into the NL Cy Young race. As of now, he's still trailing Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, who beat the Dodgers Thursday night. But if Zambrano keeps pitching like he has the last 2.5 months, it will be hard to vote for anybody else.
The craziest thing about it is that Z is 10-3 and he plays for the Cubs. They've only won 37 games this season. That means Zambrano has been the deciding factor behind 27% of the Cubs' wins. And it's a percentage that's likely to go even higher; the Cubs don't have much else behind Zambrano in the rotation right now, let alone after the likely trade of Greg Maddux. If Zambrano were on a contending team right now, it's not too far-fetched to imagine he may already have 14 wins.
Also, as if Z isn't doing enough for the Cubs, he also has contributed on offense with three home runs. To put that in perspective, Derrek Lee has four.
It's reminiscent of 1972 when Steve Carlton won the NL Cy Young award after going 27-10, despite being on a Phillies team that won only 59 games. That means Carlton accounted for 46% of the Phillies' wins that season. Granted, this is a different era, so it's highly unlikely that Zambrano can finish with as high a percentage as Carlton, but given the advent of pitch counts and the way starters are treated these days, it could be the modern day equivalent.
Look for me in October as Carlos Zambrano is awarded his first Cy Young. I'll be the guy behind you saying, "I told you so."
Date
Fri 07/21/06, 8:10 am EST
