CHICAGO – On a night when starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano was suspended by the team for an altercation with Derrek Lee, Cubs fans are angry, and they should be. Just days ago, Manager Lou Piniella said he has done all he can do and that mentality seems to be filtering down the line.

Things came to a crossroads today when Zambrano took the mound at US Cellular Field against Jake Peavy and the White Sox. The final was 6-0 Sox, but that wasn’t the real story.

Zambrano, who earlier this season was put into the bullpen as a reliever and never really used properly, found himself back on the mound for a start and showed he does not have the stuff he had a couple of years ago. One thing he does still have is the temper he has shown on several occasions and it came out after the first inning today; this time the victim was Derrek Lee.

Z has a history of altercations. As you recall, three years ago, Z got into a fist fight with Michael Barrett. The outcome was that Barrett was soon traded, and Z remained; so did his temper.

This year, in a year when the Cubs are under new management, when a new hitting coach has been brought in, when new players have been brought in to rejuvenate the team, the team is falling apart and today is started coming to a head.

The frustration may be coming from Piniella’s lack of leadership. He couldn’t rein Z in, Z took it out on Lee. Z’s sentence for his outburst? He was pulled from the game after the first inning altercation and apparently was told to go home. As he was leaving the stadium, camera crews were waiting for him and the frustrated player unleashed a few “words” toward a cameraman. The result; Z is suspended indefinitely and has probably seen his last game as a Cubs player.

Could this all have been avoided? Perhaps, if General Manager Jim Hendry had taken a good look at the lack of interest Piniella has been expressing towards the team, he could have asked Piniella to step aside.

Then there’s Z who is notorious for being a hot-head. Dave Kaplan said in the post game show on WGN Radio, the fight Z had with Barrett exonerates Barrett.

What happened with Z today is inexcusable, but even more inexcusable is the alleged lack of performance starting with Piniella and maybe Hendry. Joining into this fray is Tom Ricketts’ public relations guy who tweets what he claims is a joke? Not funny and totally inappropriate. Tom Ricketts needs to get back from his African safari and step in before he loses total control.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, Miriam Romain maintains a Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com. The Chicago native has also been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is writing a book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

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