When he wasn’t kicking water coolers or trying to kick his Red Bull habit, Carlos Zambrano had some stretches of dominance this year.
Zambrano went 8-1 with a 2.51 earned-run average in his first 13 starts, and threw a no-hitter Sept. 14 against Houston at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
But judging by all the angst that precedes his Game 2 start Thursday night, Zambrano’s season was nothing less than a total bust.
“Anything that comes from God, you have to accept it,” Zambrano said Wednesday. “The most important thing is that we’re in the playoffs and this is a new season for us. You know, my record, [or] anybody’s record, today it doesn’t count. What counts is what we start today, and that’s all that matters.”
If Zambrano can pitch like the guy who earned a $91.5 million contract last season, all will be forgiven. But if he performs as he did against St. Louis on Sept. 19 and the Mets on Sept. 24 in his final two starts, it could get ugly at Wrigley Field.
Manager Lou Piniella said Zambrano’s poor start against St. Louis might have resulted from his traveling 15 hours back and forth to Venezuela after his grandmother died, which made his legs “sort of dead.”
“I’m not exactly sure, that’s just an explanation I have,” Piniella said.
Zambrano heard some boos Wednesday when he was introduced before Game 1, and his decision to decline a one- or two-inning tuneup Sunday in Milwaukee was not well received by some. Zambrano says he told Piniella he would pitch if the Cubs wanted him to.
But Piniella remembers it a little differently. He said he offered Zambrano the chance to pitch but that Zambrano wanted a bit more rest and to work on the side.
Piniella confirmed the two had spoken, but only after Zambrano begged off the assignment.
“If I insisted that he pitch, yeah, he would’ve pitched,” Piniella said. “But that was not my intention. My intention was, ‘What do you, as a pitcher, feel more comfortable with? Which option do you like the best?’ And the answer, initially, was to rest him. And that’s exactly what we did.
“It didn’t matter to me one way or another. I’m not trying to make an issue out of it. It’s whatever he felt comfortable with, that in his mind would help him prepare more to pitch well Thursday. That was my only intent and interest.”
Zambrano will take the ball having thrown only 6 1/3 innings since his no-hitter 17 days ago, and then his season will boil down to one big start.
