In an article written by Paul Sullivan of the Tribune, Zambrano explained that he doesn’t always feel the way he felt on Friday.  Then he went on to say:

“Look, this is the only season I haven’t won 16 or 18 or 14 games,” he said. “If it happens again next season, two seasons in a row, I’ll quit. Believe me, I’ll quit. I just have to put this behind me.

As I pointed out in a previous post, Zambrano sometimes has difficulty controlling his emotions.  My guess is that his response to the reporter’s question was another example of him speaking emotionally without thinking. 

Zambrano is owed $53.75 million over the next four years.  I seriously doubt if he’s going to walk away if he has another down year.

Zambrano’s comments made me think of two other guys who have threatened to quit if they don’t play better next year.  Chipper Jones of the Atlana Braves is hitting .273/.393/.446 this year with 18 homeruns and 70 RBI.  Honestly, that’s not so bad, but his homerun and RBI totals, as well as his slugging percentage, are the lowest of his career. 

Jones commented recently that he would walk away from the game rather than endure another season like he has had this year.  Admittedly, he has some pretty high standards.  But would he really walk away?

Next year (2010) will be Jones age 38 year.  He is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013.  His contract calls for a reasonable $13 million per year through 2012.  The 2013 option is a club  option at just $7 million.  Regardless of Jones’ high standards, the Braves are probably getting the production they are paying for.

Another guy with high standards is the Astros’ Lance Berkman.  So far in 2009, the 33-year old Berkman is hitting .268/.399/.505 with 24 homeruns and 77 RBI.  Like Jones, those stats are among the worst of his career.  I suppose that is why he announced earlier in the year that a repeat of this year would lead to his early retirement.

Berkman is owed $14.5 million in 2010 and the Astros hold a club option for 2011 worth $15 million (with a $2 million buyout).  Like Jones, Berkman has had an outstanding career, but it’s hard for me to believe that he would just walk away if he has a sub-par (by his own standards) season in 2010.

I think it’s hard for Ken Griffey, Jr. to believe it too.  Griffey, who will turn 40 in November, would like to return to the Mariners next year.  This, despite the fact that he is only hitting .214/.323/.395 with 16 homeruns and 50 RBI.  He apparently doesn’t have standards quite as high as Jones or Berkman.

Griffey has been one of the most exciting players of the past two decades.  He is a hero in Seattle and a sure fire Hall of Famer.  But like Willie Mays before him, it is sad to see this once superstar play the way he is playing now after such a brilliant career. 

It’s just my opinion, but I’d like to see Jones and Berkman stick around, but I’d prefer that Ken Griffey, Jr. call it quits.

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I owe a huge apology to Phil Rogers of the Tribune.  In yesterday’s post, I disparaged him for getting the story wrong about Tim Bogar being a front runner for the Astros manager position.  As it turned out, I’m the idiot who got it wrong.  My apologies, Phil.  I don’t always agree with you, but if I’m going to criticize you, I should at least get my facts straight.

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I previously said that I would like to see the Cubs offer Rich Harden arbitration after this season.  I expect him to turn it down, but at least the Cubs will get the draft picks (Harden is a type A free agent).  I also said that I’m opposed to the Cubs offering Harden a multi-year contract.

I stand by what I said, but I’m starting to think that the Cubs may just let Harden walk away without offering him arbitration.  The reason is that the Cubs have some depth when it comes to starting pitching.  We already know that, barring any trades, the Cubs will have Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Randy Wells.  Tom Gorzelanny will probably be the fifth starter, although Sean Marshall also has a shot at the starting rotation.  That’s a pretty stout starting rotation even without Harden.

Rich Harden is a very special pitcher when he’s healthy, but history shows that staying healthy is a challenge for him.  He made $7 million in 2009 and is due for a raise.  The Cubs may be better off letting him walk rather than risking an arbitration award of $8 – $12 million.  They could use that money elsewhere and still have a very good pitching staff.

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You’ve got to like Randy Wells attitude.  After losing to the Giants on Sunday,  Lou Piniella seemed unconcerned about his performance, saying that the impressive thing was the way Wells had pitched all year and the fact that he was still going strong in September.  Wells, who is the first Cubs pitcher to notch double digits wins in his rookie season since Kerry Wood, disagreed:

”I don’t believe that at all, no. I hate that,” he said. ”I’m not here as a sideshow or a fill-in. I want to stay here. I want to be part of the rotation next year. And I hate that.

”I’m here to pitch, and I’m here to pitch for a long time. And I don’t like losing. I hate losing. I hate walks. I hate cheap base hits when you could have prevented them. All that is stuff for me to build off of and learn from and try to be even better next year.”

Randy Wells just moved up on my list of favorite Cubs.

Although the Cubs are not quite yet mathematically eliminated, manager Lou Piniella is already starting to turn his attention to next year.  In an interview with Carrie Muskat from MLB.com, Piniella opened up about his top three wishes for 2010.  They are:

1. Have Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto return healthy and productive.
2. Add a real nice RBI bat to the lineup (He never mentioned the words “left-handed”).
3. Add a true lead-off man

Wish number one makes perfect sense.  The Cubs were devasted by injuries this year, particularly to Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, and Alfonso Soriano.  If all three can come back healthy and productive next year, the Cubs will already be a better team than they were in 2009.

As for wishes two and three, you have to wonder where these new guys would play.  Piniella said that he’d like to move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field, so that would leave a hole in center and maybe one at second (depending on what they decide to do with Mike Fontenot).

I think all three wishes make sense.  Wish number one should take care of itself.  There’s very little the Cubs can do to guarantee it.  Wishes two and three are in the hands of Jim Hendry.  And if he wants a little help, he should read my thoughts (stolen from someone else) about calling his old buddy Andy MacPhail in Baltimore to make a deal.

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Phil Rogers at the Tribune is reporting on a rumored trade between the Cubs and White Sox.  In the trade, the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the Southside in exchange for newly acquired pitcher Jake Peavy. 

Their contracts of the two pitchers are nearly a wash.  Z is owed $53.75 million through  2012 (with a $19.25 million player vesting option in 2013) while Peavy is owed $52 million through 2012 (with a $22 million club option in 2013 and a $4 million buyout).

There are a couple of things to consider here.  First, the rumor is being reported by Phil Rogers, so there’s a good chance that he just made it up.  After all, in the same article, Rogers is reporting that Red Sox first base coach Tim Bogar is a leading candidate to get the Houston Astros managerial job in 2010.  This, despite the fact that Bogar is contractually prohibited from accepting a managerial position outside of Boston until AFTER the 2010 season.  Phil apparently didn’t know that when he made up the story.

NOTE: Boy, do I have egg on my face.  After disparaging Phil Rogers for getting the Tim Bogar story wrong, I realized that John Farrell is the Boston coach that has a clause in his contract that does not allow him to accept a job as manager anywhere other than Boston before the end of the 2010 season, not Bogar.  It’s official.  I’m an idiot.  Sorry, Phil.  Mea culpa.

Even so, let’s think about the possibility of Z going to the White Sox in exchange for Peavy.  Z, who is 28-years old, has always liked the White Sox.  It might be because of the Venezuela connection with manager Ozzie Guillen (they also have similar temperments) or it might be the more “blue collar” feel to the White Sox.  Whatever it is, the White Sox are one team that Z apparently said he would be willing to be traded to (he has a full NTC).

As a Padre, Peavy made it clear that he would like to stay in the NL and would prefer to join the Cubs.  So we can be pretty sure that he would once again waive his no-trade clause to go to the Northside.   And to further add to the odd symmetry, Peavy is also 28-years old, just one day older than Zambrano.

Both pitchers had down years in 2009 and both suffered through injuries.  I think it’s fair to say that Peavy’s injury was more serious, but it appears he has fully recovered.  Some would argue that Zambrano’s back problems are potentially more serious because they are exacerbated by his reluctance to stick to a strict exercise program.

The two pitchers have comparable career stats as well.  Zambrano has a career record of 105-67 with an ERA of 3.50 and a 1.29 WHIP.  For his career, Peavy is 94-68 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

I think we’ve established this much, a Zambrano for Peavy trade would be a pretty even swap.  So, should the Cubs do it?  I say yes.

The Cubs have struggled over the years with Zambrano’s emotional instability.  He can get shaken at times on the mound and he can act in inappropriate ways when he’s frustrated (Just ask Michael Barrett or the innocent Gatorade machine).  I think it’s also fair to say that Z has never lived up to his billing of being a staff ace.  He definitely has the talent, but he just hasn’t realized his full potential yet.  Maybe he can do that on the Southside where Mark Buehrle is considered the ace of the staff.

Peavy proved himself to be an ace in San Diego and could step into that role with the Cubs.  Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly have both had good years, but I’ve never really thought of either of them as the ace of the Cubs pitching staff.

There you have it.  The rumor is probably made up, but I approve of it any way.