As you can tell from my lack of posts recently, I am finding the Cubs circa 2010 to be nearly impossible to watch and comment on.  The team is just completely uninteresting.  They seem to lack fire and passion.  However, there is one guy on the team who exhibits both fire and passion, but not in a good way, and that’s Carlos Zambrano.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video of Zambrano’s latest meltdown, complete with commentary from the insufferable Steve Stone:

In a nutshell, Zambrano had a very difficult first inning, giving up two doubles, a single, and a three-run homerun to the White Sox Carlos Quentin.  At the end of the half-inning, Zambrano returned to the dugout and went nuts.  He started screaming at everyone within earshot and seemed to aim the brunt of his vitriol at Derek Lee, presumably because Lee did not dive to make a fantastic play on Juan Pierre’s double down the first base line.

Lee took exception to Zambrano’s tirade and the two came face-to-face before Lou Piniella and Alan Trammel intervened.  For his part, Piniella sent Zambrano home in a scene reminiscent of Milton Bradley’s early exit from a game against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular last year.  To put a bit of icing on the cake, Zambrano destroyed another Gatorade cooler and then treated the cameramen waiting outside U.S. Cellular to an expletive-filled rendition of his greatest hits.

Following the game, Cubs GM Jim Hendry announced that Zambrano had been suspended indefinitely for his actions, which Hendry described as “not acceptable.”  MLB and the Player’s Association will each conduct an investigation of the incident before it is determined exactly how long the suspension will last.  Last year’s suspension of Bradley lasted the remainder of the season.  However, that suspension occurred in the middle of September when the season was almost over.  My guess is that Zambrano’s suspension will not last more than two or three weeks.

In the post-game press conference, Piniella indirectly defended Lee by pointing out that the balls hit by the White Sox were hit really hard and that one of them (the homerun to Quentin) ended up in the stands.  Piniella went on to say that Zambrano would, at the very least, be required to apologize to his teammates before he would be allowed to return to the Cubs clubhouse.  He later announced that, once he returns, Big Z will be returning to the bullpen, replaced in the rotation by Tom Gorzelanny.

After being sent home early, Zambrano rather publically went to dinner with White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen and his family.  Z has been roundly criticized for having dinner with the opposing manager, especially after being suspended from his own team earlier in the day.  I’m less critical.  I’m sure the arrangements were made far in advance and I’m not sure how having dinner with Guillen makes the situation worse.  However, I will admit that the better decision may have been to postpone dinner to a more settled time.

I want to give kudos to both Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella for the consistent way they have handled the situation.  They caught some flack last year both when Bradley was sent home from a game early and when he was suspended in September.  Some even suggested that the treatment was racially motivated.  Handling Zambrano the same way Bradley was handled is right and appropriate.  It sends a signal that bad behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of your race or the size of your contract.

Of course, that brings up the question, considering that Bradley never played another game in a Cubs uniform following his suspension, what’s going to happen to Zambrano?  The situation is a bit difference.  In the case of Zambrano, Hendry does not have the luxury of the off season to make a trade.  Also, Zambrano is owed about $45 million over the next two-and-a-half years; about twice as much as Bradley was owed.  Finally, Z has a full no-trade clause.  If he chooses to, he can block any trades Hendry might be able to make.

Hendry should be working the phones to gauge interest in Zambrano, but my guess is it’s going to be a tough sell.  To move the 29-year old pitcher, Hendry will likely have to eat a large portion of the contract or he’ll have to take on another bad contract in return.  Zambrano will also have to agree to any trade.

Another option is to just put Zambrano on waivers.  Let’s see if any other team will come along and claim Z.  Perhaps it will turn into an Alex Rios situation where Toronto just let the White Sox have Rios without making a trade.  The Sox just claimed his contract.

Watching the Cubs at this point is like watching a train wreck.  You don’t really want to see the carnage, but you just can’t turn away.  And while Zambrano’s antics add a bit of interest to an otherwise uninteresting season, both Hendry and Piniella are right.  Zambrano’s behavior is unacceptable.