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Ozzie: If Cubs don’t want Zambrano, I’d take him


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I feel pretty stupid posting this with all the CJ Wilson talk.. but its Marlins related, so sue me. :mischief

 

DALLAS – Ozzie Guillen said he has a bet with a friend – he wouldn’t say who or for how much – that Carlos Zambrano will win more than 14 games for the Cubs in 2012.

 

Guillen and Zambrano regularly send each other text messages and have plans to meet up soon. They’ve shot commercials together. There’s the sense that these two friends from Venezuela could be reunited as Miami Marlins.

 

“He wants to be in Chicago,� Guillen said Wednesday while walking through the lobby of the Hilton Anatole. “Now if they trade him, well, I’d take it.�

 

People close to Zambrano have suggested that he could really use a fresh start in a new city. In theory, he would be motivated to prove all the doubters wrong. He will turn 31 next season and could be had at a discount.

 

The Marlins manager predicted that Zambrano will bounce back for the Cubs in 2012 and floated the idea that “they’re going to handle him a little bit better� with Theo Epstein in charge.

 

“This kid’s got a lot left,� Guillen said. “(If) he wins some games the fans are going to forget (about it). That’s the way it is in Chicago. He plays good, he’ll be fine. People love him in Chicago. You watch. People are just mad at him because of what he did. But you win a couple games and you put the fans back in your pocket.�

 

Epstein knows all about Zambrano’s long history, his conflicts with teammates and management and walkout last summer. The president of baseball operations has offered the enigmatic pitcher a chance to earn his way back to being a Cub again – if relationships are repaired and certain conditions are met.

 

“As far as his attitude, I think it’s in the right place right now,� Epstein said. “(I) listened when I first got here. A lot of people told me that he’s been in this place before and it’s fallen apart when there’s been any kind of adversity on the field or in the clubhouse.

 

“So he’s got to prove himself. It’s not enough to say that things are better. I told him that to his face when we met: You have to go out and prove it. Words don’t matter anymore.

 

“There are going to be a lot of people who don’t believe it no matter what you say or do. So there’s an even bigger burden than usual on you and it’s your last strike.

 

“Am I hopeful or optimistic? I think it can work, but he’s got to demonstrate through his actions (that) it can and will work. And I think we have a chance to have a really good pitcher if he does those things.�

 

The Cubs don’t view this as a gamble. They absolutely need pitching and can let it play out for a few months. Zambrano has begun throwing again in Venezuela after a line drive gashed his face in winter ball.

 

The Marlins aren’t in a rush either, because they can try to lower what they’d have to kick in for the $18 million left on the final guaranteed year of Zambrano’s contract. There won’t be much of a market. Only one team can leverage this relationship.

 

“We talk as friends,� Guillen said. “We talk about the problem he had in the past (and) we talk about how (much) better it’s going to be. (We) talk about what type of pitcher he could be.�

 

Guillen might be the only one who could convince Zambrano to waive his no-trade rights and realistically try to maximize his talents.

 

“It’s something that (gets) confused,� Guillen said. “Because every time I say I talked to Zambrano, all of a sudden people think I talk about contracts and moving him to the Marlins. That’s tampering.�

 

Guillen paused and cracked a joke that got people laughing: “We do that on the side.�

 

www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-cubs/news/Ozzie-If-Cubs-dont-want-Zambrano-Id-take?blockID=607934&feedID=661&awid=5800009345466665631-914

 

I think we can call this Plan Z

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That'd be silly. There is no market for Zambrano.. Cubs would have to eat the entire contract and expect nothing in return.

 

Fwiw, Zambrano has 1 yr/18 mil left while Nolasco has 2/20.5 (9, 11.5) left.

 

If we can shed Nolasco's contract elsewhere and get Zambrano for pennies, then I may be for it.

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Shedding Nolasco's contract without taking anything on next season allows us more money to re-sign Stanton, gets rid of an obligation for next season, and more importantly replaces him with a player in a contract year under a manager who might be able to control him.

 

It wouldn't be silly. I don't think you realize how little value Nolasco must have at this point.

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Shedding Nolasco's contract without taking anything on next season allows us more money to re-sign Stanton, gets rid of an obligation for next season, and more importantly replaces him with a player in a contract year under a manager who might be able to control him.

 

It wouldn't be silly. I don't think you realize how little value Nolasco must have at this point.

 

I don't think you realize how little to no value Zambrano has.

 

Though I think I did misread your original post.. so what you're pretty much saying is the Fish would basically spend 9 mil for one year of Zambrano and the Cubs would spend 29.5 mil on two years of Nolasco? I see what you're trying to do but I think its a bad match.

 

 

I think the Fish could find a taker for Nolasco's contract with as a thin as the SP market is. We obviously wouldn't get much of any return though. Then the Fish could send a bag of balls to the Cubs for Zambrano, assuming they eat 15+ mil of the 18 owed to him.

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What? Nolasco has a lot of value. He's been pretty consistent and has been pretty durable. Granted he got hurt last year for a while but they aren't shipping him for Z. Z will come because they let go of his ass and he's trying to just make a team!

 

 

His contract diminishes his value considering he isn't even close to living up to it.

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Nolasco is just inconsistent. Simple as that. If he can perform how we all know he should, then we have the best #5 in baseball. That said, getting rid of that $9M would be nice. Zambrano would be an okay security blanket if we signed him to a minor league contract with incentives if he plays well with the big boys. He has shown he can still bring it...it's all upstairs with him

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With all of the excitement surrounding the moves, I'm holding out a little hope that Javy can come back. I think that would be a decent rotation to enter the season with, even if it's not as good as Philly's.

 

I wouldn't mind a rotation of JJ, Marky Mark, Anibal, Ricky, Javy. Even if Ricky is a little inconsistent to start off and then figure it out as he's shown in the past. I just don't want Volstad anywhere near the rotation. Give me Sanabia before Volstad.

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