Back in August of 2007 when the Cubs signed Carlos Zambrano to a five-year $91.5MM extension, GM Jim Hendry told the AP that Zambrano was not the sort of pitcher the Cubs could have found elsewhere.
"My strong belief is that we couldn't have replaced Carlos," Hendry said.
Zambrano, then 26, had already pitched four full seasons in the Cubs' rotation and had a career ERA of 3.66 with nearly one strikeout per inning pitched. He was in the midst of another strong season and had an outside shot at 20 wins with free agency just months away.
The deal came less than a year after the Cubs committed $136MM to Alfonso Soriano. And it came less than a year after the Giants signed Barry Zito for $126MM. Zambrano, three years younger than Zito and better at striking hitters out, threatened to leave the Cubs if he didn't get an extension, and other clubs had interest in the right-hander. Here's how some writers initially reacted to the deal that gave Zambrano the fifth-highest salary in the game, behind only Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Derek Jeter:
- Tim Dierkes, MLBTR: "I've been back and forth on my opinion of a huge Zambrano extension … Part of me says that the Cubs got a slight discount, Zambrano's been an injury-free horse, and he'll still be pretty young throughout the deal. The other side of me says that his best years are behind him, he's got a ton of mileage on his arm, and almost no free agent pitcher deal of this magnitude could possibly work out. I think you could make a legitimate case for either side – sorry for the cop out."
- Rob Neyer, ESPN.com: "Does Zambrano deserve $18 million per season? Well, if you think Barry Zito deserves his $18 million per season, then Zambrano is definitely worth that much. OK, bad example. Zambrano's one of the five best pitchers in the National League, so he was going to get this money or more, somewhere. Still, I wonder if the Cubs might have been better off spending their $91.5 million who's been tested in the real major league."
- Bruce Miles, the Daily Herald: "In this day and age of cynicism, especially when it comes to the mega-money world of professional sports, it's difficult to take anything anybody says at face value. Once in awhile, though, people say things and then follow through on them. All along, Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, his agents and Cubs general manager Jim Hendry stated it was their goal to agree on a multiyear contract extension for Zambrano … It got done Friday, and it all got done without public sniping … Maybe this time, everybody will live happily ever after."
- Dave van Dyck, Chicago Tribune: "[The contract is an example of] putting your money where your mouth is."
Zambrano was clearly out of line. The Cubs should have done this years ago with Carlos. But if he was pitching like he is being paid and what the Cubs thought they were getting, no doubt they would tolerate him a bit more. It’s not like Carlos all of a sudden became this way. He has always been the same and here are many incidents that the team let slide. It’s just the long overdue realization by management that he is no longer what they thought they were getting. The Cubs let jerks be jerks until you can’t back up being a jerk with performance…just like Sammy and Milton.
Not defending Z, he is nuts. Just pointing out the business side of it.
Does this whole thing happen though if Z is pitching fine though?
I suspect if Z was the pitcher the Cubs thought he was when they extended his contract, this matter would be handled with a more protective approach from the Cubs. If Bradley hit well last year, the Cubs would have swept a lot of his stuff under the rug. Just as they did for years while Sosa was launching home runs. When the performance dwindles and it is obvious it will not return to the same level, the spin changes and the monster must be stopped. As we know, it happens all to much in sports and the way management handles a player. It’s not just the Cubs. All I’m saying is Zambrano does need help with anger. He is out of control. The Cubs knew it for years and did nothing.
did anyone see this contract ending any other way?? gave all that money to a head case with a ton of innings on his arm, not shocked at all he had a melt down and his velocity and breaking pitches are average now .that contract was terrible ( for the cubs ) the second he signed it
His 2007 really wasn’t going THAT well…
On top of Tommy Boy Hendry covering up a lot of Big Z’s craziness prior to the big deal, he also knew that the 25 year old required an annual cortisone shot for his aching back. Just the kind of guy you want to lock up for a long term deal, eh?
What made it worse is that the Cubs could have extended Zambrano while he was under arbitration control for about half that figure. 4/42 was bandied about before the 2006 season.
That last Bruce Miles comment is the best comedy I’ve gotten all week.