May I present to you...the new Chicago Cubs line-up

[chuckd4735]

Some reports says he will not be back this year....

There is no way...

[DJK15]

There is no way...

Yeah, I'd like to see a link to those "reports."

[DaddyMac]

The ump TOTALLY initiated the contact and I think it took Carlos by surprise. You can see that as soon as the ump bumps Carlos, Carlos bumps back with his arm and the proceeds to fly off the handle (throwing the ump out of the game, throwing the ball into the bleachers, beating the blooding hell out of the Gatorade machine).

BTW, Carlos tossing the ump has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen during a baseball game.

I've only seen what was linked on Cubs.com. Unless that toss was a result of something Carlos SAID, it's BS because I can barely see where there was a bump at all - regardless of the fact that ump was the reason there was one.

Beyond that, the call was right. The Bucs runner got his left hand in there and Carlos needs to start acting like a professional ballplayer and not a spoiled 3 year old at a candy counter. He's already hurt himself during his tantrums. One of these times he's going to hit somebody else (not Michael Barrett)

[cycloneworld]

Personally, I like Z's passion. He felt like he got the guy and defended himself. And then the ump bumped into him which seemed to set him off.

The only problem I have with it was that his ejection gave the ball to the bullpen which we all know isn't a good thing.

There were 3 people, including Zambrano, that were hitting over .250 in the lineup yesterday. Believe me, DeRosa is not the answer to all the problems.

Exactly...I'm willing to give up a few errors if the Cubs actually start hitting.

[DaddyMac]

I just watched another replay on Cubs.com, where people were responding to the ejection. During the interview with Bradley (funny btw) the show an angle from behind home plate for the duration of the ejection....

If Z is suspended for this - it's 100% bull-****. He was in fact backing away and the ump walked into him. Z did brush him back with a low forearm, which is when he was tossed.

I didn't see this earlier - but the ump needs a series or two off if anything. That was a crap move.

[CYdTracked]

Who else saw Zambrano absoultely destroy the gatorade dispenser after getting tossed today?

Here is the video;
Zambrano ejected after play at plate | cubs.com: News

That is some funny stuff! I love Big Z though, that clubhouse needs someone with the fire that he has and takes things seriously and lets everyone know when he's not happy with things. Lou has really softened up lately and I think it's time he has another patented tirade like he did last year that finally lit a fire under the team. I like seeing guys like Lilly, Dempster, and Z show that kind of emotion because it's better than them sitting there and accepting how poorly the team is playing like Lou seems to be doing. Lilly coming out of the dugout and getting kicked out of the game on a day he wasn't pitching was nice. He just showed that he cares what is going on even on the 4 days he isn't on the mound.

[Wesley]

Loss of De Rosa was a big goof.

[twa5786]

This is partially unrelated, but am I the only one who loves listening to Brenly rip on the umpires? Its like he's always looking for a window of opportunity to do so, and then he just goes off.

The other night he said something about Ted Lilly "just telling the umpire what a horrible job he is doing" and then said, "that usually happens when (whatever his name is) is behind the plate."

Sounds like this crew must be a rough one.

[San Francisco Cy]

That is some funny stuff! I love Big Z though, that clubhouse needs someone with the fire that he has and takes things seriously and lets everyone know when he's not happy with things. Lou has really softened up lately and I think it's time he has another patented tirade like he did last year that finally lit a fire under the team. I like seeing guys like Lilly, Dempster, and Z show that kind of emotion because it's better than them sitting there and accepting how poorly the team is playing like Lou seems to be doing. Lilly coming out of the dugout and getting kicked out of the game on a day he wasn't pitching was nice. He just showed that he cares what is going on even on the 4 days he isn't on the mound.

Don't forget Bradley. Say what you will about Milton, he definitely brings a little more passion to the team.

I was laughing, and also nervous with all of Z's antics during the game yesterday. It was hilarious, but the longer it ensued, the more games I saw him getting suspended. The ejection was busch league. That's why Z "tossed" Carlson. Carlson initiated the contact, then tossed him. The worst part about the whole thing is that the runner was pretty clearly safe on the replay...

[cyhiphopp]

The funny thing is, it looked like the ump made the right call. Instead of letting Carlos get his argument out and explaining his call, he antagonizes him and bumps into him.
There should be a rule that if the ump bumps the player, he gets ejected and they have to work a three man crew.
Heck, I work a one man crew for most of the games I umpire. Of course those are mostly 14 and under.

Call me old fashion, but I believe the Ump has the call and the only guys that should light into them are the coaches, not the players.

Trust me, I agree. Z is very much at fault for arguing so much. He should have let Lou do it for him and then Lou could have been tossed instead. However, I think it makes sense for the umpire to point out the part of the play Z couldn't see. Z had no way to see the runner actually touching home.
It seems like the ump was itching to toss him if he argued at all. He really didn't seem interested at all in explaining what actually happened on the play. You often see good umpires point out where the runner touched the base. Doing this may have defused the issue if Z realized the runner got in behind him. Instead, I think the ump escalated the matter further and then itiated contact which caused Mt. Z to blow.
Maybe it is just me, because I do mostly youth games, I usually try to explain the results of a close play so that the player knows what happened. That way they can learn from their mistakes. For example, I was umpiring a 12 and under game and had a third baseman make a tag and then try to throw out the runner going to first. Unfortunately the third baseman tagged the runner with the glove, after they took the ball out to throw to first. No ball in the glove, so no out. They also didn't get the runner at first. I explained to the kid what happened and they probably wont make the same mistake again.

[DJK15]

This is partially unrelated, but am I the only one who loves listening to Brenly rip on the umpires? Its like he's always looking for a window of opportunity to do so, and then he just goes off.

The other night he said something about Ted Lilly "just telling the umpire what a horrible job he is doing" and then said, "that usually happens when (whatever his name is) is behind the plate."

Sounds like this crew must be a rough one.

Brenly is freaking awesome, he says what's on his mind and even rips the players when they deserve it. One of his best is when he said something along the lines of, "you could throw a dart into the Cubs dugout and find a better fielder than Alphonso Soriano."

I really hope they make him the manager when Lou steps down, hopefully with Ryno as an assistant and Maddux as the pitching coach.

[DJK15]

That's why Z "tossed" Carlson. Carlson initiated the contact, then tossed him.

If that's actually why Z did it, that's great.

[DaddyMac]

Brenly is freaking awesome, he says what's on his mind and even rips the players when they deserve it. One of his best is when he said something along the lines of, "you could throw a dart into the Cubs dugout and find a better fielder than Alphonso Soriano."

I really hope they make him the manager when Lou steps down, hopefully with Ryno as an assistant and Maddux as the pitching coach.

I heard that quote last season too.

I think it was after an error and something along the lines of "Soriano can hit the ball well, but you could throw a dart into the 3rd base dugout and find a better left fielder"

Priceless. Of course Alou would start crying to mgmt.

How many years does Lou have left on his contract? Didn't he just sign up for another year or two? 2011 sounds right to me. It wouldn't surprise me if by then the went straight to Ryno. I'm a little dejected he didn't get the Iowa gig this year.