The Chicago Cubs have not been a good team to bet vs. the MLB odds this season and Carlos Zambrano has sure not helped. The Cubs are below .500 again this season vs. MLB lines and Zambrano has been a mess. MLB odds favor the Cubs a lot more than they should. Chicago is not a good team even though they have a lot of big names like Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee. The Cubs were using Zambrano in short relief but he was ineffective in that role so they are moving him to long relief. Zambrano is hoping to get back in the starting rotation. (Manager Lou Pinellia) told me today there may be a chance I’ll go back to the rotation,” Zambrano said. “We’ll see how everything works out in the next few days for me.”
In a terrible move, Zambrano was moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. In the bullpen, Zambrano pitched in eight games and had an ERA of 6.23 ERA. Zambrano is making a ton of money and the Cubs need him to produce in the rotation to win vs. MLB lines. But Piniella has no clue how to manage the Cubs and didn’t even say when Zambrano would be back in the rotation. “Probably down the road if need be,” he said. “We thought the outcome would be a little different. He’s not comfortable in the bullpen pitching short.”
Piniella has not gotten the Cubs to win games consistently vs. the MLB odds but general manager Jim Hendry said that Piniella’s job is safe. “Nobody’s happy how we’re playing,” Hendry said. “But at the same time you have to avoid the unnecessary finger-pointing and the blame game. And that’s something I’m not going to be a part of doing with the manager and the coaching staff.” This is the last year of Piniella’s contract and it sounds like the Cubs are going to let him finish it. “I have a lot of faith in the players that have done so well for us for so long, like Derrek and Aramis.” Hendry said, “A good hot streak from those two guys would go a long way for us winning more games.” The Cubs were just barely above .500 last season and this year they have a losing record even though they have had an easy early season schedule. The Cubs have the third highest payroll in baseball and they are not getting much from the players or the manager and that is why they are losing vs. the MLB lines.