Sportsbook Handicappers Surprised as Zambrano Goes to the Bullpen. If you follow the Chicago Cubs in baseball odds at the sportsbook you may be shocked to learn that the team has sent starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen. Zambrano is considered the top starter for the Cubs and his move to the bullpen is a huge surprise to those betting at the offshore sportsbook.
Sportsbook odds normally favor Zambrano when he is on the mound. He is off to a slow start this season at 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA in four starts but the move is still a shock. “I told him we really needed him in the bullpen,” Chicago manager Lou Piniella said, “We felt he could do a really nice job for us there. He said he would do what’s best for the team. I’m very appreciative. We’ve talked about maturing. This proves it to me.”
Offshore sportsbook information indicates that the Cubs will be getting Ted Lilly back into the starting rotation but the move is definitely strange. “I understand the situation,” Zambrano said. “I understand that we need a little, little help in the bullpen. Look, we already lost three or four games in the eighth inning or in relief.” Piniella said the move is temporary but for now the Cubs number one starter is in the bullpen. “I don’t like to be a reliever,” Zambrano said. “I don’t want to be a reliever but this team needs somebody to step up and help out the bullpen.”
The Cubs have had a rotten bullpen this season. They had an ERA early in the season of 6.15 with a 1-6 record. Sportsbook stats indicated that the bullpen had blown four of seven save opportunities. “You look at these box scores every day around baseball and these games, especially in the National League, they’re won in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth innings,” said Piniella, “There are few blowouts early. There’s some obviously but not [a lot]. Look, this makes all the sense in the world.”
Piniella may think the move makes sense but he has not managed effectively in many years. This latest move to send Zambrano to the bullpen is just the latest sign that Piniella is on his last legs in Chicago. You don’t send your top pitcher who is making $18.875 this season to the bullpen. “I’m shocked,” White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said, “With a guy with his stuff, you can’t believe that would happen.”