Length of Zambrano suspension still an issue

The Cubs have been playing a man short since they suspended pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely Friday after his dugout meltdown that day at U.S. Cellular Field.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has been in constant contact with Major League Baseball and Zambrano's agent about determining a final length of the suspension.

Hendry said the Cubs could go back to 25 players if Zambrano were to be moved to the restricted list. At some point, though, Zambrano will have to come back and face his teammates and apologize.

"I did speak to the people in the MLB office, and I'm sure there will be some dialogue today with MLB and the players association," Hendry said Sunday. "As far as any specifics more than that, it's probably a day or two away from knowing more than that."

Most players have sidestepped questions about Zambrano and whether they've talked to him. Pitcher and team leader Ryan Dempster said his phone had been off. Left fielder Alfonso Soriano said he had an old phone number for Zambrano.

Most players have become fed up with Zambrano's antics over the years.

"He'll have some issues to deal with, with his teammates," Hendry said. "Obviously, the last few years, when he hasn't pitched as well, there have been other incidences where I don't think he'd be referred to as the ideal teammate.

"That's for him to rectify with his own teammates, and how he's handled and how they handle him. That wasn't the first instance where the best teammate wasn't exhibited."

Defending the deal: Despite signing Carlos Zambrano to a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension during the 2007 season, Jim Hendry said the investment was a good one at the time because Zambrano was a dominant pitcher then and teams probably would have offered more when he became a free agent.

"There was nothing wrong with the investment," Hendry said. "This guy was an outstanding pitcher in the National League, in the game, for the 4-5 years before that.

"There was no question that the deal was a solid one in the industry. He certainly would have been one of the hotter tickets on the street if that thing went to the end of the season.

"This guy pitched a lot of innings, won a lot of games, lived in the shadow of Woody (Kerry Wood) and (Mark) Prior for a couple of years. Really, over the body of work, (he) pitched as well as anybody in the National League for a 3-4 year period.

"He certainly pitched well enough to earn that contract, whether it's here or somewhere else."

Minor matters: The Cubs made a flurry of minor-league moves Sunday.

They promoted center-field prospect Brett Jackson from Class A Daytona to Class AA Tennessee. Jackson, a center fielder who was the Cubs' No. 1 pick last year, had a hitting line of .316/.420/.517 at Daytona with 19 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homers and 38 RBI.

The organization also promoted pitcher Rafael Dolis from Daytona to Tennessee. They moved outfielder Ty Wright from Tennessee to Class AAA Iowa and pitcher Trey McNutt from Class A Peoria to Daytona. McNutt was 6-0 with a 1.51 ERA downstate at Peoria.