Zambrano points the finger - at himself

Posted August 16, 2009 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

Carlos Zambrano didn't blame it on batting practice.

In fact, he blamed it on himself.

Zambrano threw a vigorous side session of 45 pitches Sunday morning in the Cubs bullpen.

At about that time, manager Lou Piniella announced Zambrano would throw a light session Tuesday at Wrigley Field and then head downstate to Peoria on Thursday night for a minor-league rehab start with the Cubs' Class A farm club.

If that goes well, look for Zambrano to start Aug. 25 at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals.

Zambrano has been on the disabled list since Aug. 8 because of spasms in his lower back. He now says he can help himself keep the back healthy, not by eliminating batting practice, but by doing his exercises.

"I've got to be honest with me and with you guys and the fans," Zambrano said before Sunday's Cubs-Pirates game was rained out. "I'm 28 years old. I'm not 16 anymore. I'm a big guy. I work out hard every day. One of the things I don't like to do is my abs, my core work.

"My problem is that I need to do more ab work. My abs will be stronger, and my back will be stronger."

Zambrano came out of his Aug. 1 start at Florida after 3 innings because of spasms. On Aug. 7 at Colorado, he went out for his warmups, but declared himself unfit just before game time.

Speculation had it that the back problems were exacerbated by Zambrano's penchant for swinging from the heels in batting practice.

"I don't think so," he said. "Like I said, my back right now depends on the abs. You all know that I have a flat stomach. I have a little fat here (side) and little there (side). I don't have a big belly. I think I'm in pretty good shape. My problem is that I've been lazy, and I don't like that I have been. I don't like to do abs, but I will have to start doing my abs every day and be serious about my abs."

Zambrano also received criticism for allegedly not taking care of the back between the Florida and Colorado games. Piniella last week said he believed Zambrano thought he could start in Colorado without any problems.

"The day in Colorado, I was fine," Zambrano said Sunday. "I was doing all the exercises for my arm, rubbing my arm and my back. After that, I moved, like to stretch my back, and I felt something.

"I didn't say a thing. I wanted to pitch. It kept getting worse and worse. I went out side to play catch, and I told Larry (pitching coach Rothschild) I wasn't feeling good and, 'You better get somebody ready.' I threw three pitches, and it was over. It was like somebody was grabbing me from the back and hard."

The Cubs' starting rotation has been in tatters lately with their top three pitchers on the disabled list at various times after the all-star break. Ryan Dempster recently came back after breaking a toe. Ted Lilly comes off the DL tonight after resting his inflamed left shoulder and having his left knee scoped.

If there's a silver lining to any of this for the Cubs, it's that they should have a fresh rotation for the stretch drive.

"Dempster's got a fresh arm, and he missed three weeks," Piniella said. "Lilly has missed three weeks, so he's going to have a fresh arm. Zambrano. Look at it from that perspective. The other good thing here is that we've got six starters here now with (Tom) Gorzelanny.

"If there is a little bit of a problem, at least we're covered from that standpoint."

That said, Piniella added the Cubs will not go to a six-man rotation but that Gorzelanny could fill in if needed.

Cubs scouting report Cubs vs. San Diego Padres at Petco Park TV: Channel 26 today; Channel 9 Tuesday; Comcast SportsNet Wednesday Radio: WGN 720-AM Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Ted Lilly (9-7) vs. Kevin Correia (8-9) today; Ryan Dempster (6-6) vs. Cesar Carrillo (0-1) Tuesday; Randy Wells (9-5) vs. Mat Latos (4-2) Wednesday. All games begin at 9:05 p.m. At a glance: This is the Cubs' second foray into San Diego this year. They lost three there in May, scoring a grand total of 3 runs. Earlier that month at Wrigley Field, the Cubs took two of three from the Padres. San Diego entered Sunday second to last in NL batting and third from the bottom in ERA. The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez was third in home runs, with 31. He also was 10th in OBP, at .406. Gonzalez has a pair of homers off Lilly. The Padres are last in the NL West, but the large confines of Petco Park could give the Cubs problems. Next: Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Thursday-Sunday

Article Categories
Baseball Chicago Cubs MLB Other Sports Pro Sports Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types