Cubs' ace says he was just kidding at convention
MESA, Ariz. -- Sometimes it takes a little while for the light to go on.
Just ask historian-scientist-electrician Carlos Zambrano.
During a relaxed and playful session Thursday with media covering the Cubs, Zambrano touched on a variety of subjects in his own unique way.
Sure enough, Zambrano was asked about whether he'd follow through on his statement of no longer wanting to start on Opening Day because of his annual poor performances. At last month's Cubs convention, Zambrano said he'd yield the March 31 opener at Wrigley Field to Ted Lilly.
On Thursday, Zambrano said he'll be ready to pitch. His reasoning was, well, illuminating.
"Oh yeah," he said. "What I said the other day at the convention was playing. Like I said, I'm a challenging man. I will be at the game the first day, and I will try to win the first game for the Cubs. The one who invented the light tried 2,000 times … and finally, he did it.
"We have light because somebody thought about it, and he spent 2,000 times to do that. I don't want spend 2,000 times to win the first game on Opening Day. But I think I will do it this year and go from there."
Zambrano may not have all the details right about such things as light bulbs, filaments and whatnot, but who really cares? His job is to pitch and dominate games for the Cubs. The 26-year-old right-hander signed a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension last Aug. 17.
A year ago, Zambrano arrived at camp concerned about a possible salary-arbitration hearing (he avoided it at the last minute) and a long-term extension (it got done after months of uncertainty).
"I think the main focus this year is to help this team," he said. "I don't say the main thing last year (wasn't) to help this team. That was the main thing also. But it was a distraction, the thing about the contract and the things I had been through. But this year is different. This year, I come to spring training more relaxed and just focused about one thing: Just help this team and do my job and wish everybody here on this team that they can do their job, too."
In a season that featured its share of ups and downs -- Zambrano started poorly, and he lost his cool with the fans during a Labor Day start -- he finished 18-13 with a 3.95 ERA.
"Last year, I won 18 games, and my first month wasn't that good," he said. "I will try to have good starts, first start, and go from there, game by game, and I will focus on pitch by pitch and more concentration on the game, and I think at the end of the season, I will have good results.
"I know I had a good season last year. I want to be better. Every year, I want to be better."
Each year, Zambrano vows to be more in control of his volatile emotions. One thing is certain: He looks to be in great physical shape.
"He looks wonderful," manager Lou Piniella said. "I commended him on his shape coming into camp. He's ready to go."
Zambrano said he didn't lose much weight, but he added a new wrinkle to his off-season workout regimen. It's hardly surprising, considering he can be seen taking groundballs at shortstop during the season and throwing the ball left-handed.
"I didn't lose a lot of weight, just 7 pounds, but I worked on my abs, and I worked on my legs," he said. "I was taking groundballs at first. I don't want to take D-Lee's (first baseman Derrek Lee's) job, but I just did that in the off-season because I have to put my legs ready. I think that helped me with my conditioning. When you take groundballs, that gives you the ability to move and to have strong legs."
Never afraid in the past to make bold predictions about such things as winning the Cy Young award, Zambrano was more than comfortable letting teammate Ryan Dempster open camp Wednesday by predicting a World Series win for the Cubs in 2008.
"It's good," Zambrano said. "Good for him. That's the faith that we have in our team. We trust each other, and we know that we can do the job. We just have to stick together and do the right things and play good ball."