Zambrano will try to keep emotions in check
PHOENIX -- When he's performing his craft, Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano can be like a zebra.
A fanatical zebra.
The animated style gets the 26-year-old ace in trouble at times, but it's tried and true, and it's also made Zambrano rich at a very young age.
Flash forward to Tuesday, the eve of the National League division series.
While preparing to start against the Diamondbacks in Game 1 tonight at Chase Field, Zambrano sounded a lot like a pitcher suddenly determined to change his stripes.
"I don't want to be pumped up,'' said Zambrano, who opposes Arizona ace Brandon Webb. "I want to be calm and let the moment come and let the game come and pitch my game. I don't want to be too excited. I don't want to do too much. I'm just going to go out there and do my job and pitch my game.
"Sometimes, when you are too excited, you try to do too much, and that's when the problem comes. You don't have control of yourself. So just be yourself, and like (pitching coach) Larry Rothschild was telling me, let the ball come out of your hand and just let it happen.''
Zambrano doesn't go off the deep end every time he takes the ball, but outward emotion is a big reason he won 18 games during the regular season while also earning a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella wants his workhorse right-hander to stay under control but retain his typical edge.
"The last game he pitched against Cincinnati (Friday), he really stayed within himself well, the day we clinched,'' Piniella said. "You know, I've never been on the mound. A pitcher probably has to stay within himself, but Carlos has always been an emotional guy. I think he's just got to be himself. That's the secret. Don't try to be anybody else, just go out and have confidence in yourself and let it go and get people out.''
Zambrano did just that down the stretch, going 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA over his final 6 starts.
He'll try to extend the roll into playoffs, but Zambrano won't try carrying the load by himself.
"It's not only me, it's about 25 men on this team,'' Zambrano said. "It's about every single man that can do something for this team, and I know that we can do the job. It's not only about Carlos Zambrano. I will pitch tomorrow, but I can't pitch the next day. I can't play first base. I can't play second base. I can't play third base. So it's about everybody on this team.''
Zambrano draws a tough mound opponent in Webb, who was 18-10 with a 3.01 ERA this season after winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2006.
Webb was 4-1 with a 3.89 ERA in 5 September starts.
"He's a very good pitcher,'' Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano said. "He has a very good sinker, and we're going to have to make adjustments.''
Like most of the Diamondbacks, Webb is making his first playoff appearance.
"I haven't been in any postseason, not even in minor leagues have I had this opportunity,'' Webb said. "It's something new to me as well as new to a lot of the guys in our clubhouse. But I'm going to take it just like a game that I would go out and pitch during the regular season. I'm going to go out and attack and execute regular pitches.''