Hendry, Piniella act swiftly in suspending Zambrano

The Cubs have seen this before from Carlos Zambrano.

On Friday, they finally had enough.

General manager Jim Hendry suspended the 29-year-old right-hander indefinitely for his actions in the dugout after the first inning of Friday's 6-0 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

After giving up 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning, Zambrano appeared out of control in the dugout, yelling and screaming.

"It was unacceptable behavior," said manager Lou Piniella, who sent Zambrano home to prevent a clubhouse incident. "He was upset that some our players didn't dive for those balls. Let me tell you, a few of those balls were hit really hard. One was in the seats with two strikes. Regardless, he was ranting and raving. He was out of control."

Zambrano appeared to take out much of his anger on first baseman Derrek Lee, and Cubs people had to step between the two men in the dugout. The White Sox' first batter of the game, Juan Pierre, slapped a ball down the first-base line for a double to lead off. It looked as if Lee had little chance at making a play on the ball.

The Sox also hit balls past third baseman Aramis Ramirez and shortstop Mike Fontenot before Carlos Quentin hit a 3-run homer.

Lee specifically told reporters he would not talk about the incident.

Fontenot had this to say: "It's unfortunate. It's not something you want to happen. We're all out there playing hard. Nobody wants to lose. Nobody wants the other team to get hits when you can take hits away."

Hendry suspended outfielder Milton Bradley for the season last September after Bradley made disparaging comments about the Cubs to the Daily Herald.

Zambrano has a history of showing up his teammates on the field and in throwing tantrums, both on the field and in the dugout. He was suspended six games last year for arguing with an umpire and throwing a ball into left field. In 2007, he fought teammate Michael Barrett in the dugout and in the clubhouse.

Each year, Zambrano comes to spring training saying he's more "mature."

"They're all disappointing because it becomes a bit of a tired act," Hendry said. "Certainly if people think that he hasn't been spoken to by Lou and the staff and the general manager before - things were sometimes construed as 'let go' or sometimes slide by, that's certainly not true. You have every right to say it like that, that it's a recurring situation. Every time it recurs, it is a little more disappointing."

Major League Baseball and the players association will work to determine how long the Cubs can keep Zambrano out of action. Beginning today, the Cubs will operate with a 24-man roster.

"His conduct was not acceptable," Hendry said. "His actions toward his teammates and staff are not acceptable. He will not be at the ballpark tomorrow. We'll play with 24.

"Certainly from my viewpoint and the organization's, we'll play with 24 before we tolerate that kind of behavior. It's not the first time I've had to have some intervention with Z. It's something I won't allow the other players to go through without some kind of disciplinary recourse."

Hendry said he notified Zambrano and his agent, Barry Praver, of the suspension via telephone. Praver did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. TV crews taping Zambrano outside U.S. Cellular Field said the pitcher cursed at the camera people.

According to Piniella, Zambrano will have to start with an apology.

"I know one thing, that he's going to have to apologize to his teammates," the manager said. "That is for darn sure. He's going to have to apologize to his teammates. And that's the least. That's the least. There's no need for this, none at all. We've got our share of problems. We don't need those."

Zambrano took the loss in Friday's game. His record fell to 3-6 with an earned run average of 5.66. He was the team's opening-day starter before being exiled to the bullpen in late April. He returned to the rotation June 4.

His teammates did their best to distance themselves from the situation.

"I'm not sure what happened; I was the last guy coming in from center," said Marlon Byrd.

"You're really not paying much attention to it at that point," said second baseman Ryan Theriot. "I just have to see what happened and formulate my own opinion. I really wasn't there. I was playing."

Zambrano is in the third season of a five-year, $91.5 million contract. That contract makes it extremely difficult to trade Zambrano. Hendry, who said it's unlikely the contract could be voided for behavioral issues, was asked if Zambrano would pitch for the Cubs again.

"I haven't really given that any thought," he said. "I certainly wouldn't rule it out. The rules of the game usually don't allow long-, long-term suspensions. Very good question. I'm probably not as prepared as I normally would be to answer it. I would say the possibility exists that he would."