Has Carlos Zambrano 'Retired' After Five-Homer Loss to Atlanta?

Last year Carlos Zambrano was sent to school to learn how to handle his anger. He was confrontational and insolent to the point of hurting a teammate in a fistfight. When he came back he was supposedly a changed man. The Cubs kept Zambrano allegedly due to his salary. I said at the time it was a mistake and sadly it looks like I was right.

On Friday, the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves opened a weekend series in Atlanta. Chris Cox has posted his report on the game titled "Zambrano overpowered by Braves."

While Carlos Zambrano's season has been alright, (9-7, ERA 4.82), he hasn't been sharp all season and in particular the last few games. He has been frustrated.

In Friday's game Zambrano was smacked with five home runs before having a "quiet meltdown."

First let me tell you that you can view Zambrano's ejection and slew of homers against him at the reference site.

Dan Uggla started the "homer hit parade" against Zambrano in the second inning. From that point forward the Braves would not let up.

Interestingly Zambrano hit Uggla on the hip with a pitch. Was it "revenge" for his homer? We'll never know for sure but the later actions of Zambrano lead me to believe it may have been. Chipper Jones hit a three-run blast in the third. Jose Constanza hit a homer in the fourth.

The fifth inning was Carlos Zambrano's undoing. Dan Uggla got in the last word by hitting a back-to-back homer to Freddie Freeman's home run.

After this two-run insult Chipper Jones came to the plate. Zambrano promptly threw two pitches at him and was ejected.

When Zambrano walked off of the field the Braves started onto the field looking for a fight; in my opinion they had every right to be angry. The Cubs showed some class not going out to confront them.

The final score of the game was Atlanta 10, the Cubs four but that isn't the real score. Zambrano cleaned out his locker and said he is retiring. What is the score to the Cubs of Zambrano's behaviors? Supposedly Zambrano has left the team as a "Thank You" for supporting him.

Chicago Cubs' Manager Mike Quade was quoted in the article as saying "All I know is, it was a bad night and that's allowed."

A team that allows a player to act the way Carlos Zambrano has reflects a major weakness-don't look for them to be a contender.

References:

MLB.com Website, "Carlos Zambrano Statistics"

MLB.com Website, Chris Cox, "Zambrano overpowered by Braves"