Sometimes I feel like the media does not give Carlos Zambrano the credit he deserves. It seems like all they do is focus on the negative parts of Carlos' game and completely ignore his abilities. One semi-recent example of this is when Steve Stone went off on a tirade after Zambrano lost his cool in a Cubs/Sox game earlier this season. Stone said in a derogatory tone something along the lines of, "and this is why Carlos Zambrano has never won more than 16 games". At first I completely agreed with him, because I was sick of seeing the antics as well. I then just forgot about it...until recently. With all the trade talk of Roy Halladay recently I couldn't help but dream of having a "true ace" on our team like Halladay. Knowing that this will and cannot happen I decided to look at the numbers between Halladay and Zambrano and was astonished.
Besides the walks and complete games, their numbers are very close. Keep in mind Zambrano is only 28 years old and Halladay is 32. I'm by no means saying that I would rather have Zambrano over Halladay because that would make me sound like an asinine "homer". However, after looking at the stats I will definitely be a lot more defensive the next time someone takes a shot at the Cubs' true ace.
I think you have proven Stone's point with your stat match-ups. Z absolutely has the "stuff" of an ace, and the line proves it. But he doesn't have the make-up - the cool head and ability to collect himself - when things go bad. In the exact situation where a true Ace bears down and focuses to get out of situations, unfortunately Z bears down, reaches back and looses it. He should be dominant, as his numbers show. But why hasn't he ever won 15+ games a year consistently? He is "only 28" but has a lot of innings under his belt. He is veteran and by now I thought he'd act like one and pitch like one and lead like one. Rather he still acts like a child, skips planes, talks trash...this is why I am done with him. A true Ace is a lot more than just numbers pilled up, and I don't think Z has it in him.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Halladay has never been on as good of teams as Zambrano, Halladay has never consistently gotten more than 15 wins either. I would be hard pressed to find a pitcher that does show that kind of consistency. I do agree with you that Zambrano needs to grow up.
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