What Sparked Big Z's Late Season Resurgence?
On June 25 of last season, Carlos Zambrano got into a dugout altercation with then first baseman Derrek Lee. The result of the altercation was a suspension and Zambrano's eventual enrollment in anger management counseling.
Before the All-Star break Zambrano was 3-6 with a 5.66 earned run average and an abysmal .303 opponent batting average. However, the post All-Star break Zambrano looked almost nothing like his first half counterpart, going 8-0 with a 1.58 ERA and .195 OBA.
But what sparked such a drastic change for Zambrano?
"Honestly I think some of it was the therapy," Gordon Wittenmeyer, of the Chicago Sun-Times, said on the Danny Mac Show. "I think some of it was the fact that he got so embarrassed and really hit a low point, probably got to the point where maybe he even felt he was getting down to his last couple of chances. And he's always been a guy who, when he would have the rough stretches or would melt down, would rebound and get extra motivated to prove that that's not who he is. And then he goes on a streak like that until the next one. Or until he decides he's proven himself and then he's back to the old Carlos."
LISTEN: Gordon Wittenmeyer On The Danny Mac Show
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But Zambrano claims that he's a "cured' man and is ready to put those melt downs, on and off the mound, in the past. If that turns out to be true and the Cubs get the Zambrano from the second half of last season, then the 2011 season could look much bright on the North Side of Chicago.
