“His conduct wasn’t acceptable,” Hendry said. "His actions toward his teammates and staff were not acceptable.

“He will not be at the ballpark tomorrow. We’ll play with 24. We’ll play with 24 before we tolerate that kind of behavior.”

Oh my. You know what it sounds like? A SCHOOLHOUSE. This sounds like some adult telling his kids to stop misbehaving. Ugh. The players are acting like kids. What is this?

I was talking to Vermont Cubs Fan the other day about the French National Team meltdown, and warned that this could be happening to the Cubs. It’s starting to look like it has. Wow. Just wow.

that this (2010 Chicago Cubs) could get uglier? It started today.

…some of Z’s salary and trade him to the Royals for David DeJesus. – TL

you were stuck in the moment, and cant get out of it

i turnedf on my itunes and it is on shuffle, and this is the song that stars playing, seems quite fitting

Now it’s time to face the music. You broke your promise, now you have to pay the price. He’ll be gone by the end of the year.

But look on the bright side… We can put Gorz back in the rotation!

He should have been suspended back in 2007 as well.

or a magician to shed his contract. Let’s not forget about his NTC. He will be paid while he’s on suspension. How long is determined by the player’s union & MLB. Chances are unless a miracle happens Z will be with the Cubs until the end of his contract………..speaking of which, here is his contract:

     5 years/$91.5M (2008-12), plus 2013 vesting option
          o signed extension with Cubs 8/17/07
          o $5M signing bonus
          o 08:$15M, 09:$17.75M, 10:$17.875M, 11:$17.875M, 12:$18M, 13:$19.25M
             vesting player option
          o full no-trade clause

What was gained here?

Jim gets to look tough in front of the media? In front of the fanbase? We get our red meat and our pound of flesh and we get to make Z the villain of 2010?

The only effect of Jim announcing this “suspension” is to completely obliterate Z’s trade value. My God – our GM literally said that he’d rather play with 24 players!!!

Would the Yankees do this? Would the Red Sox? NO! They’d close the locker room door, get their sh*t together, air their grievances, and emerge with the blandest set of stories you ever heard about how “losing takes it’s toll on you”, and how “we haven’t lived up to our own expectations” and “Z wears his emotions on his sleeve”, and my personal favorite “You’re upset, I’m upset. I know the fans are upset.”

Then everyone says “we have to get this thing turned around” and “a lot of good things were said in that locker room”, and everyone MOVES ON and ESPN has no story to run with.

Instead, Amateur Hour Jim goes on TV and says that our $18M pitcher is literally worth less than nothing… and by the way, anyone interested in trading for him?

Z blew up. He blew up after a remarkably frustrating inning during a remarkably frustrating season. He blew up because, rightly or (granted, mostly wrongly) he judged that his corner IF teammates weren’t giving it their all. That was probably a sentiment he’s nurtured for a few weeks at least…. I know I have felt the same thing about those two, and if you’re reading this post, you’ve probably felt the same thing.

Heck, last time Z pitched Lee couldn’t catch a GD thing, and Z shook it off…. publicly, anyway. And then the team continued to play like crap.

Lee may think that’s all “BS”, but at some point, someone has to stop "STFU"ing and speak up. Z is not the right person to do that, and he didn’t handle it well. This is what happens when a team has zero leadership in the front office, the dugout, or the clubhouse.