Carlos Zambrano may or may not be retired - although he cannot be with the Cubs for 30 days no matter what. Regardless, Zambrano's absence wasn't felt on the field on Saturday night as the Cubs blew out the Braves.
After Carlos Zambrano gave up five home runs before getting ejected and then threatened to retire on Friday night, it was all anybody wanted to talk about. The Cubs are finishing up an awful season - so it isn't like their play on the field is enough to overshadow Zambrano's antics.
Chicago tried to put the mess behind it by putting the pitcher on the "disqualified list" according to the Chicago Sun-Times. While Carlos Zambrano will still be the top topic of conservation about the Cubs, he isn't allowed near the team for 30 days.
The Cubs' difficult day did at least have a good ending on the field in Atlanta. Despite a 10-4 blowout loss on Friday night, Chicago bounced right back with an 8-4 victory over Atlanta on Saturday. Dan Uggla did extend his hitting streak to 33 games and got another home run - but the rest of the Braves had little offensive power on this night.
The Cubs have actually been on a hot streak by winning 10 of their last 13 games. It came too late to save their season as Chicago still has a 52-68 overall record. The team has to focus on the future - whether Carlos Zambrano is a part of it or not.
The volatile pitcher isn't scheduled to come back to the club until September 13, so Chicago still has time to figure out what to do with him. He could take the decision out of their hands by actually retiring - although he would give up $19 million by not playing next year. This makes it more likely that the Cubs haven't seen the last of him yet.
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