Carlos Zambrano the Big Z

Carlos Zambrano was traded to the Florida Marlins January 4, 2012. The Cubs may have traded him but they will still be paying him the bulk of his $18 million salary. The Marlins are only picking up $2.5 million. This was probably the best deal the Cubs could get. In return, the Cubs get former first round draft pick Chris Volstad and cash.

Carlos Zambrano, affectionately known are Big Z or El Toro, has emerged as the premier ace of the Chicago Cubs starting pitchers. Being signed by the Cubs in 1997 Zambrano has made his way to earn the opening day starter in 2005,2006,2007,2008,2009 and 2010.

He was selected to the All-Star team in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

He pitched the second game of the 2003 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves but lasted only 5.2 innings and ended up with a no decision. He was later named the starting pitcher of the NLCS in 2003 against the Marlins. Here again he wasn't able to hold on to a 4-0 lead and left after 6 innings giving up 5 runs. Another no decision.

He had another opportunity against the Marlins and went up against their ace, Josh Beckett. Beckett out dueled him with a 2 hitter and Carlos took the loss giving up 2 runs in 5 innings.

The 2003 playoffs were especially painful as game 6 of the series will go down as a major disappointment coming with 5 outs of going to the World Series.

Carlos Zambrano has become a standout compiling a 16-8 record in 2004. He was 8-2 in his first 14 starts in 2004, 12 of which were quality starts. It was also his first year selected to the All Star team. His ERA was 2.75. But his efforts went unrewarded with the Cubs missing the playoffs with an 89-73 record.

In 2005 he went 14-6 but the Cubs were on a downward trend. They finished 79-83 and fourth place 21 games out. Injuries to the starting pitchers was a main issue. Carlos Zambrano had a good year especially against arch rival St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals went on to win the division but Carlos Zambrano won 3 out of the 4 games, no defeats, four earned runs, and averaging over eight innings a start.

Carlos Zambrano had an outstanding 2006 year considering the Cubs ended up in last place with a 66-96 record. It would be Dusty Baker's last year as manager and it was a year to forget. Carlos was about the only bright spot for the year as the starting pitching ended up on the disabled list most of the year.

Another bright spot was in June against the Houston Astros. Zambrano went into the eight inning with a perfect game before giving up a hit.

It also marked the second time Carlos was named to the All Star team. But unfortunately was not able to pitch because of a minor pre game injury.

2007 was a very interesting year to say the least. The Cubs opened up the bank and made several transactions to build a contender. They signed Lou Pinella for three years to manage the club. They added Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquee and Mark DeRosa spending in the neighborhood of $300 million. Carlos Zambrano was looking for a contract also but with the unknown of who was going to own the club his contract was put on hold. The Cubs finally coming through with a 5 year $91 million contract in August and Carlos is still smiling

This all adds up to a very controversial year with the Cubs winning the division and Carlos had a great season going 18-13. But the season started out rocky and Carlos needed help from pitching coach Larry Rothschild in fine tuning his delivery. He was involved in the infamous altercation with Michael Barrett in the dugout and statements following a bad outing and retaliating against the fans after he was booed.

Carlos Zambrano Chicago Cubs - No Hitter

The Cubs went on to win the division and Carlos started game 1 of the series against the Arizona Diamonbacks. He pitched well but was taken out of the game by Lou Pinella after six innings and 85 pitches. The game was tied 1-1 and the Diamondbacks went on to win 3-1. It was a questionable move with the idea of bringing back Zambrano for game 4 with 3 days rest. Unfortunately there was never a game 4 with the Diamondbacks sweeping the Cubs 3-0.

Zambrano started out the 2008 season going 12-4 through the end of July. He had a couple of setbacks going on the disable list in June followed by missing a couple of starts end of August. But he was named to the All Star team again and on September 14 he pitched a no hitter against the Houston Astros. It was the first no hitter by a Cub since Milt Pappas did it in 1972. Carlos went on to finish the season 14-6.

The Cubs won the division again, but the same result with the Dodgers sweeping them in three games sending Carlos and the Cubs home for the winter.

In addition to Carlos being one of the more popular players and his out spoken and emotional outbursts he is one of the best athletics on the team. He is one of the best hitting pitchers in the game. He is a switch hitter which is uncommon for his position. He hits with power with 16 homeruns over his career, 6 of those coming in 2006. There have been times he has been used as a pitch hitter even though it has not been very successful. He has won the Silver Slugger Award in 2006 and 2008. The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position.

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