Jim Hendry said an MRI today confirmed what he thought was wrong with Carlos Zambrano.
Rotator cuff tendinitis means no surgery, but it probably means Z is going to have to battle through discomfort for the rest of the season.
Zambrano is a tough guy, but he hasn't pitched well in a while. It will be interesting to see how well he can pitch with this condition.
As far as Harden, Hendry said this situation of resting him was planned when they acquired him.
I'm fine with shutting Zambrano and Harden down for the rest of the year. They are too valuable and the Cubs will need them 100 percent ready for the World Series Run. The offense + Dempster/Lilly anchoring the rotation is good enough to carry this team the rest of the way and win the division.
Correction...
"I'm fine with shutting Zambrano and Harden down for the rest of the year."
Meant to say to shut them down for the rest of the *regular season*
No worries everything proceeding according to plan. Hendry and lou shouldn be able to ease this team into the playoffs and have they ready to go full out when they get there. Will see how the other guys on the roster do now that they have a chance to step up and help the team.
Shutting them down for the rest of the season?
I must have missed that story about the Cubs having a 14 game lead in the division.
If Z. and Harden are sitting out too long, Dempster, Lily, Marquis, and Marshall will have their work cut out for them. Gaudin also could probably start, and so could Lieber. So thinhs could look a whole lot worse. Certainly the offense has to pick things up a bit, but the Cubs' depth is solid.
As I've stated previously, I never believed that Zambrano was worth a long term $90 million dollar contract, and I'll stand by that assessment.
IMHO, 2008 Zambrano / Harden, is beginning to look a lot like 2004 Prior / Woods.
It's deja something or other, all over again.
How about shutting down Kerry Wood through the season and playoffs?