Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano has been suspended indefinitely following a dugout meltdown and confrontation with teammate Derrek Lee during todays game against the Chicago White Sox.The source of the dispute between Zambrano and Lee is not known at this time, but the two had to be seperated by teammates in the visitors' dugout following a poor 1st inning for Zambrano in which he gave up 4 runs. While Zambrano has been well behaved so far this season, there is a history of such episodes with his temper. In 2007, Zambrano and former teammate Michael Barrett got into a fight in the dugout and continued it in the clubhouse. Last season, he was suspended by the league for 6 games following an outburst against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the middle of a 5 year, $91.5 million extension, Zambrano has already had a rocky start to his season even before today. Following a poor start to the year, the Cubs moved him to the bullpen, only recently bringing him back into the starting rotation. While the Cubs probably couldn't move to terminate his deal over today's tirade, they should explore the option of benching him for the remainder of the season. These short team suspensions apparently haven't taught Zambrano to learn to control his temper, so keep him away from the team until he makes a serious effort. Being upset over a bad inning and ranting to his teammates is one thing, having to be seperated from one of his own is another story. While GM Jim Hendry said it would be hard to keep a player away from the team in today's league with a "long, long-term suspension", the Cubs should ask Bud Selig for an exception. I'm all for a guy yelling at his team to pump them up, but there's no excuse for starting a near fight with a player on your own team. Even if the team has to pay Zambrano the remainder of what he is owed this season, it would be worth the money in my opinion to make the next 2 seasons a little more tolerable with him around. Selig and the Cubs need to set an example that this kind of behavior, especially repeated poor behavior, won't be tolerated.
