So I was talking to my cousin, who is a life-long Cubs fan, and the subject of Zambrano came up. He made a good point about starting pitchers in general -- that an Ace and a #1 starter are not necessarily the same thing. I think this is a great point, and describes Carlos Zambrano particularly well. An ace is a guy who is the unquestioned leader of your pitching staff. He's a guy where you feel like you can pencil in a W every time his name is in the lineup -- if not for the pitcher, for your team. He's a guy who always seems to give you a quality start, even if his "stuff" isn't there. Some pitchers I'd currently consider aces (even though they may not be pitching like one at this moment in time) are Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Josh Beckett, Roy Oswalt, Johan Santanna, John Smoltz. There are days when Zambrano looks like he's finally figured everything out and is ready to join that list. But then comes a day like Saturday when he gets mad, snaps a bat, sucks on the mound, gives up a lead and gets pulled from a game in the 5th inning.
Zambrano is definitely the Cubs #1 starter. There are days when he looks like an ace, and no one would question the notion that he has the talent to be an ace. But until he figures out how to avoid starts like Saturday, or at least dwindle them down to the type of thing that only happens once or twice a year, he's not an ace. He's just a really good pitcher -- who should be a lot better.
Alison Preston
Jessica Gomes
Best Players 6-5 and Under
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