Shaky Z

No doubt, Carlos Zambrano wanted to come out guns a-blazing in his first start of the second half, and erase memories of a first half which saw him hurt himself running, get suspended for bumping an ump and destroy a Gatorade dispenser in a fit of pique.  Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened Friday night against the Natinals.

Yes, Carlos won the game, pushing his record to 6-4 on the season, but he only managed to last five innings thanks to a pitch count bloated by early walks.  “In the first inning, I was a little shaky,” Z admitted. “My back was also a little tight today, but nothing to worry about. After that, I was able to come back and do my job.”

Doing his job included driving in 2 runs in the top of the second with a double.  Do you think Carlos ever gets sick of being the only guy producing any offense in his own starts?

I’m not even going to comment on that “stiff back” remark.  With Ted Lilly‘s knee acting up and Ryan Dempster on the DL…nope, just going to pretend he didn’t say that.

The main thing is the Cubs won, and are halfway to a sweep of the hapless Natinals and their interim manager Jim “Pythons” Riggleman.  I’m sure Z is not entirely happy with the way things went though.  He was hoping to go 7, give up maybe 3 hits and roll into the second half with mad momentum.  Maybe he’ll get that next time.