WHY Z IS WRONG

Carlos Zambrano plays the game of baseball with an unusual passion. He is also no sissy. No matter how he feels, he takes the ball every fifth day. That is to be respected in this day of highly paid, brittle and temperamental athletes.

Yesterday, he complained that the fans booed him just when he needed support the most and that he would not forget it. I've got a couple of problems with his position.

First, when you accept pay of about $19M/year to do what you do, you are going to held to an impossibly high standard. Notwithstanding he could have probably gotten a $140M package later and elsewhere, he's being paid, at the end of the day, a pile of money BY THOSE VERY FANS. The customer is usually right.

Second, The fans stuck with Carlos for a month of pretty marginal pitching. He was 0-for August. He badly whizzed his first September start. Z woulda had a point if the Fans had teed him up after his first bad performance (He was a horse in June and July). That didn't happen. They gave him a month to right the ship. When he was bad both mentally and in terms of execution, they booed. Pitching well is the way to get them back. Threatening to hold a grudge is not. Cub fans are basically pussycats compared to Yankee/Met/Phillie fans, just to name a few.

In a day or two, Z will blame it on the language and say everything is all right. He will get a pass.

It's not his first pennant race. He could be setting a better example for the young first-timers on his club.