Major League Baseball

Zambrano apologizes for latest outburst

Published Aug. 15, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano apologized Monday for his blowup on Friday night in which he cleared out his locker and threatened to retire following his ejection in a 10-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Zambrano gave up eight runs and eight hits, including a career-worst five homers, in just 4 1/3 innings at Turner Field and was thrown out of the game in the fifth inning after tossing two inside pitches to Chipper Jones.

On Saturday, the Cubs placed Zambrano on the disqualified list, forcing him to go 30 days without pay or activity with the team.

Speaking for the first time about the situation Monday, Zambrano told Comcast SportNet he wanted to continue to play for the Cubs and explained that his outburst came out of frustration with his own performance on the mound.

"I feel bad with myself. Not with the Cubs. Not with the organization. I feel bad with me. With the performance that I'm doing in the season. It's frustrating," the 30-year-old right-hander said.

"Every time I go to the mound and give up eight runs it's not me, it's just not me. I want to do my best. Right now I can't do [that].

"One thing I want to clear the air with is I was ready to go to the park the next day, but my agent called me and said, 'Don't show up. We're in the middle of discussion with the union and the Cubs.' Now I'm here."

While admitting he should not have said that he wanted to retire, Zambrano said it was in the heat of the moment and his comments should have stayed in the clubhouse.

"I did say I want to quit. I did say that Friday night. I was so frustrated, that should have never come out of my mouth. I tell you through that frustration I say those words.

"[But] if I say something in the clubhouse that has to stay there. That's our home. That's our house. It's like if I say something at home and it's only my daughter or my wife and the next day it's in the papers."

Zambrano also insisted he was not trying to hit Jones with the inside pitches.

"The two pitches I threw were cutters. I don't want to hit nobody with cutters or sliders or change-ups. Who wants to hit people with change-up or cutters? [When a pitcher wants] to hit somebody, they do it with a fastball, the hardest they can," he said.

Both Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and manager Mike Quade declined to discuss Zambrano's remarks Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Read more here

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball