How bout them Cubs?
Braves 8, Cubs 5 | Frustration broils over as Zambrano, Barrett fight in dugout, clubhouse
Cameras caught a bitter fifth-inning exchange in the Cubs dugout between pitcher Carlos Zambrano and his catcher, Michael Barrett, moments after the Atlanta Braves finished a five-run inning ignited by a Barrett passed ball, throwing error and a Zambrano meltdown.
What wasn't caught was a worse fight in the clubhouse between the two that sent Barrett to a hospital requiring stitches for a bloodied lip, a stain symbolizing the deeper team wound than the Cubs' latest 8-5 loss.
What wasn't caught was a worse fight in the clubhouse between the two that sent Barrett to a hospital requiring stitches for a bloodied lip, a stain symbolizing the deeper team wound than the Cubs' latest 8-5 loss.
The discipline to be meted out to both players today will come from manager Lou Piniella, team officials say. But the manager also issued his strongest disciplinary threat yet to a team that has played not just ineffectively but ineptly.
(Sun-Times/Comcast SportsNet)
PHOTO GALLERY
Cubs' dugout brawl
The discipline to be meted out to both players today will come from manager Lou Piniella, team officials say. But the manager also issued his strongest disciplinary threat yet to a team that has played not just ineffectively but ineptly.
''You don't want to see people fight one another on your own team,'' Piniella said, his voice escalating. ''At the same time you don't want to see some of the silliness going on on the field. I only have so many players I can play. You know? And it's about time some of them start playing like major leaguers! Or get somebody else in here who can catch the damn ball and run the bases properly! All right? That's all I can say!''
General manager Jim Hendry is away scouting potential draft picks, but assistant general manager Randy Bush said he was kept informed Friday of all that happened.
Bush called the fight ''very disappointing'' and ''embarrassing.''
''It's unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable,'' he said, adding that the punishment could include fines, suspensions or both.
''Obviously, as an organization we're very disappointed about the incident,'' he said. ''They're two highly competitive individuals whose frustrations boiled over. It can happen. Those of us in the game certainly have seen it happen before. We're very disappointed.
''It shows the level of frustration among the players and coaches, the management, the front office. We're not playing as well as we thought we would at this point. A lot of players have expressed that they're pressing. They've said that publicly. They're probably trying to do too much, especially here at home.''
The fight occurred after an inning in which Barrett was charged with a passed ball and error when he threw badly to third trying to stop runners from advancing. Zambrano (5-5), who was pitching on his 26th birthday, then gave up consecutive doubles. Piniella said Zambrano was upset about the passed ball.
The battery mates went into the dugout separately, Zambrano throwing off his hat and walking toward Barrett and pointing to his head. Barrett, still wearing his catching gear, was talking to Zambrano when the pitcher swung at Barrett's head. Players and coaches immediately intervened, with Zambrano being sent into the clubhouse.
''I told him Zambrano to take a shower and go home,'' Piniella said. ''Barrett, we were going to keep in.''
But Barrett went into the clubhouse moments later. After a clubhouse attendant was seen telling Piniella something, Piniella and several players, including Derrek Lee, were seen running down the steps into the clubhouse when others came to say the teammates were fighting inside.
Both men left the park soon afterward, though Barrett was taken to a hospital because of his injuries and required stitches on his lip. His availability to play wasn't immediately known.
After the game, players spoke only in general terms about what happened inside.
''I came in to try to calm him [Zambrano] down,'' Alfonso Soriano said. ''I don't know what happened after that. It's tough because we're not playing very good now.
''We're supposed to be like a family and that's not supposed to happen on a team.''
