January 5, 2012

Tribune Cubs end Zambrano ordeal with trade Controversial goes to Marlins for once-promising starter By: Dave van Dyck

The only logical conclusion to 's long-and-stormy pitching career with the Cubs will be the same as Ozzie Guillen's long-and-stormy managerial career with the White Sox:

They both had to leave town to join one team — the Marlins.

Guillen left just after season's end and Zambrano will be joining him later this week, after the Cubs agreed to assume $15 million of his $18 million contract in a trade that should be announced soon.

The Marlins will send 6-foot-8 right-handed pitcher Chris Volstad in return, according to multiple sources. The deal needs the approval of Zambrano, which appears to be done, and the commissioner's office, which has not yet been done because of the amount of money involved. Both players also have to pass physical exams.

Volstad, a first-round draft pick in 2005, finished 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA last season after a 12-9 showing the year before. The 230-pounder made $445,000 last season and could get up to $2 million this year in arbitration. The Cubs control his rights through 2014.

Zambrano was just 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA in 24 games last season, missing the last two months when the Cubs placed him on the restricted list.

The reported deal ends a strange North Side-South Side saga, with Guillen's friendship with fellow Venezuelan Zambrano causing friction between Chicago's teams after a 2010 interleague game at U.S. Cellular Field.

In that case, the Cubs suspended Zambrano after a dugout blowup, and he dined quietly later that evening with the Guillen family.

"We didn't go to dinner for me to talk to him about what happened," Guillen said the next day. "We talked about life, about being in Venezuela, we talked about a (charity) project my wife has for him. …"

If nothing else, Chicago will be much less tumultuous with their twin exits. While with the Sox in 2006, Guillen had been ordered to undergo sensitivity training after a verbal assault on a newspaper columnist, long before Zambrano agreed to anger management counseling after a confrontation with teammate in 2010.

"I don't think you're going to change. For me (counseling) didn't work out. I'm the same," Guillen said with a laugh after the June game in 2010. "But it helped. My problem was that the guy listened to me, I didn't listen to him. …

"I think Carlos is doing the right thing (by attending)."

Guillen also said at the time, even though Zambrano was Cubs' property, that he could manage someone with anger problems.

"Yes, I can, yes, I can, why not?" he said. "I'm not afraid (to manage) any player in baseball because I'm going to give them all the respect I can to perform for me.''

Zambrano's problems didn't end there. He was placed on the restricted list last season after cleaning out his locker and saying he would retire following an August blowup on the mound in Atlanta, in which he gave up five home runs and was ejected.

He was reinstated Sept. 11 but didn't pitch again, despite a public apology.

In early November, Zambrano, despite pitching in Venezuela, kept a lunch-time appointment at Wrigleyville's Goose Island Brewery with new Cubs President Theo Epstein, who said afterward Zambrano was contrite.

"Very much so, but from what I understand, he has seemed that way before, so I think this is a trust- but-verify situation," Epstein said.

But it was clear at the time that Epstein didn't want to risk another Zambrano meltdown, and that's when the rumors started that Zambrano would be united with Guillen in Miami.

Saying the two texted nearly every day, Guillen denied in early December he was recruiting Zambrano.

"We talk as friends, we talk about what happened in the past, yes," Guillen said during baseball's winter meetings in Dallas. "We talk about how better it's going to be, yes. We talk about what kind of pitcher he can be, yes. But talking about the Marlins, I never did."

But Guillen also predicted in the same interview: "I got a bet with somebody. I will tell you, he will win a lot of games for (his) team."

At 30, it is doubtful the big right-hander will regain the form or flamboyancy that saw him record a 91-51 mark and one no-hitter from 2003-2008.

In the last three years, Zambrano has won only 29 games while losing 20 and has missed long periods with his suspensions and trips to the disabled list, most notably for back spasms.

The next time Zambrano — or Guillen, for that matter — dons a baseball uniform in Chicago will be July 17-19, when the Marlins visit . The two teams also meet April 17-19 in Miami.

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Tribune Dumping Zambrano winner for Cubs Even though Cubs are paying most of salary and even if Volstad is flop, it cleans up clubhouse By: Phil Rogers

Chris Volstad isn't the second coming of . Nor . He's nowhere near the pitcher that was when the Cubs got him from the same place, 10 years ago.

But when the 6-foot-8 Volstad walks onto Wrigley Field for the first time in blue pinstripes, he will think he is being mistaken for . That's how happy Chicago fans will be to see him in place of the utterly unreliable and sometimes anti-social Carlos Zambrano.

God bless Zambrano. And Ozzie Guillen too.

Without Guillen's recommendation, the Marlins would not be trading the mildly disappointing Volstad — a first-round pick with a 4.59 career earned- average — for Zambrano. They think Zambrano will be a rotation upgrade and yet another reason for fans to come to their new stadium, and maybe they're right.

But after watching Zambrano unravel on a regular basis in the first four years of the five-year, $91.5- million contract he foolishly was awarded on the heels of assaulting teammate Michael Barrett, the Cubs don't really care whether "Big Z" ever gets it together. They are so thrilled to unload him that Chairman Tom Ricketts reportedly is paying $15 million of Zambrano's $18 million salary this season.

Those were the terms of the deal that was finalized Wednesday, pending physicals and the pro-forma approval of the commissioner's office. Theo Epstein, the primary architect on the Cubs' end, did not reply to my request for comment, even after I suggested to him that he probably was too busy popping corks on champagne bottles.

Epstein foreshadowed the trade during a WGN-AM 720 interview earlier Wednesday. He was asked if Zambrano could fit into an unselfish, accountable clubhouse, as the Cubs president by and his new manager, Dale Sveum, envision.

"The Carlos Zambrano from 2011 and the years previous can't fit into the culture that we have here," Epstein said. "So change needs to happen and change will happen. Either he'll change and buy in and fit into this culture — and I understand there are a lot of skeptics about that, and frankly I'm skeptical about it as well, I think he needs to prove to us that he can change and be part of this culture — or we'll change the personnel and move forward with people who are proud to be Cubs and treat their teammates with respect and treat the fans with respect and can be part of a winning culture in the Cubs' clubhouse."

When Milton Bradley snapped at the end of 2009, I suggested the Cubs should release him, which would have cost $21 million. Crane Kenney, then the team's sole president, looked at me like I had three heads. They eventually swapped him for the redoubtable Carlos Silva, and then got little more than headaches from Silva, whom they released last spring.

The Zambrano situation was similar. They could have paid him $18 million to go home and made a worthwhile statement. But Epstein — thanks to Guillen — found a way to get something for his money.

His next order of business is seeing how long it will take him to move to the , where he belongs, and whether any contender — Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox or Blue Jays — wants Matt Garza badly enough to meet his high asking price. I think Garza will be gone long before Soriano but the Zambrano trade confirms Epstein's reputation as a man of action.

You can make a pretty good bet on Zambrano and Volstad, in regard to who will have the better 2012. Frankly, I would take the 25-year-old who is under the Cubs' control for three more years, even if he hasn't come close to fulfilling the high expectations he carried with the Marlins.

He was the first high school pitcher selected in the 2005 draft, and was rated as the Marlins' top prospect in '07. He had thrown only 134 innings in the high minors before making his big league debut in '08, when he was only 21.

Volstad had some early success but has hit a wall the last three seasons, consistently allowing 1.4 baserunners per inning. That's nowhere near as good as Zambrano once was, but is a tradeoff from the last two years.

It couldn't have helped Volstad that he has had a changing cast of managers and pitching coaches while trying to get established. With a consistent message from Sveum and new pitching coach Chris Bosio, Volstad could get himself turned around.

It won't the worst thing if he doesn't, however. Zambrano is one reasonably clean physical away from being someone else's problem, and somehow I think the stalled Kerry Wood negotiations are about to pick up steam. Wrigley Field is about to feel a whole lot different.

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Sun-Times Trade to Marlins unites Carlos Zambrano with Ozzie Guillen By: Gordon Wittenmyer

For all the posturing about Carlos Zambrano getting yet another chance to “earn his way back’’ into the Cubs’ clubhouse and rotation, the team’s former ace was never in new team president Theo Epstein’s plans.

In a move anticipated for months — and, more important, a move Epstein needed to make for his own credibility — the Cubs finally agreed with the on a deal that unites Zambrano with close friend Ozzie Guillen.

Sources on Wednesday confirmed multiple reports that an agreement is done that nets the Cubs right- hander Chris Volstad, 25, a first-time arbitration-eligible player with potential upside but an unimpressive track record.

The key for the Cubs is the addition by subtraction of the most combustible pitcher in the majors — a guy who burned his last bridge in the clubhouse on Aug. 12 when he abandoned the team during a game in Atlanta after a meltdown and ejection on the mound.

Zambrano, who told friends that night he was retiring, cleaned out his locker and left the stadium. He was placed on the disqualified list the next day and didn’t pitch again for the team.

That came just a few months after Zambrano declared himself “cured’’ following mandated anger- management therapy that resulted from his June 2010 tirade in the dugout at U.S. Cellular Field — which came just a year after throwing a ball into left field and smashing a Gatorade machine in anger over an umpire’s call, which came just two years after he punched his catcher, etc., etc.

The so-called culture change Epstein promised when he took over baseball operations is important enough to ownership and the new management team that the Cubs are paying about $15 million of the $18 million owed to Zambrano on the final year of his contract — the difference covering Volstad’s - projected 2012 salary through arbitration.

Even after accepting Zambrano’s request for a sit-down and afterward suggesting another chance for the “very’’ contrite Zambrano, Epstein said, “From what I understand, he’s seemed that way before, so it’s a trust-but-verify situation.’’

More like a create-a-perception-of-value situation for a move that had to be made for Epstein to show he’s serious about changing the “culture’’ of me-first behavior that has afflicted the occasional big-money Cub — none more than Zambrano in recent years.

And the punch line might be that Epstein was able to trade Zambrano for a choir boy. Literally. The hulking, 6-8 pitcher sang in his high school choir.

It’s been widely speculated since Guillen left the White Sox for the Marlins in September that Zambrano would join him there, and Guillen — who has said for years he’s capable of effectively managing his longtime friend — has done little to quell the rumors.

Despite repeated public vows of love for Chicago and a strong desire to stay with the Cubs, Zambrano has privately told friends he has wanted out, according to sources, and in particular would waive his no- trade rights to pitch for Guillen.

As recently as last month’s winter meetings, Marlins sources told the Sun-Times that Miami’s aggressive winter would include acquiring Zambrano.

A six-time Opening Day starter for the Cubs, Zambrano is viewed as a back-of-the-rotation, low-risk flyer for a Marlins team that lost out to Washington in recent efforts to get Gio Gonzalez from Oakland.

Zambrano, 30, is still young and talented enough that many believe a change of scenery — and maybe even a chip on his shoulder — could result in a big season for him in the final year of his contract.

But few believed that was possible in Chicago.

Of course, Guillen said last month he bet somebody Zambrano would win at least 15 games for the Cubs in 2012 — to which one reporter responded by saying more likely he’d win 15 for the Marlins.

Said Guillen with a smile, “I’d take that.’’

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Sun-Times Carlos Zambrano’s off to the land of Oz By: Rick Telander

Buh-bye, Big Z!

Don’t let the Cubbie door hit you on the rump on the way out!

Yes, Carlos Zambrano, the talented, troubled, 30-year-old right-handed Venezuelan pitcher — an employee in the Cubs organization since he was a lad of 17 — has finally been sent off to the mothership, into the welcoming arms of half-crazy new Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen.

That the Cubs will eat $15 million of Z’s $18 million contract for 2012 shows how badly new management wanted the clown show out of Wrigleyville.

In return, they got young Marlins right-hander Chris Volstad, a guy who went 5-13 last season. They could have gotten a tree-ripened coconut, for all the difference it made.

When Cubs president Theo Epstein met with a ‘‘contrite’’ Zambrano at a restaurant near Wrigley Field in November, the new chief briefly pondered keeping the water-cooler-smashing, ‘‘I’m cured,’’ ‘‘I’m retired,’’ ‘‘We stinks,’’ fist-wielding, ever-repentant nutjob.

It was a ‘‘trust-but-verify situation,’’ Epstein said, whatever that means.

More tellingly, he added, ‘‘So we’re not welcoming him back unconditionally at all. But we’re going to give him the right to earn his way back.’’

It was kind of like frisking a zany meathead before letting him into the foyer. This explosive goofball was quickly escorted back onto the street.

No way is he ‘cured’

Zambrano may have a bunch of wins left in him, but it’s for sure he’s got even more meltdowns. For baseball precedent, see Albert Belle, Milton Bradley, et al.

Epstein and underlings swiftly figured this out. Epstein dealt with wacky wonder Manny Ramirez during his Red Sox days, and that worked as long as Manny was just Manny, hitting home runs and merely forgetting how many outs there were. But Ramirez did not destroy the confidence of his club. He simply lived in his own world, one that intersected with reality only when he was at the plate or meeting with his steroid supplier.

That this dumping will help Cubs morale is unquestioned. How it adds talent is not so clear. Volstad? But we also must consider the other side of the deal: the Z’s — Big and Little — have finally come together in the way two DNA-related amoebas will undulate through a teeming swamp and finally conjoin and absorb one another.

If nothing else, this should be fun for South Beach, huh?

Guillen is the former South Side guy who was always there to comfort Zambrano when he blew up something on the North Side.

When Big Z tried to go after the Cubs’ gentle-souled Derrek Lee in a 2010 dugout dustup, Li’l Z was there to take the misunderstood pitcher to a swank Chicago restaurant that night for dinner.

When Big Z said he was retiring and left the Cubs before the end of a game last August, who was there for him?

‘‘[Guillen] was one of the people that was texting me that night when everybody in the news was saying I was retiring,’’ the disheartened and saddened Zambrano said then.

Li’l Z and Big Z were meant for each other. Not only are they countrymen who speak the same first language and understand the same culture, but they may actually have the same wiring.

We know Guillen as the master of the F-bomb, the defensive tirade, the slur, the nothing-is-off-limits talk-a-thon, the bizarre and inconsequential threatening of anybody who crosses his family or its tweets.

He’s the guy who said of the Sox’ 2005 championship, ‘‘I work in this job for money. I don’t work for nothing. Money. That’s it. The ring? [Bleep] the ring.’’ He’s the guy who threatened to ‘‘rip’’ out Bobby Jenks’ throat, who said of Zambrano’s declaration that he was retiring, ‘‘I don’t think he said anything bad.’’

Marlins might just reign again

Sometimes Guillen can seem more like a Tony Montana impersonator than a big-league manager, but he is no dummy. He did win the only World Series in this city in the last 97 years. And the Marlins, ever cheap, have acquired stars like Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell, and now have a payroll nudging $110 million, almost three times the payrolls they boasted when they won their two World Series.

Imagine, the Marlins have two championships in the last 14 years. The Cubs have . . .

Which raises the thought: What if L’il Z and Big Z click? What if Big Z calms and simply mows down opponents?

What if the Marlins eliminate the Cubs in the playoffs the way they did, tragically, in 2003?

Then we build Ozzie a statue, right? Because he’s a miracle worker.

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Daily Herald Cubs era over: Zambrano taking his talents to Miami By: Bruce Miles

Cubs president Theo Epstein was doing some talking about Carlos Zambrano during a radio appearance Wednesday.

Apparently at the same time, another kind of talk was well under way: trade talk.

The Cubs were saying nothing Wednesday night, but sources confirmed a deal is close to being done to send Zambrano to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Chris Volstad.

As part of the deal, the Cubs reportedly will pick up between $15 million and $16 million of the $18 million Zambrano has coming on this year's contract.

There still are some final obstacles to the deal, such as physical exams, but once those are overcome, an interesting chapter in Cubs history will come to an end.

The immensely talented but self-destructive Zambrano saw his past two seasons with the Cubs marred by suspensions, the result of bad behavior. He made his last start as a Cub on Aug. 12, when he was ejected from a game in Atlanta, walked out on the team and indicated he was retiring.

Then-general manager suspended Zambrano, and the Cubs placed him on the disqualified list.

During the general managers meetings in November, Epstein said Zambrano would have to “earn” his way back onto the club.

It would have been tough for Zambrano to face his teammates again, and Epstein had to know that.

But Zambrano had a soft landing place in Florida, where former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen now is in charge, and he is a big fan of the embattled pitcher.

It also should be an interesting series at Miami in April, when the Cubs could face both Zambrano and former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle, who signed with the Marlins as a free agent this winter.

“The Carlos Zambrano of 2011 and years previous can't fit into the culture that we have here,” Epstein said during a WGN radio program Wednesday. “Change needs to happen, and change will happen.

“Either he'll change and buy in and fit into this culture — and I understand there are a lot of skeptics around about that, and I understand that — and frankly, I'm skeptical as well.

“He needs to prove to us that he can change and be part of this culture, or we'll change the personnel and move forward with people who are proud to be Cubs and treat their teammates with respect, treat the fans with respect and can be part of a winning culture in the Cubs' clubhouse.”

For his career, spent entirely with the Cubs, Zambrano is 125-81 (.607 winning percentage) with a 3.60 ERA. Last year he was 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA before he was sent home.

In Volstad, the Cubs are getting a 6-foot-8, 230-pound right-hander who was 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA for the Marlins last year.

For his career, he is 32-39 with a 4.59 ERA. All but one of his 103 career games has come as a starter. Volstad was the Marlins' first-round (16th overall) draft pick in 2005. He made $445,000 in 2011.

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Cubs.com Cubs, Marlins discussing deal for Big Z Volstad reportedly would head to Chicago in trade By: Joe Frisaro and Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Carlos Zambrano and Ozzie Guillen have teamed together to do commercials in their native Venezuela and charity events in Chicago, and are good friends. They could be together on the Marlins as soon as Thursday.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported the Cubs and Marlins were close to completing a trade which would send Zambrano to Miami. Rosenthal's sources said the Cubs would pay between $15-$16 million of the $18 million that Zambrano is owed next year.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman also reported the Marlins were close to acquiring Zambrano and that Chris Volstad could go to the Cubs in exchange. ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas also reported a Zambrano- Volstad deal.

MLB.com confirmed Wednesday the two teams were talking, and a trade could be finalized within 24 to 48 hours.

Neither Cubs nor Marlins officials would comment on the reports.

If the Cubs do move Zambrano, it would end a tumultuous career in Chicago for the right-hander, good enough to throw a no-hitter in 2008, but also frustrating because of his antics.

Zambrano, 30, would have to waive his no-trade clause for such a deal to be completed. The volatile right-hander is coming off a 9-7 season that ended abruptly Aug. 12. He served up five home runs to the Braves that day, then was ejected for throwing inside to Chipper Jones and left Turner Field early. Zambrano told teammates he was retiring, but later recanted.

He was subsequently placed on the disqualified list and did not pitch again for the Cubs. This offseason, Zambrano made five starts for Caribes in the Venezuelan Winter League and last pitched Dec. 27, giving up one run over 4 1/3 innings.

Zambrano traveled to Chicago in November to meet face to face with Theo Epstein, who took over as Cubs president of baseball operations in late October. At that time, Epstein gave Zambrano steps to follow to get back in the team's good graces.

"I told him we'd give him the right to earn his way back to being a Cub," Epstein said in November after the meeting at a Wrigleyville restaurant. "Nothing would be given to him but he could earn his way back from very hard work this winter, through rebuilding relationships man to man with all of his teammates, and through some other steps that we discussed.

"We're not welcoming him back unconditionally at all but we're going to give him the right to earn his way back to being a Cub."

Neither Epstein nor Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, would go into detail as to what those steps were.

On Wednesday during a fan question-and-answer session, Epstein talked about how Zambrano has to change to fit into what the Cubs are trying to do.

"The Carlos Zambrano of 2011 and years previous can't fit into the culture that we have here," Epstein said. "Change needs to happen and change will happen. Either he'll change and buy in and fit into this culture -- and I understand there are a lot of skeptics around about that, and I understand that, and frankly, I'm skeptical as well.

"He needs to prove to us that he can change and be part of this culture," Epstein said, "or we'll change the personnel and move forward with people who are proud to be Cubs and treat their teammates with respect, treat the fans with respect and can be part of a winning culture in the Cubs' clubhouse."

In order to move Zambrano, the Cubs knew they would most likely have to absorb a large portion of his contract. The right-hander's deal includes an option for 2013 that could vest depending on his health and performance, and the Marlins will be responsible for that.

If the deal is made, new Marlins manager Guillen would have a projected rotation of Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez, and Zambrano.

During the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Guillen predicted Zambrano would win 14 to 16 games. The two talk often, Guillen said, but he stressed at that time that they did not discuss the possibility of the right- hander coming to the Marlins.

"We talk as friends, we talk about what happened in the past, yes," Guillen said. "We talk about how much better it's going to be, yes. We talk about what kind of pitcher he can be, yes. But talking about the Marlins, I never did."

Zambrano has a career 125-81 record and 3.61 ERA in 319 games. His 125 wins with the Cubs rank 15th all-time, and his 1,542 are second in team history. He would help the Marlins at the plate as well. Zambrano has 23 career homers, the most by any pitcher in Cubs history, and the most since Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson retired in 1975 with 24.

Volstad, 25, was 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA in 29 starts last season with the Marlins, striking out 117 over 165 2/3 innings. In 103 games over four seasons in Florida, he was 32-39 with a 4.59 ERA. Volstad earned $445,000 last season; he will not be a free agent until after the 2014 season.

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Cubs.com Epstein touches number of topics on radio show By: Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Theo Epstein said he expects the Cubs to re-sign Kerry Wood, start Bryan LaHair at first base in 2012 and give Carlos Zambrano one last chance with the team.

Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball operations, made the comments during a one-hour question and answer session Wednesday, part of WGN Radio's "Cubs Corner."

One of the things the Cubs' new front office wants to do is change the culture, which Epstein said involves players being accountable to the organization, their fans and each other. Zambrano, who left a game early last August, has tested that by his behavior and Epstein has given the right-hander steps to take.

"The Carlos Zambrano of 2011 and years previous can't fit into the culture that we have here," Epstein said. "Change needs to happen, and change will happen. Either he'll change and buy in and fit into this culture -- and I understand there are a lot of skeptics around about that, and I understand that, and frankly, I'm skeptical as well.

"He needs to prove to us that he can change and be part of this culture, or we'll change the personnel and move forward with people who are proud to be Cubs and treat their teammates with respect, treat the fans with respect and can be part of a winning culture in the Cubs' clubhouse."

Epstein was asked about the Cubs' recent trade with the Reds in which they sent Sean Marshall to Cincinnati for starter Travis Wood, outfielder Dave Sappelt and Minor League infielder Ronald Torreyes.

Marshall, one of the best left-handed setup in the game, is the type of pitcher an organization wants, Epstein said, but he added that Chicago needs to look at the bigger picture. Marshall had one year left of club control. He would become a free agent after the 2012 season and, under the new basic agreement, could leave with the Cubs receiving no compensation.

"With what we're trying to accomplish, which is not just win the World Series in 2012 but build something bigger and more sustainable for the long-term, what's more valuable to us?" Epstein said. "One season worth of Sean Marshall or five seasons worth of a 25-year-old left-handed who can go into our starting rotation ... and two prospects we like a lot."

Epstein did inherit some large, long-term contracts such as Alfonso Soriano's -- the outfielder, who turns 36 on Saturday, is owed $54 million over the next three years. A team has three options on how to handle players with large contracts that appear to be more of a burden than a benefit, Epstein said. A team can be creative and make a deal and eat part of the salary, or a team may decide the best move is to release the player and walk away. The third option is to get to know a player better, understand what makes him tick, and provide an infrastructure in which he can improve.

"There's no one way to handle these things," Epstein said. "I think you need to approach it with an open mind, with hard work and creativity and understand it's a game played by human beings and the ability to bounce back is very real."

Wood gave the Cubs a hometown discount when he returned in 2011, signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal. Epstein said the reliever is "exactly the type of guy we want to build a winning culture here in Chicago." The Cubs are negotiating with Wood's agent about a new contract.

"You have a team that really respects a player, wants him back desperately, and you have a player who loves the city, is a huge part of the community here with his family and his foundation and wants to be back," Epstein said. "If we can't work this out, we're doing something wrong."

LaHair, named the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player in 2011 after hitting 38 homers at Triple-A Iowa, is the Cubs' starting first baseman this year.

"I think hitters hit no matter where they are, and this kid has hit," Epstein said. "He's hit everywhere he's ever been. You can't dominate the Triple-A level more than he did this year."

Some players are labeled "4A" hitters if they don't have immediate success in the Majors. Epstein doesn't buy into that.

"It's the right time for an organization like us to give him the opportunity," Epstein said.

Dale Sveum, who Epstein called "authentic and genuine," is also getting an opportunity to manage on the North Side.

"He is who he is," Epstein said. "He knows himself, he never tries to be something that he's not. He's perfectly genuine, never tries to put on facades or airs and show players he's something he's not."

Managers are often categorized as either a players' manager or a disciplinarian. Sveum is both.

"What I like about Dale is he's firmly in both camps," Epstein said. "He holds the players to really high standards. This team will have a lot of discipline on the field, off the field. Players will be accountable to Dale, they'll be accountable to each other. There will be no loafing, no excuse for lack of preparation, lack of aggressiveness, lack of hard work.

"But he's also going to be extremely well liked because he's a down-to-earth guy who doesn't try to be something that he's not."

Epstein said he is still good friends with the Red Sox staff, and admitted to using an office at Fenway Park for a conference call to announce the Marshall trade.

The Cubs and Red Sox have yet to resolve the matter of compensation for Epstein, who left Boston with one year remaining on his contract.

"It's still on the table," Epstein said. "We'll get it resolved. I think both clubs are approaching it in good faith. We need to find a resolution that both parties are happy with."

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CSNChicago.com Following Ozzie, Zambrano takes talents to South Beach By: Patrick Mooney

The Carlos Zambrano trade was viewed as a matter of when – not if – and realistically only one team would be a match.

It comes as no surprise that the Cubs are on the verge of sending Zambrano – and $15 million – to the Miami Marlins as part of a package for 25-year-old pitcher Chris Volstad.

Zambrano will be taking his talents to South Beach because of the strength of his relationship with Ozzie Guillen. No other manager would be so willing to take on the explosive, enigmatic pitcher.

The entire industry knows Zambrano’s greatest hits – slamming Gatorade coolers, fighting with Michael Barrett, going after Derrek Lee, walking out on his teammates last season.

But there was Guillen, walking quickly through the lobby of the Hilton Anatole during last month’s winter meetings in Dallas. Trailed by reporters, Guillen explained how he had a bet with a friend that Zambrano will win more than 14 games for the Cubs in 2012.

“Now if they trade him, well, I’d take it,” Guillen said while being hustled to yet another media stop.

The inevitable deal – first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports on Wednesday and confirmed by CSNChicago’s David Kaplan – was ultimately just going to be about the details. Volstad is a former first- round pick who’s eligible for arbitration and won’t become a free agent until after the 2014 season.

The Cubs had moved on long ago, with ownership giving Theo Epstein the authority to eat the money on a sunk cost. The new president of baseball operations has preached all about accountability and clubhouse chemistry.

A rebuilding organization didn’t need Zambrano taking up all the oxygen in the room. Even people close to Zambrano admitted that he could use a fresh start somewhere else, and predicted he would be hungry to prove himself all over again.

Zambrano did seem to enjoy living and playing in Chicago, even if he had strange ways of showing it. Signed as a 16-year-old kid out of Venezuela, he has spent almost half his life in the Cubs organization.

Zambrano held the hammer of full no-trade protection. But waiving those rights figured to be a formality with Guillen involved.

The good friends remained in regular communication throughout the offseason. Their families are close. They have shot commercials together back home in Venezuela.

The Marlins need rotation help, which makes paying a fourth-starter-type $3 million this season a low-risk proposition. (The contract also includes a $19.25 million long-shot vesting option for 2013, though that’s only if Zambrano finishes this season healthy and among the top four in the Cy Young vote.)

For a team that has struggled to break through the clutter in the Miami market – and is about to move into a brand-new stadium in Little Havana – this is also another way to generate buzz.

The theory is that Guillen will be there to challenge Zambrano to stay focused and channel all that adrenaline.

Zambrano has a very good sense of humor, teasing reporters and making movie references to “Rocky IV” and “RoboCop.” People inside the Cubs organization talked about his genuine feel for his family and charitable causes.

But the Cubs also swore that the money changed Zambrano almost as soon as he signed a five-year, $91.5 million extension during the middle of the 2007 season.

It all boiled over again one night last August, when the hammered Zambrano, who threw at Chipper Jones, packed up his stuff and left Turner Field during the middle of the game. In another moment of frustration, he began telling people that he felt like he was stealing money and thinking about retirement.

It was a safe bet that Zambrano – who had a 4.82 ERA when he was effectively suspended – had thrown his last pitch in a Cubs uniform. He exits with a 125-81 career record in Chicago and 1,542 strikeouts, which ranks second in franchise history.

On paper, those are good numbers, but Zambrano hasn’t accounted for more than 200 innings since 2007. He’s freakishly athletic, a gifted soccer player and switch-hitter who just happened to be built like an NFL defensive end. Maybe he can put it all together for one season in Miami.

But it wasn’t going to happen on the North Side. There are enough holdovers from the Jim Hendry administration that Epstein knew all about Zambrano’s act, how many times he had to say sorry.

Surely Epstein, general manager and manager Dale Sveum noticed that they were asked about Zambrano just about any time a microphone was put in front of their faces. Why make that the narrative?

You know what the story will be when the Cubs visit Miami April 17-19, and when the Marlins come to Wrigley Field July 17-19.

Zambrano was gold for the Chicago media. The Cubs world will be a far less interesting place without him. But in the end, both sides needed this divorce.

CSNChicago.com Zambrano trade a huge win for Cubs By: David Kaplan

With the trade of Carlos Zambrano to the Miami Marlins now done, pending physicals, it looks to be a huge win for the Cubs and the new regime of Theo Epstein. While I am not sure that Chris Volstad will ever approach the career that Zambrano had in a Cubs uniform, it really doesn’t matter how well he pitches as long as he is a solid teammate and not a divisive influence in the clubhouse. Simply getting Zambrano out of Wrigley Field is a tremendous move by the new Cubs regime.

Zambrano was blessed with tremendous ability, and at the start of his Cubs career he looked to be a developing force in the rotation. As his career moved along he showed a great fastball and outstanding movement on a variety of pitches and it was that potential that earned him a $91.5 million contract extension.

However, with the contract came a new level of expectations from the team and the fan base and Zambrano collapsed under the weight of those expectations. He was a negative influence on the team with multiple incidents that alienated his teammates and a succession of managers and coaches and after he was ejected in August in a game in Atlanta and told clubhouse personnel that he was retiring his fate was sealed.

Zambrano will go down in Cubs history as a player with incredible potential who never reached the level of success that he should have because of his inability to control his emotions. Epstein and Jed Hoyer had no choice today when they traded Big Z to the Marlins, where he will be reunited with his friend and Venezuelan countryman Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie thinks that a change of scenery and his guiding hand will turn Big Z back into the pitcher that he once was.

After watching Zambrano for his entire career I am not sure Ozzie realizes just what he is getting himself into. Declining skills and an explosive personality could be a combustible combination in Miami.

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ESPNChicago.com Nice knowing you, Carlos By: Jon Greenberg

CHICAGO -- There isn't much left to say about Carlos Zambrano, except goodbye and we'll miss you. Oh, you won't miss Zambrano?

I will.

He won 125 games in 11 seasons with the Cubs, pitched a no-hitter and threw in four different playoff series. His 3.60 career ERA was good. His 23 career home runs were fun.

When he was good, he was great. And when he wasn't, at least he was colorful. We don't have enough colorful. I think Randy Wells is going to have to talk more.

And he could talk too. Who else would quote '80s movies in postgame chats?

It was Zambrano who issued the simple, almost poetic description of the Cubs last season: "We stinks." I know, I know. Who cares about funny quotes and busted Gatorade coolers. Zambrano was a pain in the neck -- and several other body parts -- and he is now, officially, finally, part of the past.

The future is Starlin Castro and Theo Epstein and the "foundation for sustained success" -- the words that have replaced "wait till next year" as the team's unofficial mantra.

Zambrano is gone and the team would love to ship Alfonso Soriano and a nice share of the $50 million- something he's owed out of town. Matt Garza, Jim Hendry's final impulse buy, is on the block, as well; he can return actual value.

There is no sense being sentimental about Zambrano. He wore out his welcome the last couple of years, neatly coinciding with the Cubs' devolvement from a playoff team into unlovable, soul-killing losers.

We think about him now as a pariah, but there was a time when Zambrano was the truth -- a homegrown All-Star who came out from under the shadow of his more touted teammates, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. When Hendry rewarded Zambrano with his big contract, it looked like a fair deal for a pitcher who would go down as one of the greats in the tortured history of the franchise.

I had little problem with him breaking bats over his knee and occasionally flying off the handle. That Gatorade machine -- yes, like a pop machine -- might as well have been painted with a bull's-eye.

But in the end the Cubs had no choice but to give him away. And there was no other reasonable suitor for his final year under contract than the Miami Marlins and Ozzie Guillen.

Zambrano to the Marlins is reportedly a done deal, though it had been common sense since Guillen signed with Miami in September.

While Epstein did a good job pretending Zambrano could come back, Tom Ricketts signed off on his departure last season after a secretly fired Hendry suspended him in August for leaving the team in Atlanta.

It was an ugly end, and blame was shared by Zambrano and the Hendry regime, which yearned for nothing but that elusive World Series during Zambrano's formative years.

Zambrano's new manager, Guillen, understands him, which made this deal possible in the first place. Zambrano had no-trade rights, which gave him the upper hand ... and which is partially why the Cubs gave him away for a middling, 6-foot-8 rotation filler in pitcher Chris Volstad.

ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine is reporting the Cubs will pay the Marlins $15 million of the $18 million owed to Zambrano in 2012.

After Zambrano's mock retirement and subsequent banning last summer, Guillen smartly told a few of us one day that when players like Zambrano act out it's the fault of the organization for not setting the right ground rules. After all, Zambrano was barely slapped on the wrist when he beat up his catcher, Michael Barrett.

Now I don't think Zambrano under Guillen's watch will turn into the New Z, the fictional alter ego we've joked about for years, but I guarantee Zambrano will respect his countryman's rules. And if he erupts, Guillen will deal with it. You can call Guillen nuts, but inmates never ran his asylum.

I'm going to have a nice laugh when the Marlins win another World Series before the Cubs.

The coddling of Zambrano at a young age was an obvious problem on the North Side, going back to the days of . It was a cute game of cat and mouse for a while, but just as with Sosa, when Zambrano's performance waned, his privileges were revoked.

Zambrano wasn't a nut job off the field. He was charitable and one of the rare athletes who chose to embrace the non-millionaires in the city. He was old school that way, playing church league softball and everything. I liked that side of him. I also loved how funny he could be, like the time he told a casually dressed reporter he looked like he slept under a bridge.

But when it comes down to what we really care about, it was Zambrano's declining performance, and erratic attitude, that alienated him from his adopted town. It's funny, though, that when you look at his numbers during the past three years, they weren't bad at all. He had a nice ending to 2010 and his ERA never touched 4.00 until last year, when he finished at 4.82. That's not a number that gives you much rope.

I thought his demotion to the bullpen in early 2010 was unfair, and the tongue-clucking over his dugout tantrum was overblown. But there was a lot we didn't see from the outside.

Epstein and Jed Hoyer reversed course from Hendry and Ricketts' promises of exile and acted as though Zambrano could return in 2012. That was obviously a ploy to make him more palatable. No one bought it and there was no market for a pitcher with little remaining value. At least they got a usable pitcher in return.

The question up now: Will Soriano go next? After all, the precedent has been set that the Cubs are willing to eat contracts to start anew. It can't be a straight giveaway, though, given the money owed Soriano.

One thing is for sure. Hendry's and Andy MacPhail's Cubs are all but dead. Some say good riddance. I say it was nice knowing them.