Carlos Zambrano Has Little Regard for the Brewers

Carlos Zambrano has never exactly refrained from holding in his emotions on the mound or in the clubhouse. The Brewers learned this yet again this weekend after reading his comments following Saturday's game. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

While explaining the difference between his poor outing last Monday in Cincinnati and his good one Saturday, Zambrano said the key was the quality of the lineups he was facing.

''In Cincinnati, they're better hitters than in Milwaukee,'' he said. ''I don't say that the Milwaukee Brewers are nothing, but the offense of the Cincinnati Reds is better.''

Honestly, I don't think he really crossed any lines. I mean, he simply expressed an opinion I'm sure a lot of people would agree with, although I will say that one of the most intimidating aspects of facing the Reds is having to pitch in the bandbox known as the Great American Ball Park. Within the confines of "sportsmanship," though, the Brewers felt Big Z crossed the line:

''You've seen his act out there. Why listen to anything that guy says?'' Brewers catcher Johnny Estrada told Milwaukee reporters before the game. ''Seriously, that guy doesn't have much etiquette as far as I'm concerned. Zero mound presence. We'll face him a lot, and maybe we'll get him next time.''

For the most part, Estrada's sentiments echoed that of most of his teammates -- a combination of off writing Zambrano as a blowhard and feeling slighted all at the same time. Big Z did pitch better against the Brewers than the Reds, but considering he gave up two home runs to each team, he can't exactly say he dominated either lineup.

Previously on FanHouse:
Carlos Zambrano Has a High Self Esteem