100th Victory and Potential Retirement for Carlos Zambrano

It should have been a memorable night for Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs and big Z should have been celebrating after the game, but that was not the case. Zambrano captured his 100^th victory of his career but instead of popping champagne he announced that he will retire when his current contract ends. After finishing up a six game suspension Zambrano only allowed two hits over close to 7 innings pitched and also notched his 18^th home run of the year. That home run led the Cubs to a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

With his 100^th victory many fans felt that he would someday be able to reach the elusive 300^th victory mark that Randy Johnson just managed to get this week. When asked however if he was excited to possibly get to that milestone, Zambrano remarked that there would be no way and that he would be finished with baseball within five years. Right now Zambrano is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013. He is intent on playing out the rest of his deal and his contract but has shown that he is just not willing to play baseball any longer. He has continuously stated that he would rather stay home with his family than keep dragging himself to the ball park.

Zambrano has been trying for his 100^th for quite some time and this was his first game back since May 27^th when he was ejected and suspended for arguing with an umpire. On June 6^th Zambrano struck out seven hitters and now sits 6^th on the team's all time strikeout list. The Reds were not even able to get a hit until the 5^th inning of the game and Zambrano was really at his best. It will be quite disappointing to see him retire if he is still at the peak of his game, but you cannot fault him for wanting to be at home more and get out of the spotlight.

The 28 year old pitcher has won 95 games since the 2003 season which ranks him fourth on that list behind Johan Santana, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt. This makes him one of the best pitchers of his time and when he is really focused, he can be the best pitcher in the national league. However he has always had problems focusing and has been a problem in the clubhouse since joining the team. He has been suspended numerous times and has been in the news more for his attitude than his ability. It will be sad to see him walk away, knowing that he could pitch for another ten years, but Zambrano has never even thought about playing for his entire life. He is going to make his mark, do his best and then walk away when he is ready to call it quits and spend more time with his family.