According to Carlos Zambrano himself, his agents and Jim Hendry will resume talks about a contract extension today by phone. Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the parameters are five years and an AAV between $14.6-18MM. Makes sense, and I imagine a full no-trade would be in there too.
Zambrano had a lot to say yesterday, promising a Cy Young for himself a World Series title for Chicago. He later qualified that last one by saying he’s "almost sure." As a Cubs fan, I enjoy the bravado.
I once attended the 1998 Cubs Convention. That ended up being a playoff season for the Cubs, their first since 1989. I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Tapani. I told him I hoped he’d win 20 games that year (I thus take most of the credit for his career-high 19 wins despite his 4.85 ERA). Tap told me, "it’d be a great season if that happened." It was an appropriate response for a past-his-prime battler. I feel that Zambrano would tell a 15 year-old kid that he’ll win 25 and hit 25 home runs too.
Tim’s take: Zambrano signs a five-year, $85MM extension with the Cubs before the season begins.
