Big Z Discusses Contract With Himself; Self Wants $$$

Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano has caught on to the insane free-agent market and has told the Cubs he wants a new contract before the start of the season or he'll walk away when '07 is done. Before the Yanks and Red Sox get out their checkbooks, the Cubs need to sign this guy to a long-term deal. He's going to be a star for many years to come... and to say the Cubs have been spending money like drunken sailors this off-season is offensive to drunken sailors - they can't stop now.

Zambrano has also has decided to refer to himself in the third person:

"If they don't sign me, sorry, but I must go. That's what Carlos Zambrano thinks."

Despite his relatively high K/BB ratio, Zambrano is the starter the Cubs need to build their rotation around. Unlike Wood and Prior, he's actually durable. And as the icing on the cake, he's one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball (6 HR's in 73 AB's last year!). If everyone else is getting in on an overheated market, then Zambrano should get into it, too.