Cubs Sign Zambrano to 1-year contract extension

For some reason the Cubs' front office is being really cautious and seem to lack faith in their top star players. Saturday, the team signed Carlos Zambrano to a 1-year deal at $6.5 M, uncertain he will be healthy for the full season. I can understand skepticism in offering a new long-term deal to Wood, but not Zambrano. Right now, he's the go-to-guy to exceed expectations and perform well in clutch situations.

I still think the Cubs need to do some serious evaluations; this means from a hitting and pitching standpoint. By leaving gaps or deficiencies and failing to recognize weaknesses will continue to hurt the Cubs. Does management want to commit to retrieving the right blend of talent to move into contention or do they want to settle for lower-tier alternatives as usual? Every Cubs fan knows what happens when the club skims on payroll and doesn't response correctly to immediate needs. For instance, last year they traded for OF Jody Gerut who didn't even last a month before being traded again because the Cubs realized they made the wrong, bone-headed decision.

It's a positive that owner/GM, Andy McPhail elected to sign Zambrano a l-year contract; but this guy is too much of a hot commodity not to be offered a long-term package. He's still quite young and is going to have stellar years if he stays healthy (which he should barring too many high pitch counts). The Cubs shouldn't give up on him or consider trading him for him for other talent. Without him, the whole rotation will need to be restructured. I look for big things from Zambrano in '06. Now if the rest of his teammates can do their part we might be in for a good season.