Z Is for Zensational
Zambrano Continues Awesomeness, Wins 1-0

Jody Gomez/US PRESSWIRE

This is getting ridiculous. Carlos Zambrano faced the San Diego Padres, a team that desperately needed to win, and absolutely shut 'em down. He held the Padres to three hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking four. Since his anger-management, Zambrano is 7-0 with a 1.27 ERA. That's filthy. "I read the other day in the paper, 'the former ace,'" he said. "I'm still the ace of this team." Hard to argue. As for runs, the Cubs got all they needed on an Alfonso Soriano double and a Blake DeWitt single.

ESPN Chicago: Carlos Zambrano wins 7th straight decision... [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Cubs nip Padres 1-0 behind Zambrano
Daily Herald: Cubs give Padres best shot in 1-0 victory
CSN Chicago: Keeping score, Zambrano bursting with... [+ Zambrano video]
MLB: Inspired by mom, Big Z stays hot, beats Padres [+ video]

Ten Things I Hate About You
A Look at the Cubs' Ten Biggest Mistakes
Clearly this hasn't been a banner year for the Cubs. But why? The Trib's Paul Sullivan points the finger at decisions like moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen, increasing ticket prices, and not playing Tyler Colvin. But even better, we get the name of the actual person who made the decision. (In those three examples, the blame goes to Jim Hendry, Crane Kenny, and Lou Piniella, respectively.) For you Hendry bashers out there, Jim gets the blame in four of the examples. The Ricketts family gets a zing, too, for the "Year One" slogan.

Chicago Breaking Sports: Plenty of blame as Cubs close out 'Year One'

A Fan's Notes
A Chat with Tom Ricketts, the Fan
Most of the time, we hear Tom Ricketts talking about revenue streams and things that aren't, you know, exciting. But the Daily Herald had some one-on-one time with the boss, and we learn some non-finance stuff about the chairman of the board. For starters, Ricketts calls the Cubs "nice guys" and and says he had higher hopes for the team before the season began: "The first of 10 consecutive World Series championships," he says (jokingly?). He's also in it for the long-term, saying, "This will be what we add to the history of the Cubs."

Daily Herald: 'Responsible fan,' rookie owner Ricketts eyes next year, century

A Whole Quade Love
Cubs Interim Manager Could Seriously Get the Gig
So the word is that Mike Quade is a serious candidate for the Cubs' job next year. Jon Heyman from SI talked to "people who've talked to Cubs decisionmakers" and says the Cubs' brass is ga-ga over Quade. "I think it's between [Quade] and Sandberg," says one of Heyman's sources. Bruce Levine notes that Quade also benched a veteran (unfortunately he's not named) for showing up late to physical therapy. That's the kind of tough love we like to see.

SI: Could unsung Quade win Cubs managerial sweepstakes?
ESPN Chicago: Quade established himself as top candidate

Turn that Frown Upside-Down
Reasons to Be Excited About Next Year
It's easy to be a grouch about the Cubs. And sure, there are reasons to be pessimistic about next season. But Chicago Cubs Online has come up with reasons to be optimistic. For starters, the Cubs arguably have the best shortstop under 25 in baseball. Then there's the fact that Tyler Colvin became just the fourth Cubs rookie to hit 20 homers. And consider this: Aramis Ramirez will be in a contract year. If there's anything that might make him hustle, it's money.

Chicago Cubs Online: Oh, Cubbies... where do we go from here?

Carlos Zambrano pitched in front of his mother last night for the first time in his nine-year major league career... Padres' MVP candidate Adrian Gonzalez will be a free agent next year and seems to like Chicago... Former Cub Ted Lilly's Wrigleyville home just went on the market for a cool $2.4 million.

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