Carlos Zambrano

After spending more than a month dealing with anger management issues, Carlos Zambrano returned to the Chicago Cubs starting rotation Monday night in a 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Zambrano lasted five innings, allowed two runs while tying a career-high with seven walks. Zambrano was making his first start since June 25 and he was erratic throughout the game. He threw 95 pitches, but only 49 for strikes. The good news is he managed to limit the damage and kept his attitude in check, which is a good sign as Zambrano will face the Cardinals in St. Louis in his next start.

The Cubs hopes of playing meaningful games in September was over long ago. But, for Zambrano, each start is critical the remainder of the season as he begins to rebuild his relationship with his teammates and the organization. He needs to prove to both that he can control his temper and be a good teammate. There is little doubt that the Cubs will try to move Zambrano in the offseason much like they did with Milton Bradley a year ago. However, Zambrano’s contract will make that very difficult for Cubs management.

In other fantasy news from Monday…..

• The Cubs placed Derek Lee on the bereavement list and Geovany Soto on the 15-day disabled list on Monday. Lee is expected back later this week.
• David Price set a Tampa Bay record with his 15th win of the season. He only went 5 innings because he was striking out too many hitters.
• Aaron Heilman didn’t exactly do it the easy way, but he earned his sixth save and pitched around three hits in the 10th to preserve a Diamondbacks victory.Heilman has six saves in eleven opportunities.
• Carlos Delgado grounded out, flew out, and struck out for Pawtucket in his first game.
• Jason Heyward ended a 31 game homerless streak with his 12th home run this season.
• Mark Teixeira hit his fifth home run in his first eight games in August. He already has nine home runs since the All-Star break.
• Chris Carpenter shut down the Reds on Monday, giving up five hits and two earned runs in seven innings. He walked three and struck out five to improve his record to 13-3. Look for him to continue his hot streak in his next start against the Cubs.
• Stephen Strasburg returns tonight for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals will be monitoring his every move.