Byrd: We Understood Where Zambrano Was Coming From
CHICAGO (WSCR) After losing to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 5, starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano went on a postgame rant where he called the team's performance this season "embarrassing" and compared them to a Triple-A team.
Just over a week after the outburst, Chicago Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd reaffirmed that while Zambrano may not have gone about it the best way, there was no rift forming in the clubhouse.
"Everybody knew what 'Z' was talking about, everybody knew where he was coming from," Byrd said on the Mully and Hanley Show. "It was frustration from not winning. It was a frustration from guys being hurt. It was a frustration from us not playing up to the capability of what we're doing. But when he was speaking, he wasn't talking about 24 other guys. He was talking about 25, he put himself in that category."
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Not only did Zambrano include himself in the criticism, but Byrd pointed about another reason why the Venezuelan's comments may not have been as controversial as they seemed.
"Everyone has to remember that this is his second language, things come out a little bit differently to him," Byrd said. "When he speaks, and speaks out of frustration and speaks out of anger, right after the game, he has all those emotions coming out. And maybe sometimes he'll come back and he'll look at what he says and he'll have to apologize. But again, it's his second language, and he has guys in the clubhouse who understand where he was coming from and what he was talking about."
Do you agree with Byrd's "second language" defense of Zambrano? Leave your comments below.
