Uh oh, Z is angry already

Z is emotional, and in other news the Washington Nationals won't win the World Series this year. However, when he gets angry that generally means that he loses focuses and so on down the chain until he doesn't pitch very well. This article really concerns me on Z's mental state going into today's game at the Cell.

"One win?" Zambrano said aloud. "Did he ever pitch a no-hitter?"

This was in reference to Sox pitching coach Don Cooper and his 1-6 record as a Major League pitcher. Cooper is not Z's favorite person in the world because he made some negative comments about him on the Score following the Gatorade incident. I'm pretty sure they were to the effect that the White Sox wouldn't tolerate that.

Interestingly enough, there seems to be some disagreement between pitching coach and manager. Ozzie Guillen, noted bestie of Z, had this to say about Zambrano earlier in the year:

"Zambrano, to me, is one of the best pitchers in the game," Guillen said before his team took on the Cubs' ace. "And I love, love the way he handles himself on the field. Many people say he's crazy, he's out of his mind. I love that, I like that attitude. I don't want people to fall asleep on the stinking mound."

Oh and then of course there is this little gem (watch for Bobby Abreu's cameo at the end):



There is no point or criticism I making with Ozzie and Cooper's differing viewpoints, I just thought it was interesting. Frankly what Cooper said is not wrong at all.

I am just nervous that Z is going to view this as a personal mission against Cooper and get way too hyped up. This is analogous to his previous performances on Opening Days (excluding this year), in which he gets really amped up and doesn't pitch very well. You can also draw his playoff stars from 2003 into that same category.

Maybe he has turned a corner, however, because his last two playoff starts were pretty good (2008 was his fielders fault, not his). He also pitched well on Opening Day this year and was good his first start coming off the DL, where you think his emotion would get the best of him.