The Buzz-Carlos Zambrano, Chicago White Sox, and Cliff Lee

Time again for the weekly look at the latest rumors going around MLB circles. This past week featured few rumors, however due to a recent “blow-up” a former ace may now be on the trade block. The Chicago White Sox have gone from sellers to buyers over the course of the past two weeks, and the Mariners are willing to move Cliff Lee immediately.

Big Z loses his cool, and spot with Cubs?

As most of you have probably seen by now, Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano erupted yesterday after allowing four runs int he first inning, which resulted in dugout altercation with Derrek Lee. Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry responded to this tirade by suspending Zambrano indefinitely. Leaving many to wonder if Zambrano’s days in Chicago might be numbered.

Here is an excerpt of what I wrote on Cubbies crib regarding the Zambrano situation…

"As much as I hate to say it, Gordon is right with his suggestion of what the Cubs should do. Going back to last year, Zambrano has never been the so called “ace” of the Cubs rotation. Much like Milton Bradley burned his bridges with the Chicago Cubs, Carlos Zambrano is doing the exact same thing this year. Instead of calling out his teammates, Zambrano needs to look in the mirror, because he is the one that is doing most of the damage to not only the team, but to himself as well. CUBBIES CRIB"

Looking back at it, it is actually kind of a humorous turn of events for the Chicago Cubs. Because in the off-season they focused on moving what they considered to be the only “cancer” on the team in Milton Bradley, but now, it appears that Carlos Zambrano is acting much in the same way Bradley was when he was with the Cubs.

While on the outside it may look like the Cubs will have a hard time trading Zambrano, but as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports points out, Zambrano is still only 29 years old and has the potential to win 12-15 games per season. There are probably some teams that would take a chance on Zambrano, given his potential and his past success. However, it is going to be tough for the Cubs to prove to any team that he has value as during the course of this season Zambrano has been bounced from the rotation to the bullpen, then back to the rotation, and then back to the bullpen when/if he returns to the Cubs from his suspension.

GO GO White Sox

Two weeks ago, the White Sox season was being characterized as dead and over with. We were hearing countless rumors that linked first baseman Paul Konerko to the angels, or rumors of Bobby Jenks or JJ Putz going to the Philadelphia Phillies. We even heard Jake Peavy possibly requesting a trade if the Sox were to enter a rebuilding mode.

However, 11 straight wins after, and now only 1.5 games back in their division, the Chicago White Sox have revived their season, and are being classified as buyers for this year’s trading deadline. Putting General Manager Kenny Williams in a comfortable position…

"“It was like sharks in the water and buzzards hovering over,” Williams said of other executives inquiring about players. “Generally, I’m one of the buzzards hovering over other teams. It’s been an interesting experience being on the other end. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I certainly didn’t expect us to be back to .500 this quickly. So this team has responded and shown some resiliency. Those efforts should be commended and acknowledged in the form that … we’ve got to see what the possibilities are to help them out.” ESPN CHICAGO"

The White Sox need is not necessarily clear though. Bruce Levine feels as if the Chicago White Sox need a power hitter, specifically from the left side…

"That help could come in the form of a left-handed hitter such as Washington’s Adam Dunn, Houston’s Lance Berkman or Baltimore’s Luke Scott."

However, I do not think that may be the direction that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants to go in. Remember, back in January, White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams was toying with the idea of bringing back Jim Thome, to give the Sox a power option as their designated hitter. However, Guillen shot that idea down as he prefers to use guys like Juan Pierre, Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones, and Omar Vizquel in the spot instead. And, with the Sox having success using that train of thought, why would they want to change anything up.

Don’t be surprised though, if Kenny Williams has some trick up his sleeve. Much like last year when he acquired Jake Peavy in a last minute trade before the deadline, I think he maybe in line to shock us all again. Something tells me that if he is able to go after either Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, he will. He could also go after one of these two, just to block the Twins from getting one of them.

Cliff Lee could be dealt sooner rather than later

While Cliff Lee is not officially on the trading block just yet, sources tell Ken Rosenthal that at the right deal, the Mariner would be willing to trade Lee immediately. Moving Lee now instead of later, actually is the most logical thing for the Mariners to do. Considering that they would be maximizing his value, meaning they would be getting more for him than they would be at the trade deadline. Also they would lose the risk of Lee getting injured before the deadline, derailing any hopes they had of getting touted prospects for him.

As far as teams that have inquired on Lee, they are the Mets, Rangers, and Dodgers. However many figure that the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins will eventually get into trade talks with the Seattle Mariners. The Twins are considered to be the favorite to land Lee.

(You can stay current on all the Call to the Pen content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed)