Mike Nadel: Boo me? Boo you, says Cra-Z

Carlos Zambrano is playing a game he can't win. And I don't mean baseball -- although, come to think of it, that's been true lately, too.

Questioning the loyalty and intelligence of the tens of thousands of people who booed him Monday at Wrigley Field, the Cubs right-hander mocked and called out the "world's greatest fans."

Saying the customer is wrong, Cra-Z is taking on the very folks who pay his salary -- and who will continue paying him $91.5 million through 2012.

"I don't accept that the fans were booing me," Zambrano said after suffering his fifth consecutive defeat, an 11-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he allowed eight runs, made a blunder on the basepaths and lost his focus. "You know, I thought these were the greatest fans in baseball. But they showed me today that they just care about themselves."

When Zambrano left the mound to a cascade of catcalls in the fifth inning, he walked slowly toward the dugout, looked up, nodded and pointed at his head.

"I just (said) I will remember that," he said. "I can't understand (the booing). That's not fair. When you're struggling, that's when you wanna feel the support of the fans."

Now that he has ripped those fans, it will be interesting to see how much support he receives in his next start at the Angry Confines -- especially if he struggles again.

Early in his Cubs career, Derrek Lee was booed at home. He also was serenaded by taunts of "Hee Seop Choi!" Yes, "knowledgeable" Cubbie fans actually thought Choi -- now out of baseball -- was better than Lee.

Though he's adored now, Lee knows the world's greatest fans could turn on him in an instant.

"Z's been so big for this organization, so I have a hard time with the booing," Lee said. "The fans are passionate. They wanna win bad, just like we do, but they have to understand that we're human beings. Sometimes we make mistakes. If it's lack of effort, I understand the fans jumping on you. But I think we all know Z gives it everything he has."

Any logical person would agree with Lee. Booing a guy who is trying hard is stupid and often counterproductive.

Ballplayers must relax to be effective. If they're getting booed, they put more pressure on themselves. And that ends up hurting the team the fans claim to love.

For a big, sensitive lug like Zambrano -- who could have gotten $50 million more on the open market but showed his loyalty and gave the Cubs a hometown discount -- it really hurts.

"They paid to see a good pitcher, and right now I'm not doing too well," said Zambrano, 0-5 with a 9.53 ERA the last month. "When your brother is struggling, you show him love; you don't show him that you wanna kick him out. That's what I ask the fans. I don't wanna stink and (have) bad outings. I know that the great moments of my career will come."

Second baseman Mark DeRosa said fans weren't booing the person but the situations -- such as Zambrano walking five batters or Zambrano running through third-base coach Mike Quade's stop sign.

"The fans were just displaying their displeasure for today -- not for what he's accomplished on the whole," DeRosa said. "From Day 1, they've booed when we've played bad and cheered when we've played good. We play in a big market. Fans are passionate. A lot of people have shed a lot of tears over this team over the years. We're on the cusp of something special, being in first place with only 26 games left. I don't think you can take it too personally."

That's easy to say when you're not the person being booed.

Before the top of the fifth inning, while the lights were warming up at umpire Joe West's request, Zambrano stood behind the mound, alone with his thoughts. Not good. Give Cra-Z even a nanosecond to think and it's trouble. Give him 10 minutes and, well, it's lights out for the Cubbies. Soon enough, a two-run game became an 8-2 blowout.

To his credit, Zambrano didn't use it as an excuse, saying: "That was all my fault because I'm the pitcher. I'm the one that has the ball and I'm the one that's supposed to pitch good -- especially after my contract ... "

Ah, the contract. Remember when the mere act of signing the extension was supposed to clear Zambrano's mind? Well, now he faces a different kind of pressure: living up to the biggest multiyear deal (in terms of average yearly salary) ever bestowed upon a pitcher.

Obviously, the world's greatest fans expect more bang for their buck. They pay handsomely for their tickets and they have the right to boo, so good for them.

In the long run, we'll see if it's good for their best pitcher and for their team.

Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com <http://www.thebaldesttruth.com> .