Cubs Diaries

Carlos Zambrano delivered last night on Opening Day.

He pitched masterfully- nobody will argue that. Six solid innings, one earned run, picking up his first Opening Day win in five tries- that's reason for Cubs fans to be excited.

But I've seen two separate Cubs blogs-

Here and Here

- that are very optimistic we are going to see a more mature, focused and ultimately successful Big Z. Let's not jump to conclusions, shall we?

For one, it's tough to judge a pitcher's mental maturity when things are going well. Zambrano was on yesterday. He felt good. Threw well. And his mindset reflected that.

But what about when things don't go well? If he gets shelled at the New Busch Stadium in front of 45,000 fans in red. That's when we'll know whether Carlos no longer needs to sit on Freud's couch. Until then, let's hold off on proclaiming him a psychological breakthrough and focus on his next start.

Let's see how he handles adversity. If he goes off in the press, we'll know things haven't changed.

Then again, if he pitches like he did last night every time he takes the bump, it won't matter whether he's mature or not. He'll be the league's best pitcher. -Gotty