Show Me Zee Money!

From the "grossly overpaid and amusingly arrogant about it" department:

Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano wants more money - a lot more money. Sitting back this winter and watching mediocre pitchers like Barry Zito and Gil Meche get paid way more than they probably should have has sparked a serious appetite for the Benjamins in the fiesty righthander, who says he will walk away from the Cubs after this season if a new (obscene) deal isn't reached.


So, with all the money thrown around this offseason, it makes you wonder: just what is Zambrano - a strikeout pitcher who won 16 games for a horrible Cubs team last year - worth? Clearly more than Zito or Meche, but how far do you go? Five years, $90 million? Six years, $110 million?

Clearly, Zambrano thinks that is a steal. For that price, you not only get a pitcher who is averaging almost nine Ks a game while holding hitters to a .208 average, but great third-person quotes like:

"If they don't sign me, sorry, but I must go. That's what Carlos Zambrano thinks."

And honest self-assessments like:

"When you're a great pitcher and have talent, you deserve the money no matter who gives it to you."

Clearly, Zambrano will be wearing pinstripes in 2008, and not the light blue Cubs kind.