Cubs' Zambrano not apologetic for actions against Cardinals

Jim Edmonds was hit twice in Monday's game.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
CHICAGO -- Dusty Baker conceded he "probably" would have taken exception to a pitcher screaming at him as he rounded the bases after a home run as Carlos Zambrano did to St. Louis center fielder Jim Edmonds on Monday night at Wrigley Field.
"But a lot of stuff I take exception to, what I see today," Baker said.
The line in the sand between what is and isn't acceptable behavior in sporting events has been blurred considerably over the years. Zambrano stands as Exhibit A in the great debate. Are the Cubs being enablers when they let their 23-year-old starter go crazy on the field or is it merely modern-day entertainment?
Answer unclear
Whatever the answer, Zambrano made it clear Tuesday he was not apologizing for hitting Edmonds twice Monday night or for haranguing him as he circled the bases after his home run.
"I don't have to apologize to anybody," Zambrano said. "This is not a baby's game, this is a man's game. If you're trying to hit the inside zone, you have to pitch inside, especially in the big leagues. That ball went out of my hands. I didn't try to hit him. I know it looked bad because [Scott] Rolen hit a home run before that [at-bat].
"What happened Monday is already in the past. I have to focus on my next start against Philadelphia."
Whenever such an incident takes place, someone inevitably asks what Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale would have done to a showboating slugger in the 1960s.
"A lot of guys would've done something," Baker said. "But it's a new time, a new day. We always want to go back to the 'old school.' But nobody really knows what the old school is, expect us old dudes."
But if the Cubs really believe Edmonds was "showing up" Zambrano by watching his home run leave the ballpark, can they object to opposing teams retaliating against Sammy Sosa after one of his patented bunny hops?
"If they want to do something, it's on them," Baker said.
Sosa, Baker was told, has seldom been thrown at in the nine years he has been hopping after home runs. The manager shrugged.
"What can I say?" he said.
Zambrano insisted Sosa's hop is less offensive than Edmonds' haughty follow-through on a home run swing.
"That's different," Zambrano said. "When you jump and start running the bases, it's different. When you hit a home run and watch the ball go out of the ballpark, that's mean. That's why I was mad [at Edmonds]."