Zambrano less than dazzling in IronPigs outing

ALLENTOWN - Nothing Carlos Zambrano did in his start for triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park made you believe he was a must-have arm in the Phillies rotation.

It took the veteran righthander 101 pitches to cover five innings against the New York Yankees' Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate, including 29 in the fourth inning, when he allowed two runs on two hits and three walks. His final line in Lehigh Valley's 4-2 victory: five innings, four hits, two earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was not in attendance. The Phillies made a flurry of roster moves Thursday, but they do not have to make a final decision on Zambrano until July 1, the date he can opt out of his minor-league contract.

The quote of the day on the IronPigs' media notes was from Zambrano, who talked about how nervous his wife gets when he's pitching.

"I tell her when you drive a car and you're the driver, you go 100 m.p.h. in Venezuela," Zambrano said. "People in the passenger seat can be scared, but the guy who is driving the car is not scared. It's the same on the mound."

The quote is funny because in his prime with the Chicago Cubs, he could throw a baseball close to 100 m.p.h. What the hitters from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre saw Thursday was a steady diet of fastballs clocked at 84 to 88 m.p.h. to go along with a big-league slider.

"You have to remember that I have more than 2,000 innings in my shoulder," said Zambrano, 32. "The major leagues punish people and there is nothing I can do . . . but I was able to go out and compete and keep the team in the game."

Zambrano said he has not spoken to Amaro since he signed his minor-league deal last month. He also said he believes he is ready to pitch in the big leagues.

"I've been feeling like that since two outings ago," Zambrano said.