Not Zambrano this time: Cubs fight in dugout after awful inning

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Wed Mar 02 04:35pm EST

Not Zambrano this time: Cubs fight in dugout after awful inning

In times past, a horrendously played inning followed by a scuffle in the dugout usually happened to the Chicago Cubs on Carlos Zambrano's (notes) watch.

Here. And here.

But not this time. Z reportedly was not at the game Wednesday in which Cubs players had to be separated from each other in the dugout following a disastrous first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Z, you're obviously still cured!

Right-hander Carlos Silva (notes), on the other hand, appeared to be in the middle of this rumble.

UPDATE: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report that third baseman Aramis Ramirez (notes) was Silva's dance partner. The source was Alfonso Soriano (notes), who added: "They have to talk together and be normal. I hope they talk."

The Cubs made three errors and Silva served up two home runs, allowing the Brewers to take a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the first.

Here's what Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune saw:

Silva appeared to be out of the inning with a double-play grounder trailing 4-0, but a catcher's interference call on Koyie Hill (notes) prolonged it, and he gave up two more runs. Silva was angry coming into the dugout, and apparently some words were exchanged. Players scrambled to break it up, and Silva was removed from the game the next inning.

He was walked to the clubhouse by strength coach Tim Buss after the top half of the third. The Cubs said only that Silva was "not in the right frame of mind to talk."

Several minutes later, reporters asked for Silva again: No dice. He then left the ballpark in a golf cart. This was the first incident of this kind with the Cubs for Silva, who was traded by the Seattle Mariners for Milton Bradley (notes) before the 2010 season. He actually pitched pretty well this past year and got into no fights that we know of.

The Cubs have committed 13 errors in three-plus Cactus League games so far. Pitcher Ryan Dempster (notes) jokingly said that manager Mike Quade might be moved to take drastic actions to improve fielding — including the snipping of finger tips of offending players.

I'll say this: It would be much harder to fight in the dugout without fingers.

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