Lou Piniella done lost his mind Thursday night in Colorado. At least temporarily.

With the Cubs pounding the Rockies 10-2 after 6 innings, Piniella decides to remove Ted Lilly. Lilly was scheduled to lead off the 7th and had thrown 127 pitches to get through those 6 innings, so Piniella pinch-hits for him. Solid. But…

Piniella had yet to use any of his bench so I was absolutely shocked when I saw who was strolling up to the plate to hit for Lilly. Carlos Zambrano. Are you kidding me?

Call it overreacting, but how Cubs would it have been if Zambrano were to get injured in a totally meaningless situation? Big Z was up there taking some mighty hacks too.

I don’t see Jim Hendry as the meddling type of GM, especially with a veteran manager like Piniella. But here’s hoping that’s a topic of conversation in their next chat. If it’s a very close game or an extra-inning affair, it would be acceptable. But with a full bench and a 10-2 lead? Just dumb. Marquis is a good hitter too. Send him up there.

[tags]Cubs, Lou Piniella, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, MLB[/tags]