"Nearly four years ago, former Cubs manager Lou Piniella explained why he didn't want Carlos Zambrano to curtail his antics.

"I like an emotional pitcher," Piniella said. "I like some emotional players on my team. Why not? You can't have 25 Stepford wives. What you want is basically a combination of different personalities on a team, and that's what makes it a team."

Now, after a decade of excusing Zambrano's actions as a byproduct of his intense "emotions," the Cubs seemed to acknowledge Saturday they never will be a true team with him on it.

The club placed Zambrano on the 30-day disqualified list for bolting the team during Friday's game. He will go without pay and will not be allowed to be with the team through Sept. 11.

"This was the most stringent penalty that our club could inflict without a release," general manager Jim Hendry said. "There's not much worse than running out on your teammates in the middle of a ballgame, unpacking your locker, announcing your retirement. I think that is a tremendous problem with the other 24 guys, and something we as an organization could not tolerate."

Major League Baseball and the players union will decide disciplinary actions over Zambrano's alleged "retirement" pronouncement. But Hendry said Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, told him Zambrano was "not in the retirement mode," meaning the Cubs are still on the hook for his $18 million salary in 2012.

Hendry wouldn't speculate on whether Zambrano will wear a Cubs uniform again. Praver did not return phone calls."