Carlos Zambrano—on the Mound and at the Plate—Wins Number 100

After serving his suspension, missing a team plane, and being rained out of his return on Thursday, Carlos Zambrano's return to the mound and the line-up and made his presence known.

Zambrano set the tone of the game, and perhaps the rest of his season, by striking out the side in order. Hitting the mid-90s on the gun.

What is notorious a hitters' ballpark, the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, was transformed at least for one night into a pitchers' duel.

Micah Owings allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of work, while Zambrano allowed only two hits and no runs in 6.2 innings of work.

At the plate Zambrano hit what would be the game-winning home run in the fifth inning, showing just how important Zambrano's return is for the Cubs, both on the mound and at the plate.

When Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg entered the game in the eighth and ninth innings, respectfully, they were shaky, but both got their job done, and the Cubs beat the Reds, 2-1.

This was Carlos Zambrano's 100th career victory, and he just turned 28 years old. With all the current talk of if their will ever be another 300 game winner in the majors, does Big Z have a shot at 300 victories?

I think he does, providing he stays healthy, which is the hardest part to winning 300 games. I did some number crunching, and here is what I came up with.

Since becoming a full-time starter in 2003, Zambrano has averaged 32 starts per year. Over his sis full seasons as a starter (03-08), he has averaged just over 15 wins per year. These last six years he has averaged 211 innings per season.

To get to the "unreachable" 300 mark, Zambrano would have to average 15 wins a year for the next 13 years to put him at 295 wins, and he will be 41 years old.

Health is the biggest factor, and Zambrano has recently become more injury prone, hurting his hamstring this year and his shoulder last year.

While Zambrano is only at 100 wins and needs 200 more to be join that ever-more-esclusive club, he has a chance.

Sure. Luck, probably more than skill, will play the largest part in whether he reaches 300 wins.

The numbers don't lie, and at his current trajectory Zambrano will win his 300th game in 14 years. Will there ever be another 300-game winner? Yes, either Zambrano or another pitcher playing now or yet to start his first game.