Sam Zell owns them.  The Ricketts family wants to.   Chairman Crane Kenney keeps the money flowing and vice president and general manager Jim Hendry doles it out like TARP funds.

On the field, Lou Piniella and his coaching staff supposedly call the shots.   The north side of Chicago claims them and a case could be made that many ofAmerica’s baseball fans cherish them.

So with all these hands in the mix, why do I wonder who actually runs Chicago Cubs baseball?

Maybe it’s because of incidents involving a player like Carlos Zambrano that continually blur the lines between who’s in charge and who’s really running the show.

Last week, for instance, just five days after receiving a six-game suspension for “violent and inappropriate” conduct, Zambrano skipped the team charter’s flight without notifying club management.  Reportedly, this wasn’t an isolated incident as Zambrano regularly misses at least one chartered flight a year.

Chicago management’s response?  A 20-minute meeting between Piniella and Zambrano that resulted in a possible fine and a “it’s been handled internally” comment from the Cubs’ skipper.

Piniella may have been fuming privately as it was reported.  But for Zambrano?  It was just another day at the office for a man with a $91.5 million contract.

Evidently when you’re the highest paid player on the team, an apology is never in order nor contriteness ever a consideration. According to the Chicago Tribune report, Piniella will not make Zambrano apologize to the team.

Nor does it seem Zambrano cares what Chicago management or for that matter, anyone thinks.  When asked for comment, Zambrano replied, “You want to go find a story? Go to Afghanistan.”

Why yes, Carlos.  There are many stories in Afghanistan.  Most of them, I’m sure, very sad and disturbing.  But we’re talking baseball here, not international affairs.  And my guess is there isn’t one person in Afghanistan who wouldn’t gladly trade places with a privileged, overpaid, and obviously selfish man-child baseball player.

But that’s hard to see when one thinks they’re the attraction.  And worse yet, those running the show privately fume, but publicly act as enablers.

Of the many sad aspects of this story is that Zambrano isn’t the first Chicago Cubs player to behave badly.  One only has to look over his shoulder to see the shadow that Sammy Sosa left behind. And it’s certain both will have plenty of company before all is done.

Zambrano, through often times remarkable play, has painted himself as the face of Chicago Cubs baseball.  The question now is, is it a picture worth having?