Zito

[Bear]

Short of moving this guy what would you do if you were the Giants manager or GM?

If I was in one of those positions I would consider moving him to the pen for a while and starting Merkin Valdez in his place. Zito needs to sort thing out, and rebuild his game, and Valdez is pitching great. This seems like the right thing to do to me. Your thoughts?:p

[McCovey]

That's the most logical baseball move that makes the most sense I think the media and a lot of fans will see that an an admission that Zito is a mistake. Good or bad we are stuck with Zito. All we can so is make the best of the situation and help Zito get back on track. But I don't think he'll ever be an All-Star caliber pitcher again. I find that strange because Zito is not even 30 years old yet and he has never hand any arm injuries. Shoot, he's never missed a start in his entire major league career. I just don;t get how a 28-29 year old pitch just loses his stuff like without any major injury? :shrug:

[SF Kid]

Bear... nice post. I agree. REP!!! Ummm...errr... :yourock:

[Sucka Free]

Short of moving this guy what would you do if you were the Giants manager or GM?

If I was in one of those positions I would consider moving him to the pen for a while and starting Merkin Valdez in his place. Zito needs to sort thing out, and rebuild his game, and Valdez is pitching great. This seems like the right thing to do to me. Your thoughts?:p

I wouldn't start Valdez. He's just coming off Tommy John surgery and it would be too risky. He'll definitely be a bullpen guy for a long time. I say we start Misch...he was decent in the minors (3.80 ERA in 4 games), and should that he had some good stuff today by allowing just 2 ERs in 6 IPs, and doing it all in just above 70 pitches.

[Bear]

I would not argue with giving Misch a shot even though I do not think he is a long term solution. I do believe Valdez's future is as a starter and that he will do very well in the role. Either way they both would be better than Zito.:beerbang:

[robbnen]

Well, I got to see the Zillion Dollar arm first hand today. (Sure glad I picked THAT one, BEAR!)

Repeatedly throwing first pitches at 84 mph and high, above the strike zone.

For whatever reason, he has lost it. He's had 6 tries this year and no success.

No way he can be traded or waived due to contract. I think the next best option is to put him in the pen until he gets it together. Maybe in a LH setup role, he can get a lefty out and be done for the day.

The injury to Correia makes this a little less workable, but I could see Misch, Valdez and even Yabu stepping up to take 2 slots in the rotation. It certainly can't be any worse.

However, it would take a rare combination of cajones, brains and humility on the part of Bochy and front office to ok moving their big $ guy to the pen. I doubt we'll see it.

A more likely scenario: Ride him until Lowry or Correia return and then put him on the DL with some vague injury.

[Bear]

A more likely scenario: Ride him until Lowry or Correia return and then put him on the DL with some vague injury.

That very rare injury "He can't pitch worth Shit". Its fatal, and sooner or later he will have to be put down.:(

[robbnen]

Didn't William Van Launching Pad and Solomon Torres come down with that too?

The thought also occurred to me today, well two thoughts:

1. It was bat day and they gave out actual size wood little league bats to kids and I was thinking, geez, hope Zito can duck or he's gonna get hurt.

2. This Zito disease might take down Rags too.

[robbnen]

This just in:

Bochy called Zito in after today's loss and said he is going to skip a start or go to the pen until he gets right:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080427&content_id=2598281&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

[SF Kid]

***WARNING ADULT LANGUAGE*** :)

Speaking of "Bat Day"...here is a classic clip from The Kid From Brooklyn -- Classic...

Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA8x_YypfjA)

[Sucka Free]

***WARNING ADULT LANGUAGE*** :)

Speaking of "Bat Day"...here is a classic clip from The Kid From Brooklyn -- Classic...

Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA8x_YypfjA)

Haha. Reminds me of my uncle. The Kid is my hero :p:D

[McCovey]

Hey, ESPN's Buster Onley agrees with me! :D


Zito's transition will be difficult

Giants manager Bruce Bochy sounded empathetic over the phone, in the hour Barry Zito was told he was being moved out of the Giants' rotation just 17 months into his seven-year, $126 million contract. "He's been trying to do all he can to get back on track," said Bochy. "I'm sure he is [pressing]. He's got a lot of pride. He really feels like he's letting a lot of people down."

But Zito is shifting to the bullpen, perhaps temporarily -- maybe a little longer than that, depending on how he looks working in relief. Hank Steinbrenner might suggest that Zito should start to throw like Jamie Moyer, and to focus on developing a changeup that would make his 82-84 mph fastball look a lot better. It's not that simple, as one talent evaluator noted. Moyer, Greg Maddux, Livan Hernandez and the handful of others who can pitch at those speeds succeed largely succeed because of their pinpoint command, and to date, Zito has never had that kind of control. He's won in the past by getting hitters to chase his stuff out of the strike zone.

The bottom line is that right now he's trying to fight against hitters with a water-gun fastball, and it's hard to imagine him succeeding unless he gains velocity.

When the Giants signed Zito, they said he was going to be the new face of the franchise, writes Henry Schulman. Giants owner Peter Magowan says this is a move that had to be made, writes Andrew Baggarly. He is the pitchers' version of Chuck Knoblauch, writes Gwen Knapp.

[SF Kid]

Develop a change up? Sheese at this stage of his career that isn't going to be easy.

Big mistake. Oh well.

[Bear]

Barry Zito always prided himself on his mental strength and his crafty pitching. Now he's having trouble with both. Zito, a 29-year-old left-hander, has lost the zip on his fastball and the snap on his curve. The fastball, which has dropped from 88-89 mph to 83-84 mph, is too often like the softer stuff opponents see in batting practice, and the curve no longer buckles or freezes hitters.

"Barry's the most conscientious and caring of guys. That's a burden you have to manage," said sports psychologist Harvey Dorfman, who lists Zito as a client. "You care too much, and 'too' is a deadly word. 'I try too hard.' No good. 'Too' is a killer. It means excessive."

"They used to laugh at Yogi Berra when he said, 'I can't think when I'm concentrating.' But that's true. Thinking and concentrating are two different things," sports psychologist Joel Kirsch said. "Zito thinks too much about pinpointing the pitches. Too much is in his head instead of being aggressive and letting the pitch fly. The less the brain is involved in performance, the higher the performance.''

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Is there anyone here who feels Zito is going to be better than a .500 pitcher for the Giants? I do not but would be interested in your thoughts.

[McCovey]

Is there anyone here who feels Zito is going to be better than a .500 pitcher for the Giants? I do not but would be interested in your thoughts.
At this point it will be extremely difficult for Zito to finish with a .500 record or over. He's already 0-6 so he'll need an extended hot streak just to get to .500.