When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

04.23.2008
4/22/08: Team Effort

D'Backs 5, Giants 4: Freddie Lewis did all he could to boost the Giants, but the rest of the team coughed this one up. Culprit #1 was Barry Zito, who optimists said only needed a little run support to relax and pitch well. Urp. Up 3-0 after the top of the second, Zito proceeded to pitch like he couldn't handle the pressure of having a lead. He was awful. It was painful to watch. It's not the velocity, it's the cookies. I've never seen so many balls left right out over the heart of the plate. Actually, I have; it was when I was on the mound a few years ago in my team's playoff game, and... I don't want to talk about it.

If this pattern continues, I predict the Giants do something drastic with Zito by June. No way they can let this guy pitch BP every fifth day ad nauseum. Pride will be swallowed: a bullpen assignment, a phantom injury and "rehab" stint in the minors, something.

Don't think the Giants lineup gets off scot-free. They had Brandon Webb on the ropes and couldn't land the big one. Give some credit to Webb, but the Giants could have, should have had at least five on the board by the fifth inning. I don't think that would have helped Zito much, unfortunately.

PLODAG: Tyler Walker, with a perfect 8th and three Ks. Always nice to see the Big Sweaty in top form. He's one of my favorite stories this year, especially with all the abuse he took from Giants fans when he was the emergency closer a couple years ago. Sorry to be cold, but he could be a valuable trading chip this summer.

The Upside: FreddieLoo!
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[April 23, 2008 10:48 AM]  |  link  |  reply
reeky said

You're right, a mysterious oblique injury is in order -- is the 60-day DL the maximum? Any historical comparisons to Zito? I can't remember a "big-time" young and healthy pitcher going this far south this fast...

[April 23, 2008 10:56 AM]  |  link  |  reply
giantsrainman said

I think Aaron Rowand has to share the goat of the game trophy with Barry Zito. Twice Aaron came up with no outs and 1 or two runners in scoring positon and both times he tried to pull a jack and striked out instead. A right field approach was what was call for and expected of a gamer and he failed both times.

[April 23, 2008 11:48 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

I just read the morning papers. Apparently Bruce Bochy is tired of the Zito pep talks, too. His tight-lipped comments to reporters after the game were ominous: "It was not a good night, not a good outing for him. I'll leave it at that."

[April 23, 2008 12:59 PM]  |  link  |  reply
bigO said

You know what really sucks? This team isn't as bad as I thought, they're kind of (kind of) gritty and I find myself liking them. Hmmm, 5 games under .500, Zito 0-5. No one would be happy if he was out #5 starter the way he's been pitching. If it wasn't Zito, the contract etc we'd have made a change. Let's do it.

[April 23, 2008 2:24 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Jefferson said

I think the Barry Zito TV commercial shows us how he got that contract from the Giants.

[April 23, 2008 2:40 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Jefferson

I haven't seen it. Please describe.

[April 23, 2008 4:08 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Jefferson replied to ELM

It's the one where a guy is carefully explaining to his boss why he deserves a 10% raise. The boss blows him off. Zito then comes in and says something about a change-up, or a curveball. Then he hands the guy incriminating photos of his boss from Vegas. The boss agrees to a 15% raise...

It's the least funny of the three Giants TV commercials I've seen so far. The one where Cain shows someone how to back someone off his girlfriend is great. The one where Bochy brings in a relief boyfriend is also good.

[April 23, 2008 2:34 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

Well, it made me pretty pissed off, too, coming out wirth a 3-0 lead and giving up 2, then, for the second start in a row, giving up multiple RBIs to Webb. I was having trouble (as usual) with MLB-TV, so didn't see the pitch to Webb, but my sense is he grooved one. If so, how stupid.
OTOH, Zito is always awful in April, so even in his good years we would have to suffer thru April. I didn't look up his splits, so I don't know when he gets good. Even last year he had a decent 2nd half, better than his first. I just wonder if I can wait.

[April 23, 2008 2:49 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Frank

Here are his splits for 2005-07. Note that his ERA and BAA are higher in the second half, but his BB/IP and K/IP rates improve in the second half. There's not much evidence that he's a much better pitcher after the all-star break.