Today the San Francisco Giants revealed that pitcher Barry Zito, the $126 million man is being relegated to the bullpen. At 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA Zito is one of only three pitchers in history to lose six games in the month of April, joining the elite group, joining Dave Stewart and Mike Maroth.While there is no official word on how long Zito will be backing up the likes of Kevin Correia (1-3, 4.50 ERA) and Matt Cain (0-2, 5.27 ERA), the real question is if he should be called on with the game on the line and what will have to be done in order for him to return to the starting rotation.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Giants weren't looking for an $18 million/year middle reliever when they decided to bring on Barry Zito before the 2007 season. Zito is the highest paid pitcher in the majors despite a clear decline in production following his 23-5 Cy Young season of 2002. Zito has won a high of 16 games in a single season since and has had as many losses as wins since the start of 2003.
Even Kerry Wood is making fun of Barry Zito's loss of pitching ability.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Barry Zito is a Historic Failure
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A few things. Kerry Wood never lost his ability. He has been injured for several years. Barry Zito is not the highest paid pitcher in baseball, not even close. Johan Santana is racking up $25 million a year.
The mystifying thing about the Giants is their perplexing front office moves, above and beyond the Zito fiasco. The money they gave him wasn't a bad thing, the fact they decided to handcuff themselves with an albatross of a contract when they were months away from getting rid of Barry Bonds and the financial burden he placed on the club for the last decade. They could of rebuilt around Linececum and Cain, but instead signed aging (however dependable) veteran Aaron Rowand when they should be focusing on developing their younger talent.
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