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And Moyer doesn't have anything like Zito's curve.
But maybe Barry just ain't that interested. Not saying he's a bad guy. Just that at the end of the day maybe he's not all that "boo hoo" about what happens on the field.
This likely reads worse than my intent.
The Giants still owe Zito over $100m, which is incredible. In fairness to Sabean, signing Zito was obviously down to ownership, but it's probably the worst contract of all time in real terms.
Here is where I will again bring up my idea of having him start 65 games a season. And then if Cain keeps having problems, Zito can be given an even bigger role, and start every game that Lincecum and Sanchez don't start!
How does one "inspire" a private yoga session for two? Also, does one of the two include Barry Zito?
I wonder if it'd be worth it to eat salary and trade him for a prospect. How much would they have to eat? 60-70 million, Arod territory?
When the man backs a dump truck full of money up to your house, you don't tell him that it's more than you're worth.
I asked the same thing a week or so ago when my wife brought it to my attention. She just shrugged.
There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of The Man's foolishness.
I hadn't thought of it, but this could actually be correct. If you're Brian Sabean right now, you're obsessed with how to avoid being fired over the worst contract in baseball history. (Yes, this is worse than Dreifort, Pavano or Hampton.)
how about Zito and 80 of his remaining $100 million for Shelly Duncan and a picture of Homer sleeping on the couch?
Actually, none of my wildest dreams feature Barry Zito in any way, shape or form, but you get my drift.
His uncle, on the other hand, you had a season-long dream about him.
Well, yeah, but everyone has that dream, so I didn't think it was even worth mentioning. Hell, the "Barry Zito's uncle" dream is as cliched as the one where you end up in the hallways at school in your underwear.
I was sure that was a dream, but a couple people took pictures...
Not everybody. Just you and Victoria Principal.
That was her? Dude--she looked like the elementary school janitor!
Yeah, me too, but fortunately it was pre-YouTube...
What's with the year 3000 vibe in here?
We're planning the Zito contract expiration date celebration to coincide.
Mine either. Zito appears only in my tame dreams. Zito, a feather, and a smile.
My wild dreams, OTOH . . . well, you guys probably don't want to hear about my wild dreams.
Water of the faeces?
"Why, those are the Giants! They work here in the Sadness factory."
"Tell them I hate them."
I've traded you all to San Francisco
KrustyZito: Ohh, they drove a dump truck full of money up to my house. I'm not made of stone!Coletti: Who's there?
Sabean: Oh, just a broken-down hobo who's hit rock bottom. And his commanding officer.
Coletti: Why, you're that disgraced general manager! Having you on staff will distract people from our horrendous free-agent signing record! Come in!
Are you sure that's Sabean at the door, and not Zito?
Zito: But I can't pitch anymore!
Giants fans: Yes, you can! The beauty was in your heart, not your arm.
Zito: [Pitches badly]
Giants fans: [Crowd boos] Your pitching's bad and you should feel bad.
(Of course, if I reverse that, I'd have to tell my students they can't expect me to read their papers carefully while I'm busy on a baseball web site, so don't complain if I miss their elegant analysis. Oh, well. It's all a crapshoot anyway, right?)
Just for the record, I'm kidding. That's if my Dean sees that, somehow.
One of Zoidberg's finest lines saved for last
Conor RobertsonDan Meyer your way for 93 million Sabean!Zito spent the spring working on his mechanics because he knew something wasn't right. I don't think it's fair to say he isn't interested.
I think the most obvious explanation is Zito is hurt. The question is, since when? Zito used to throw 88-91 mph on the fastball and had the universally acclaimed best curveball in the majors. He now can't really throw a good curveball and his velocity has dropped down six mph. He's got to be hurt, he just has to be.
"C'mon, Zito makes $18 M and he doesn't even close."
I think Zito's problem is that he cares too much. He admits that he performs best in non-pressure or low pressure situations but in the clucth he overthinks and tries too hard to push the ball. Seems the stress of the contract & all the focus on his performance is setting his head off.
Well, not unless the Mike Hampton contract got voided... though I guess with something like half a dozen teams on the hook for various portions of that monstrosity, perhaps it doesn't have the same effect.
Severely reduced pay for everybody!
Wasn't the crux of his analysis that Zito's mechanics have always been terrible?
Would now be a good time for a prolonged DL/minors stint to totally rebuild His mechanics from scratch? What do they have to lose?
Zito's Agent: "You put a one and three zeroes in front of that, or we pass."
Zito: "That's great. How much did you get me? "
Zito's agent: "One thousand dollars."
No one could have foreseen that it would close so quickly.
Wait... one could have foreseen that happening?
Well never mind then.
What would the Hampton deal look like in 2007 dollars? Granted, we're only talking five years here, but even a little bit of contract inflation could make the Zito deal look a little better.
Taken in the context of how it looked at the time, though, I think the Zito contract is much worse.
- Zito had ERA+ of 101, 116, and 113 the three years before he signed. Hampton had ERA+ of 122, 154, and 142.
- Both pitchers were lefties with similar K rates the past three years, and Hampton had only a slight disadvantage in walk rate.
- Both pitchers had made 30+ starts the past 3 years.
- Hampton was a year younger.
- Dan O'Dowd had a much tougher ballpark to sell pitchers on than Brian Sabean did.
Call it the fanboy in me if you will, but Hampton was a better bet -- not that he was Pedro Martinez or anything. In the event, it was a disaster, and Zito is going to have to work pretty hard to wind up being worse -- although he's made a good start -- but I think in terms of whether it was a good idea at the time or not, he's already very clearly got the trophy.
I don't know... Hampton put up those lines pitching in front of 2 division winners and a 90 win second place team -- both of which had exceptional defenses behind him, and decent to great bullpens.
Hampton's BB rate always scared me -- and I was extremely happy when the Cubs' Hampton bid fell short.
When he was with the A's, he was well known for being committed to working out and staying in shape during the offseason. Hardly the likely behaviour of someone who just ain't that interested.
I agree. This isn't just mechanics, and isn't just a mental thing, although it's almost certainly both of those. But at its foundation this has "sore arm" all over it.
The Hampton contract drew even more scorn than it deserved at the time, because it was with Colorado and obviously something up there turned good pitchers bad, so why even bother trying to have good pitchers. And because it was done at the same time that Colorado also gave Denny Neagle way more money than anyone expected, so it was clear that it was not part of a cunning and brilliant plan.
I thought about mentioning park and team context, but wanted to keep the post length down.
It is true that Hampton pitched all three years in pitchers' parks with very good teams. Still, Zito's were compiled in the NetAss, not exactly a hitter's paradise, with one division winner and two second-place teams, one of which was also a 90 win squad. Defensive support clearly goes to Hampton, and you do have to discount him some for that ... but his ERA+ numbers aren't just a little better, they're much better. At the absolute worst, I think you could say that Hampton was no worse a bet than Zito.
Not that I'm saying either deal was a good idea -- they were both bad gambles on pitchers who, to put it gently, didn't warrant that kind of money. But if you put those two guys' lines in front of me, stuck a gun to my head and demanded that I pick one to throw $120 million at, I'd go with Hampton.
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