LOL at Barry Zito and the Giants

[Deadpool]

Barry Zito has been demoted to the bullpen. Thank God you were stupider then the Mets and actually signed that bum and gave him everything he wanted. If you guys are willing to pay most of his contract Los Mets will trade you Jorge Sosa for him.

I`d like to say Zito and his agent raped the Giants, but is it really rape if the Giants wanted him?

 

[1001001]

18 million a year to start 0-6?

Seems fair to me.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Hey, I can't say anything. The Diamondbacks had the same schtick going with Russ Ortiz back in the day.

 

[Tom Servo]

Aren't the Mets the one that traded away Scott Kazmir for a McDonalds Happy Meal?

So yeah, mistakes happen to anyone. Unfortunately for the Giants, they took it to the extreme. Atleast they still have Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain for cheap, or they would be screwed.

I never though Zito deserved that contract anyway. He got the Cy Young in what, 2002? Thats great, but his stuff has never been great. His fastball tops out in the mid 80's, and he can't locate that big looping breaking ball. Thats a recipe for sucktitude. What the guy needs is a mid 90s fastball, and with his delivery and arm speed he just can't generate that kind of velocity.

 

[Rat Boy]

I think the Giants just killed Barry Zito's career and flushed their investment in him straight down the toilet. There's no way he can get his velocity and location back stuck in the bullpen and whatever shreds of his confidence and ego he has left are all gone now.

 

[tomalak301]

I was thinking about making a thread about this but it was going to be a tad nicer. I kind of feel for the guy and I'm trying to get behind him. I mean it's not his fault he accepted a $126 million deal. I'm sure if something like that was offered to any of you, you'd accept it in a heart beat. I blame mostly Borr-ASS and the Giants ownership for this. Still, for Zito himself, he's a cool guy and does the strikeout for troops program. It's hard to watch him now but I really hope he turns it around sometime.

As for him in the Bullpen, I don't think that was a bright move but we'll see what happens. I still think it would have been great to sit him down a start or two, maybe let him go surfing somewhere and clear his head. He's mentally beat down and it's just really hard to watch. Still, I just hope things work out and he can get back somehow.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think the Giants just killed Barry Zito's career and flushed their investment in him straight down the toilet. There's no way he can get his velocity and location back stuck in the bullpen and whatever shreds of his confidence and ego he has left are all gone now.

He's a professional. He should be able to do both. In fact, a pitcher should see the bullpen as an opportunity to prove that you deserve to get your starting job back. He does well there, he can start again. If not, it shows there's a reason why he doesn't start any more.

 

[Luckyflux]

Yeah, I feel bad for him as well. I always thought he was a good pitcher, but this year he has lost it. I wonder if he can tweak his delivery and get some better mechanics. I think he should have skipped a turn in the rotation, instead of dropping to the bullpen.

He should be able to turn it around though, but he is going to have to make the turn around in San Francisco though. With that huge contract the Giant will be stuck with him. So if his head is bad, it will be on him to get better.

A shame to, I have a Barry Zito rookie card Bowman Chrome (2000) that was at 20 bucks a while ago. I haven't checked in awhile, but I bet it is pretty low.

 

[Deadpool]

Aren't the Mets the one that traded away Scott Kazmir for a McDonalds Happy Meal?

More like a pack of bubble gum but yeah they did. The only good thing is that the idiot who traded him away is long gone and Kazmir hasn`t done much in the bigs.

I think at this point it might be best to just take the L and trade him away. He still has some trade value especially if the Giants are willing to eat alot of that contract but the longer he stays in the pen any value he has will be shot, plus Zito is not a reliever and has never been a reliever and being in the pen is gonna destroy what is left in him, and it might have been a better idea to just ship him to the minors so he could start and get his shit straight.

 

[Tom Servo]

Aren't the Mets the one that traded away Scott Kazmir for a McDonalds Happy Meal?

More like a pack of bubble gum but yeah they did. The only good thing is that the idiot who traded him away is long gone and Kazmir hasn`t done much in the bigs.

I think at this point it might be best to just take the L and trade him away. He still has some trade value especially if the Giants are willing to eat alot of that contract but the longer he stays in the pen any value he has will be shot, plus Zito is not a reliever and has never been a reliever and being in the pen is gonna destroy what is left in him, and it might have been a better idea to just ship him to the minors so he could start and get his shit straight.

While he hasn't gotten any accolades really (post-season wins, cy young) Kazmir is one of the top young pitchers in the game, and I dread whenever he pitches against the Sox, cause he destroys them. I mean the only real concern is his size, which is small for a power pitcher like him, but other then the injury concern, he is going to be a great pitcher and a strikeout machine for hopefully many years. (Even though one day, I hope the Rays can't afford him and the Sox land him...Beckett, Dice-K, Kazmir, Buchholz, Lester...yikes)

I honestly think that unless Zito can find a way to up his velocity, or nail pinpoint control (a la Jamie Moyer) he is done. He can't survive with his location and a flat 84 MPH fastball, and he does not have the delivery or arm strength to make it go any faster.

 

[Aragorn]

The Mets did trade Kazmir for a partially-eaten Happy Meal, but on the flip side they traded away a Happy Meal that cost seven figures and got John Maine.

As for Zito, he's what happens when you're the best pitcher in a week free agent offseason. Look how nuts teams are going, paying eight-figure salaries these past two offseasons for average to below average starting pitchers.

 

[Luckyflux]

Mets fan here and I hate the fact that they let Kazmir go. We also had Brian Bannister and lost him too....

I don't think Zito is tradable, unless they eat almost all of his salary and who wants to do that. He'll get better, and go back to top form. He'll win 10 games this year.

Mets fans might remember Steve Traschel from a few years ago....at one point he was 1-11, then they sent him to the minors and when he came back after a few weeks he won his next 8 out of 9.

 

[SmoothieX]

Another Mets fan here...

The Brian Bannister trade for Ambiorix (sounds like a perscription drug) Burgos burns me pretty bad right now. Bannister has evolved into a quality young starter which is what the Mets desperately need right now. At the time they traded him though, he had only a few big league starts and they needed bullpen help, so I can at least sort of rationalize it. I think Ollie Perez has more upside but is less consistent.

The Anna Benson trade has worked out well for them as Maine has become quite a pitcher. Kris Benson has been hurt and they got rid of a distraction.

The Kazmir one really pissed me off though. They made a desperate trade to look like they were buyers rather than sellers at the trade deadline. They weren't going to make the playoffs that year, and made that deal to show the fans they were 'committed to winning now' or some shit like that.

Victor Zambrano was no good when they got him, no good for them, and unceremoniously blew out his elbow and was run out of town. Kazmir isn't Cy Young material (yet?), but he's an all star.

Picture this possible rotation this year: Santana, Maine, Kazmir, Bannister, Perez. You wouldn't have to worry about Pedro or El Duque's fragile health or Pelfrey's growing pains.

 

[Starbreaker]

18 million a year to start 0-6?

Seems fair to me.

Sounds better than paying Mike Hampton $15 to sit on the bench and try his luck at Triple AAA every once in a while.

 

[Captain Ice]

Hey, I can't say anything. The Diamondbacks had the same schtick going with Russ Ortiz back in the day.

To give you another example, George Steinbrenner is still paying Johnson.

 

[Aragorn]

At least you Mets fans have quality prospect arms coming through your system and are willing to gamble on trades to get better.

As a Mariners fan, I had to put up with years of making no trades to improve (which drove Lou Pinella away) because the front office overvalued their minor leaguers and thought everyone was the second coming of Cy Young. But they wouldn't bring them up to play them either, instead opting to sign veteran has-beens for too much money (which they still do in the form of Scott Spiezio, Jeff Weaver, Carl Everett, James Baldwin, Jarrod Washburn, Pokey Reese, Rich Aurillia and most recently Brad Wilkerson). So all these prospects don't get a shot in the bigs, never get traded, and one day they're 30 and no longer prospects!

Oh, but the GM has no problems decimating the bullpen by trading the best two non-closers away one after another.

 

[Sheep]

0-7...nice. Admittedly it's not all his fault considering the Giants suck more than a truck full of vacuum cleaners, providing a grand total of 9 runs in his 7 games.

The scary thing is that the Giants aren't even last in their division with their craptacular 14-21 record.

 

[Corran Horn]

Billy Beane sure knows when to fish or cut bait. Course, his monetary situation helps with that.