By James Bailey
Barry Zito is finally pitching like a $126 million man. The Giants lefthander tacked seven strong innings onto his 2010 resume in a 3-2 win over the Marlins Wednesday night. He’s now 5-0 on the season with a 1.49 ERA.
For the first two and a half years of his contract he looked like the biggest, most expensive bust in free agent history. Thoroughly mediocre in 2007, his first season in San Fran, he regressed to dreadful the following season, when he started the year 0-8 with a 6.25 ERA and more walks than strikeouts through his first nine starts. His only extended run of success came in the second half last year, when he went 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts.
That momentum (something Zito doesn’t believe in) has carried over into this year. He’s made six starts, all of them quality starts, allowing one or zero runs in four of them. With a little more run support he’d be 6-0, but the Giants could muster only a single run against the Dodgers on April 18. Zito left that contest with a 1-0 lead and a man on first with one out in the eighth, only to see his reliever, Sergio Romo, serve up a home run to Manny Ramirez on his fourth pitch.
The key to his success seems to be mental. He’s finally gotten away from trying to live up to his monster deal. The freedom that has given him has added back the few mph that were stolen from his fastball by all the self-imposed pressure. Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle had a great column on him yesterday, detailing his progression since signing with the Giants.
With Zito pitching like an ace, San Francisco may be the favorite in a competitive National League West. Tim Lincecum (4-0, 1.70 ERA, 56 SO in 42.1 IP) isn’t going to let go of the Cy Young Award without a fight. Matt Cain, who blossomed last year, is following up nicely with a 2.84 ERA through five starts, though he’s just 1-1. And enigmatic Jonathan Sanchez stands at 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA and a pair of double-digit strikeout games. His no-hitter last July looked like a fluke at the time, but on any given night he’s liable to show up with that same kind of stuff. The only weak link in the chain is Todd Wellemeyer (1-3, 5.55 ERA) who should slide into a long relief role when top prospect Madison Bumgarner is ready.
The Giants are tops in the majors with only 78 runs allowed and a staggering .212 opponents’ batting average. Their 2.79 ERA ranks second, behind only St. Louis. The offense, which has been among the weakest in the league over the past couple of seasons, has improved to middle-of-the-pack status, good enough for the club to lead the NL with a +42 run differential.
This is what the Giants had in mind when they lured Zito across the Bay from Oakland three years ago. The team has failed to reach the postseason since he (and manager Bruce Bochy) arrived. That could change this year, and if it does no one is going to want to face this staff in October.
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Most people probably assume that he’s not a legitimate Cy Young contender even with the great start (unlike Halladay, Lincecum, Jimenez, etc.), but I’m not so sure. He did, after all, win a Cy Young once, and his SO/BB is identical now to what it was in 2002. It would be one of the greatest comebacks ever, and I’m rooting for it to happen.
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