Investing in the Future…

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?
I recently read a great chat with Jayson Stark from ESPN.com and Baseball America about the worst baseball free agent signings in the history of the game. The conversation came up after the San Francisco Giants announced that they were moving Barry Zito to the bullpen. In other words, the Giants may be paying Zito approx. $14.5 Million dollars in 2008 to be a lefty specialist out of the pen. I guess they do need someone to fill that role after getting rid of Steve Kline. Lefties did hit .318 against Kline in 2007. Zito has to be able to do better than that, right?

I won't hold my breath. Lefties are hitting .348 against Zito so far this year.

So if Zito truly is this bad, what prompted the Giants to pay $126 Million over seven years? How did they not see this coming? They had to have some good reasons, right? Well, here’s what I’ve come up with as potential reasons, or as we would now call them…Excuses:

1. When they signed Zito, he was 28. Many experts consider the years between 28 and 35 to be a pitcher’s prime. They’ve been battle tested, but haven’t killed their arm. They now have the best of both worlds: pitching ability and pitching knowledge, which can be a lethal combination.
   
   
2. His career ERA after the 2006 season was 3.55 (and that was in the AL). San Fran was moving him to the NL and another pitcher friendly park. AT&T Park ranked last in 2006 for homeruns allowed (the Oakland Coliseum was 24th).
   
   
3. He won 23 games in 2002 and took home the Cy Young award with a 2.75 ERA, showing that when on, he can be un-hittable.
   
   
4. Between 2001 and 2006 he made at least 34 starts throwing more than 210 innings each year. Now that’s consistent! What team wouldn’t want a lefty they can count on to pitch every fifth day for an entire season? And not just for one season, but for the next seven years.
   
   
5. According to a few sources, Zito plays the guitar, travels with his pillow and is as mellow as Jack Johnson off the field. What a great fit for the Bay Area.
   

So, can you really blame the Giants? They saw these positives and jumped on board. Hey, they were looking for a new face to the organization. From Barry (Bonds) to Barry (Zito), but with a lot less negative press. They saw this as a step in turning around the image and performance of the ball club.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite worked out. With Bonds, they looked naïve, turning a blind eye to an unnaturally enhanced slugger with an edgy personality…but he was always “just their Barry.” With Zito, they look like fools who completely missed the boat on a “proven ace” that now tops out at 84 MPH, can’t even get lefties out and is headed to the bullpen. Which is worse?

I expect to hear this statement from Bud Selig next year: “With the first pick, in the 2009 Amateur Baseball Draft, the San Francisco Giants select…Ryan Leaf, Quarterback, Washington State.”