"When Barry Zito sprained his right foot while fielding a bunt April 16, the Giants' regulars were Buster Posey at catcher, Brandon Belt at first and Freddy Sanchez at second. The outfield, left to right, was Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand and Aubrey Huff.

Zito is returning to a different team, though it remains unequaled on the mound, thanks largely to the presence of Ryan Vogelsong, who replaced Zito and has, in Zito's words, "probably been the best in the league since he's come up. He's fun to watch."

For the first time in 10 weeks, Zito will pitch for the San Francisco Giants - starting the nightcap of today's day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field, and he'll be following the hottest man in the rotation, Vogelsong, who's working the opener.

"He's been great for this ballclub," Zito said.

As he did when he was omitted from the postseason roster last year, Zito is taking the high road in his latest odd-man-out dilemma, which became less dramatic when Jonathan Sanchez was shipped to the disabled list with biceps tendinitis.

Before Sanchez's exit, there was a debate over how Zito would be handled after tonight's appearance. A sixth starter? A reliever? A trade? The numbers game took care of itself, at least for the short term, not that Zito spent much time worrying about it.

"I'm focused on my game on Tuesday," he said over the weekend, adding that he is not caught up with the past (postseason omission) or future (how the rotation unfolds). "You've got to live right now, live today. There's a lot of stuff going on today that requires attention and focus. Going to any other moment than right now is not going to help things."

Zito went 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in four rehab starts, two for Class A San Jose and two with Triple-A Fresno, including a two-hit shutout in his finale. Before the injury, he was 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in three starts. After 358 career games, including 356 starts, he was assigned to the DL for the first time."