Barry Zito News: Pro Sports Daily

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September 9

East Valley Tribune

"Dan Haren and Barry Zito formed a bond in Oakland that neither time nor trades can destroy. So when Zito struggled early in the year, Haren was there to commiserate and offer words of support. The first text message Haren received after his 7-0 loss in Los Angeles on Friday was from Zito, and the two texted back and forth for 20 minutes. "It's funny - the things I was telling him early in the season are the same things he was telling me," said Haren, who will make his next start Wednesday, missing pitching against Zito by a day. "He gave me the same advice back. When you are trying to do too much, you press. He helped me a lot in '05 (when they were teammates in Oakland). He's always been ..."

Girls softball team, Zito combine for complete game for veterans

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August 31

San Francisco Chronicle

"Harold Smith, 66, a Vietnam veteran, attended his first baseball game in 50 years. "Can't tell you what it's like to experience the sounds and smells at the ballpark again," he said. Smith is blind and a patient at the Veterans Hospital in Palo Alto. He and 16 other veterans, including recent casualties from the Middle East who are in the poly trauma unit, were escorted onto the field before a Giants-Rockies game by a dozen girls softball players - a 16-and-younger traveling team, the Fremont Flyers - who have visited vets at the VA hospital and raised money to send 75 care packages to soldiers from the Fremont area serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "This is one of the best things for the ..."

Zito's missteps pave way for 11-7 loss to Reds

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August 30

San Jose Mercury News

"Giants Manager Bruce Bochy started a new, farm-fresh combination on his infield Friday, knowing that young mistakes would be part of the deal. Sure enough, third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a blunder that a more experienced player probably would have avoided. But Barry Zito, a 30-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, had no such excuse while committing many more missteps in an 11-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Zito (8-16) allowed a grand slam to Edwin Encarnacion in the third inning to trigger fireworks over the Ohio River. The Giants' youth brigade stormed back in the fourth to tie with a four-run rally off hard-throwing Edinson Volquez, but Zito found more trouble in the bottom of the ..."

Zito can't do it for kids

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August 30

San Francisco Chronicle

"This is what makes the Barry Zito saga so maddening for the faithful. Just when he starts to pitch well enough over three or four starts to stop folks from saying, "What are the Giants going to do about Zito?" he has a game that forces everybody to say, "What are the Giants going to do about Zito?" Friday was such a night. The Giants handed 15-game winner Edinson Volquez his worst earned-run beating of the season, six in 51/3 innings. Rookies Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa, Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez combined to go 8-for-15 with five RBIs. Yet none of that was nearly enough in an 11-7 loss to a Reds team that that was 8-17 in August and had not scored in double digits since ..."

Giants' Zito has new role: male fashion model

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August 28

San Jose Mercury News

"There were times this season when Barry Zito wanted to crawl into a dark hole. Now he's being plastered to multi-story buildings around the world, and he couldn't be more excited about it. Presenting Barry Zito, male fashion model. By sheer luck, Zito was discovered by a national clothing company, True Religion, and offered a modeling contract in April. Massive billboards featuring a jeans-clad Zito are beginning to show up in major urban areas. The Zito ads will appear on the sides of buses in Japan. In San Francisco, a True Religion billboard is planned for a building near the intersection of Bush Street and Van Ness Avenue. "It's crazy,'' Zito said. "I got a text message from (former ..."

Trust in Zito pays off for Giants

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August 24

San Jose Mercury News

"Barry Zito must be confident about his transformation as a pitcher. Now he's talking about improving his hitting this off-season. "I want to be more of a threat up there,'' he said. When the Giants' season melted away like spring snow in April and May, Zito was the wrong kind of threat on the mound. The game was imperiled every time he threw a pitch, and Manager Bruce Bochy all but used a Vaudeville hook to lift him from games. That hook isn't so quick anymore. Bochy demonstrated that Zito has restored his trust, eschewing a chance to pinch hit for the left-hander in the sixth inning of a tie game Saturday. Zito rewarded Bochy with two more scoreless innings, and the Giants rewarded Zito ..."

Late summer puts spring back in Zito

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August 24

San Francisco Chronicle

"Barry Zito has become so comfortable with his pitching that he already has offseason plans to work on his hitting. I definitely want to be a little more of a threat up there," he said. You know a guy had a good game on the mound when his biggest complaint is how he looked at the plate, but that's the mind-set of Zito these days. The recovering left-hander tossed eight solid innings and won consecutive starts for the first time in 2008. In the Giants' 4-3 victory over the Padres on Saturday, Zito also had a couple of feeble swings-and-misses, which curiously drew some boos from fans who thought a pitcher holding lumber ought to be more presentable, but his fourth-inning RBI single - two ..."

Does Zito's fizzle keep Sabathia's sizzle away?

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August 20

Sacramento Bee

"C.C. Sabathia did it again Monday night. He aggravated Astros hitters to earn his eighth win in nine starts with the Brewers. The Vallejo native should be in the conversation for the National League Cy Young Award, even if he was acquired in early July. Just as his fastball has hitters baffled, general managers are just as befuddled where he will pitch next season. Because Sabathia, 28, is a dominating left-hander in his prime, he will command a ransom in free agency this offseason. For that much loot, the suspects are the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cubs and Dodgers. It would be great to see Sabathia come home to be a Giant (sorry, the A's would never spend that much). There's one reason that ..."

Zito settles into some success

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August 19

San Francisco Chronicle

"Winning a Gold Glove award doesn't make anyone invincible. Over a full season, even the best defenders will have hiccups. Aaron Rowand admitted to two Monday. Both times, Barry Zito got out of it. "That's fine," Zito said of Rowand's defense. "These guys have been picking me up all year. It's nice to do the same to them." Zito threw seven shutout innings, his second scoreless effort in four starts, and the Giants beat the Braves 5-0 for their first series win in Atlanta since 1993, snapping a string of 20 winless series. They won three of four after losing four straight in Houston. At one point 2-11, Zito has gone 5-4 in 10 starts since June 25 to improve to 7-15. He has seven starts ..."

Giants pull trigger on youth insurgence, then watch Zito implode again

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August 14

San Jose Mercury News

"The Giants' youth movement just wrote a whole new stanza, even if the music wasn't so sweet Wednesday night. Prior to another Barry Zito self-detonation in a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros, the Giants remodeled their infield corners while adding three fresh faces to the team photo: first baseman Travis Ishikawa, third baseman Ryan Rohlinger and catcher/first baseman Pablo Sandoval. Struggling first baseman John Bowker was optioned to Triple-A Fresno along with backup catcher Steve Holm; third baseman Jose Castillo was designated for assignment, almost assuredly ending his Giants tenure before he could make it through a season. "We're sputtering offensively, and with John's struggles, we ..."

Zito throws batting practice

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August 6

San Jose Mercury News

"It wasn't surprising to see Barry Zito throwing batting practice Tuesday at AT"

Impressive Zito finds his 'mojo'

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August 3

San Jose Mercury News

"It's hard to generate pregame hype for the two worst teams in the National League West, so the TV promos billed Saturday night's game at Petco Park as a battle of former Cy Young Award winners.It didn't matter that one of them, Barry Zito, is six years and roughly 6 mph removed from his trophy season.But this time, Zito lived up to the billing - and then some.He pitched eight shutout innings, his longest outing of the season, to outperform San Diego's Jake Peavy, and the Giants won 2-0 at Petco Park.Zito (6-13) probably didn't have his best stuff of the season - his 10-strikeout game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 5 might rank a little higher - but he attacked the strike zone, ..."

Zito looks like $126 million man

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August 3

San Francisco Chronicle

"When manager Bruce Bochy jogged to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning, he didn't want to pull Barry Zito even though the Padres' scariest hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, was coming up with two runners aboard. "That was his ballgame at that point," said Bochy, who left the mound without signaling to the bullpen. Closer Brian Wilson called Bochy's decision "one of the greatest, most respectable things I've seen." Zito thought it was pretty cool, too. He retired Gonzalez on one pitch to complete eight shutout innings for the first time since Aug. 21, 2004, against Tampa Bay, and Wilson threw a perfect ninth to earn his league-leading 30th save and close out a 2-0 victory. Before Saturday, ..."

Zito takes mound in BP in his quest for answers

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July 31

San Francisco Chronicle

"Several Giants took early batting practice Wednesday. That happens a lot, with coaches usually throwing. The unusual part was who was on the mound. In his unfortunately ceaseless quest to get things right, Barry Zito pitched what amounted to a simulated game against the Giants' hitters rather than throw a normal side session in the bullpen. This is old school. When teams had four-man rotations, pitchers usually threw full-speed batting practice. "It's always a great benefit throwing against hitters in game situations," said Zito, coming off a loss against Arizona in which he allowed six runs and five walks in five innings. "It's something I've done in the past in Oakland here or there. ..."

Zito factored tabloids into choice of team

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July 10

San Francisco Chronicle

"All week, the tabloids here have gone cuckoo over the impending divorce of Alex Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, as well as their alleged love quadrangle with rockers Madonna and Lenny Kravitz. Wednesday's New York Post, for instance, wrote about a stripper who supposedly had an affair with A-Rod. The story quoted friends of the woman describing Rodriguez as "beautiful," "very attractive" and "well-endowed." Barry Zito, who pitches in today's series finale at Shea Stadium, acknowledged that stuff such as that played into his decision to sign with the Giants rather than the Mets, who also pursued him. "I knew that would be a factor, the media markets," Zito said. "You get exposed ..."

Indians zapped by Zito, Giants

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June 26

Akron Beacon Journal

"Does it get any worse than this? The Indians played patsy to Barry Zito and lost their second game in a row to the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Progressive Field on Wednesday night. As if that weren't embarrassing enough, the Tribe can quit worrying about the first-place Chicago White Sox and focus on staying out of the Central Division basement. Last place is the Indians' new home in the wake of the Kansas City Royals' win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night."

Zito trying to refine his altered delivery

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June 24

San Jose Mercury News

"Pitching coach Dave Righetti confirmed that the Giants had Barry Zito throw his bullpen workout off the main mound at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday to help the struggling left-hander better envision taking his stuff into games. Zito, who pitches Wednesday at Cleveland, is working to repeat an altered delivery in which he throws from a lowered arm angle. The adjustment has helped him gain velocity as well as movement on his sinking, two-seam fastball. But his improved stuff in the bullpen hasn't made it into competition, hence the decision to let him work off the game mound Saturday. "Hopefully this will help him," Righetti said. "It's no big deal.""

Zito trying to refine his altered delivery

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June 23

San Jose Mercury News

"Pitching coach Dave Righetti confirmed that the Giants had Barry Zito throw his bullpen workout off the main mound at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday to help the struggling left-hander better envision taking his stuff into games. Zito, who pitches Wednesday at Cleveland, is working to repeat an altered delivery in which he throws from a lowered arm angle. The adjustment has helped him gain velocity as well as movement on his sinking, two-seam fastball."

Zito does a sitdown with his good friend

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June 22

San Jose Mercury News

"The man who can best explain Barry Zito to the masses - except perhaps for Zito himself, and even then it's close - knows what you're thinking. Mychael Urban is the pitcher's very good friend. He wrote the book "Aces" about the A's final season with Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. He still covers the A's for MLB.com; the site allows him to spend his days off as the weekend host on KNBR's Giants pregame and postgame shows. On Urban's bio at KNBR.com, the station says he "has a very close relationship with Barry Zito which we hope will help us this season." So before their elaborate sitdown interview Tuesday, Urban said he and the butt of all Giants jokes laid out the ground rules. ..."

Giants' Zito (2-11) beaten by Tigers

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June 19

San Jose Mercury News

"How do you solve a problem like Barry Zito? If you're an opposing hitter, it isn't too difficult. You do what the Detroit Tigers did Wednesday afternoon: wait him out, take walks, force him to dump a pitch over the plate and punish it. If you're the Giants, the answers get a bit more elusive. The front office surely will be asking more of the same questions after Zito lasted only two innings in a 7-2 loss to the Tigers at AT"

Home is no place for Giants and Zito

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June 19

San Francisco Chronicle

"What's more embarrassing, 2-11 or 14-24? Barry Zito's season record or the Giants' home record? Actually, they're intertwined. One-third of the Giants' home losses have come on Zito's watch. They lost all eight of his home starts, and he's 0-7 with a 7.34 ERA when wearing the home whites or home oranges. "It feels terrible to let the team down," Zito said. "That's the hardest part, to go out there and have the guys bust their tail and come in here with a loss." In Wednesday's latest breakdown, Zito was pulled after two innings (the second-shortest start of his career) after he yielded five runs to the Tigers. Nine of the first 12 batters he faced reached base. Five hits. Four walks. ..."

Might Giants bring in Peterson to work with Zito?

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June 18

San Jose Mercury News

"A high-ranking Giants official said Tuesday he believes the organization should consider reaching out to fired New York Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson in an advisory role in hopes of helping get Barry Zito back on track. The official declined to comment because he said the topic is sensitive internally and Peterson still is under contract with the Mets. General Manager Brian Sabean said he would not "address anybody else's business" when asked about the Giants' possible interest in Peterson. Zito is 2-10 with a 5.88 ERA this season and has been mostly a disappointment since he signed a $126 million, seven-year deal before last season."

Reuniting Zito with old coach makes sense

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June 18

San Francisco Chronicle

"Rick Peterson was Barry Zito's pitching coach through the pitcher's best years in Oakland. Now that Peterson is unemployed, would it not make sense for the Giants to hire him as a special instructor to work with Zito and help right him? There were indications Tuesday that some in the front office have reached the same conclusion and are considering Peterson, who was canned as Mets pitching coach early Tuesday morning. New York manager Willie Randolph and first-base coach Tom Nieto also were let go."

Mission complete: Get Zito a W

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June 9

San Francisco Chronicle

"Throughout his difficult season, Barry Zito insisted he has not thought about wins and losses, but his teammates have. When Zito left Sunday's game with a one-run lead after five innings, the three relievers who followed Zito were especially motivated. After they accomplished their mission, and the Giants finished their 6-3 victory in the mind-frying heat at Nationals Park, Jack Taschner's voice sped with emotion as shared his feelings about Zito."