Monday, May 28, 2012

Zito in command

Barry Zito rebounded from a wretched start last week in Milwaukee to shut down Arizona at home today. It was his sixth "quality start" (out of ten) on the young season. By way of comparison, Tim Lincecum has one in his ten starts. That's why I love baseball--shit happens that makes no sense. But today is about Barry, not Timmy. He had command of all his pitches and he and Hector Sanchez mixed it up all afternoon and kept the Diamondbacks from a big inning. The Giants put up a crooked number right away on Trevor Cahill and that seems to be a tonic for the team as they tend to win when they score first. Brandon Belt got the big blow, a triple that drove in run with two outs, and we have to hope it is a sign of things to come. The lineup was without Buster Posey and that meant someone in the middle had to get a big hit. Gregor Blanco continues to impress and Angel Pagan is producing consistently after his rough start. The offense is showing some real life, and getting Pablo Sandoval back could be a huge boost. They aren't going to pound the cover off the ball, but they look like they can actually put together a rally and plate some runners. They scored their 200th run of the season (in 49 games) which puts them squarely in the middle of the NL pack. FanGraphs rates the offense as 11th in wOBA (.308) but 7th in wRC+ (93), while B-R says that their .705 OPS (11th) rates a 101 OPS+ (3rd). In other words, the raw numbers are suppressed a bit by playing in AT&T Park, but compare favorably to the league average. Ryan Vogelsong goes tomorrow night--he might be the best "fifth starter" in the league.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

4 comments:

nomisnala said...

He may be pitching in the 5th slot, but our 5th starter this year is Lincecum. Zito is all a fifth starter. But Zito sometimes hangs on by a thread. I hope that he did not look so hittable the year he won the Cy young. Our three best pitchers this year, are not Cy Young winners. At least not yet. Our bottom of the staff has 3 Cy Youngs between them.

Brother Bob said...

How about the other Barry who made a splash yesterday. Bonds was all out there. He's a convicted felon. He lives to work out. He could fix Tim Lincecum.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Bonds, as always, was interesting and funny. Man, I would love to have him in the organization as a hitting instructor. He knows more about hitting than anyone. He could be a huge asset. Unfortunately the "baggage" may be too much for the marketing types. He obviously still thinks of himself as a Giant and is a huge fan. I'd bring him back in a flash.

Shankbone said...

Krukow and Bonds taking back the clock over 13 ABs against each other was hilarious.

Zito, don't trust him, but hello, has he just decided to throw and not be a mental midget? Is this happening? If he keeps the ball down and pitches to contact, Zito can be quite effective. I'm impressed. And watchful. Always.