My Future Father-In-Law Is Going to be Ticked
Because it looks like Barry Zito isn't headed to New York to play for the Mets, but will stay in the Bay Area and hurl for the Giants. Ironic, since the composition of the roster had generally made their fans want to do the same. Who can blame them? It's irritating to see pros pocket all that cash, then stand in line with them at the movie theater and watch them get their senior discount, too.
Since he's not really going anywhere, Zito won't even need to sell his house and brave the pricey San Francisco market. Of course, at $18 million per year, he could if he felt the urge. Assuming they ever get younger, this obviously helps the G-Men. But next year, all Zito does is slide into the #1 slot vacated by L.A.'s very own Jason Schmidt. They weren't very good last year, haven't improved over the winter, and I don't see this getting San Francisco back to the top of the NL West. But Zito should have success at whatever they call that stadium these days, and could help the Giants avoid being really bad. Who knows? Zito and a healthy Bonds could prove me wrong, but right now, I still wouldn't worry too much about San Francisco.
BK
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the n.l west is now the best divison in the n.l so i dont want people not giving the dodgers credit when they win the west
Posted by: taxdizzle | December 28, 2006 at 10:01 AM
I honestly did not see this coming. The Giants? Man, I had him pegged for a Met, I thought he'd drop his demands. Craziness.
Posted by: bmurph | December 28, 2006 at 10:49 AM
wow...this is GREAT for baseball. At least it's great for the Dodger's giants rivalry. It will be interesting to see how Zito fare's in the NL...
Posted by: grumpy3b | December 28, 2006 at 12:14 PM
Zito's numbers should improve in the NL, since, if nothing else, he doesn't have to face lineups with DH's. But, you're right, BK, the Giants are pretty much the same as last year--AARP filled and now have 2 really overpaid stars and little else.
Actually, I kind of like that Zito is in SF. Again, all of the eastern-biased media was sooooooo certain that he was dying to pitch in New York. Guess not.
Now the Yankees will sign Clemens and drive the people of Boston even crazier.
Posted by: Dodgerdog | December 28, 2006 at 01:09 PM
Yawn. Zito to Giants is a perfect example of putting lipstick on a pig.
The Giants everyday roster stinks, although the pitching corps is promising. However, their farm system is in shambles and they really look like a team that is years away from seriously competing for a World Series. By the time Zito's contract is up, the Giants window of opportunity may finally begin to open up once again -- maybe.
The best thing about this signing for the Dodgers is that it keeps Zito away from a Mets team that will challenge the Dodgers for the NL pennant this year.
Len
Posted by: Len Penzo | December 28, 2006 at 02:37 PM
In case you guys missed it, and in the spirit of cooperative bilateral relations between Dodger and Giant fans everywhere, I thought I would forward this post from the one and only Giants Fan, who posted this today on an older thread from two weeks ago:
"Good morning Dodger Dogs: Please got to mlb.com and look at the hot stove report 12/28/2006, which coincidently is highlighted in blue, and click on "Zito to Giants". And of course remember who told you to "watch the ticker" first. See you in October, in our rearview mirror. Happy New Years.
Your beloved GIANTS fan."
As you can see, he has already put down his deposit on Giants playoff tickets for 2007.
I'm still trying to figure out how Zito minus Schmidt plus SF Giant Wins in 2006 = Giants 2007 Playoff berth...
Then again, if the NL wild card team in 2007 manages to qualify with 75 wins I guess there would be a grain of truth to that after all!
Len
Posted by: Len Penzo | December 28, 2006 at 02:58 PM
This is a quote from Eric Byrnes, who has obviously been hitting the pipe:
"People have got to be thinking about the Giants as the favorites now," Byrnes said. "They had a chance to separate themselves from everyone else in baseball with their moves this offseason and they did. Now that they have the two Barrys, this absolutely puts them over the top. Everyone in the NL West will be shooting at these guys."
Could he possibly be serious?
Posted by: phat2zday | December 28, 2006 at 03:39 PM
I don't see how this deal makes any sense for the SF Giants. I guess it's a decent PR move so people will continue to show up after Bonds goes away after next season, but locking up a pitcher for the next 8 years at 18 mil a year just doesn't seem like such a smart move. I thought baseball owners learned their lessons after K.B. and Hampton.
Zito is a great pitcher and I have no doubt that he will have success pitching in the NL, but he does walk a few batters and isn't much of a strikeout pitcher. If the Giants were planning on this to be their 'signature' move of the offseason, they probably should have spent some more effort getting younger and solidifying their defense.
Oh well, I'll be looking forward to some Schmidt/Zito matchups next year.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | December 28, 2006 at 03:52 PM
Roberts & Aurilla are downgrades for the giants compaired to Alou & Hillenbrand. Barry Zito will be the next Mike Hampton. And could anyone tell me who will be the giants 5th starter next season? Anyone? Anyone???
In a related note, it has been reported that the giants will be bringing a former player out of retirement to be their shutdown, left-handed specialist in the bullpen:
http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/031125_dravecky_dave_250.jpg
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | December 28, 2006 at 06:02 PM
Zito, Lowry, Cain, Morris, Sanchez, Hennessey plus the 3 young AAA studs ready to go. No holes in the line up, solid defense, best pitching staff in the division and most likely the NL. We have so much depth at pitching there will be a trade shortly that will all but wrap up the division. I'm so tickled, I think I will gift rap Armando Benetez and ship him to you free!!!! I will even pay the freight. And then next year, with Barry's salary gone look out. The Giants might even outspend you guys. Yes Len, I have my tickets on order. Your beloved Giants fan.
Posted by: Giants Fan | December 28, 2006 at 07:16 PM
Len, you'll have to forgive those poor Giants fans. They've been living in denial and delusion for so long, they think subtracting Schmidt and adding Zito means things will be different in Balco Park. ;)
Posted by: Robert | December 28, 2006 at 07:39 PM
BK:
ummmmm...just a fast question, you say "future FIL" well, does HE know this yet? Better yet, does SHE know yet? If not do either of them read the blog?
hehehehe....just curious if you ax-id-ently outted yer'self... ;)
Posted by: grumpy3b | December 28, 2006 at 09:43 PM
mak:
"...I don't see how this deal makes any sense for the SF Giants..."
That is the beauty of it all. Here the giants seem on one hand to be clueless and then go and somehow land the last name-brand FA pitcher in a thin market for a deal that makes the Dodgers deal with Kevin Brown look like chicken feed.
It's deja-vu all over again, except that it's up the street in 'frisco.
So basically the giants have almost $40M tied up in two players this season, right? Well, ok around $36M give or take a bit...somehow I suspect this will not end well for them in either the long or short term.
Posted by: grumpy3b | December 28, 2006 at 09:48 PM
Dodgers getting 36 year old oft injured right handed Schmidt as an ace.....Priceless. Giants getting 28 year old never missed a start cy young winner Zito to replace Schmidt.....Even BETTER. With a rotation of Cain, Zito, Lowry, Morris and Sanchez the Giants will be in every game they play.
Posted by: bd | December 28, 2006 at 11:22 PM
...shows how much Dogger fans pay attention...
The Giants are CERTAINLY a team to be reckoned with in the NL West... SF needs to add some bats, but the starting pitching is as good as there is in the division... "lipstick on a pig"??? you've obviously never seen Matt Cain pitch...
let's see...
Led all NL rookies with 13 wins and 179 strikeouts ...also led in innings (190.2), while tying for 1st in starts (31)...finished 3rd among all NL pitchers with .222 avg. against, while ranking 9th in strikeouts (179). ...or maybe you missed his complete-game, 1-hitter against the A's...
Zito, Cain, Lowry, Morris, Sanchez, Hennesey... yeah.... I think we'll be okay. ...and I think it's a bit early for Dodger fans to be putting up plastic tarps in the locker room.
Go Giants!
Posted by: Cosmonaut | December 29, 2006 at 05:07 AM
phat2zday -- You gotta remember that Byrnes and Zito are best buds (and longtime minor league and major league roomies from their days with the A's), so of course he's going to say that.
As for everyone else drooling over the Giants now, it's just the latest case of post-big-signing euphoria that we see all winter long. You saw the same comments after the Dodgers signed Schmidt, after the Cubbies signed Soriano and Lilly, and after the Sox got Matsuzaka. Unfortunately, Zito's probably the last big signing we'll see this offseason -- unless you count Jeff (Gah!) Weaver -- so we might not see another case of it this year.
But that doesn't matter, since it will all be forgotten next season once everything gets settled on the field -- where the unexpected is always known to happen.
Posted by: Eric B. | December 29, 2006 at 07:34 AM
Giants offense is pathetic.....and other than Zito and Cain, the pitching staff is full of scrubs. I say we win 2 out of 3 everytime we play the Gigantes. Dodgers are playing for the championship while the Gyros are playing for .500.
Posted by: Fish Guy | December 29, 2006 at 08:25 AM
Eric B,
That post-big-signing euphoria that you reference, did that take place in Boston when The Princess signed?
Oops. Guess the deal hasn't been completed quite yet.
Posted by: Dodgerdog | December 29, 2006 at 08:37 AM
Grumpy-
No, he's aware, as is she. Everyone's on board (haha).
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | December 29, 2006 at 09:59 AM
i like how the giant fans have to come on a dodgers blog and talk about their third place team. I wouldnt even waste my breath on a giants anything
Posted by: taxdizzle | December 29, 2006 at 12:44 PM
Zito may improve them by 5 games or so. Not enough to catch the Dodgers or Padres. Also, Barroid will not do as well as he did last year so they will give some back there. Padres are far more dangerous. Its nice that the Geriatrics fans can have a euphoric, delusion filled winter.
They will need it in July when they are fighting with the D-backs for 3rd place, again. HAHAHA
Posted by: Jim | December 29, 2006 at 05:15 PM
thats great if the giants can keep it close in the first 5-7 innings, but thier offense isnt gonna get them pullin away from anyone, and they will break down in the late innings with their terrible releif, emphasis on the closer. and the only times it will be close is wen zito and cain are on the mound. ive never heard of hennesey or sanchez...could someone enlighten me?
Posted by: joeshmofromcocomo | December 29, 2006 at 05:23 PM
Cosmonaut, by focusing on the Giants' pitching staff you are indeed looking at the front-end of the pig -- the part with the lipstick, that is. Meanwhile, a quick look at the Giants' offense and, in particular, everyday players reveals the ugly back side of the pig.
Let's see...
10th in NL runs scored
13th in hits
14th in walks
1st in strikeouts (that's the offense, not the pitching staff)
I don't think Barry Zito is going to do anything to improve those numbers. I guess you Giants fans really truly think the signing of Aurillia, Roberts and Molina will.
Either that or you guys are praying you win most of your games by scores of 1-0 and 2-1.
Lets remember that at 76 wins, only 4 teams had fewer wins in the NL than the Giants. The Dodgers won 88 games last season and they clearly improved themselves, so lets assume they will get at least 92 wins next season. That means the Giants need to improve by 16 wins just to win the West. I fail to see how signing Roberts, Aurillia, Molina and Zito -- while losing Schmidt, Alou and whoever else equals an improvement of 16 wins.
Len
Posted by: Len Penzo | December 29, 2006 at 05:44 PM
I would have been worried had the Dodgers signed Zito to that contract...all those years, all that salary tied up? Brown, Dreifort, Perez... all those reasons given why we couldn't afford to improve in the past. I've read that Zito is an ironman, never misses a turn. I believe that... I mean, Kevin Brown had a great track record, too. The Giants have bought themselves as many championships as Texas did with the ARod investment. Now if they can add Chan Ho...
Posted by: Michael | December 29, 2006 at 07:06 PM
Dodgerdog --
That's because The Princess isn't considered a "big" FA to anybody except Epstein and Boras. Oh, and maybe his mom and dad. Maybe.
Posted by: Eric B. | December 29, 2006 at 08:09 PM