Barry Zito

Last Sunday, the unthinkable happened. 

Seated at AT&T Park, I watched as Tim Lincecum turned-in his latest disaster on the mound. More worrisome than the hits were how erratically he allowed them.

In the first inning it was three walks, the second three strikeouts.

By the time a booming Josh Hamilton double made the score 5-0 in favor of not the Giants, I turned to my friend and said the impossible:

San Francisco Giants left-hander Barry Zito sprained a ligament in his foot on Saturday night and had to leave a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A strained ligament can only be so serious, right?

When the San Francisco Giants called up Matt Cain in August of 2005, he made his debut as the second youngest pitcher in the major leagues.  Now in his seventh season as a big leaguer, Cain is a seasoned veteran with a laundry list of accomplishments to his credit.  He finished last year's World Championship season with a 13-11 record with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 177 strikeouts, 61 walks, 223 innings pitched and four complete games (including two shutouts).  

                                   2011 SF Giants Season Preview

With Spring Training now in full swing, the San Francisco Giants have unofficially began their journey to repeat as World Series Champions.

After their improbable run to become baseball's 2010 World Champions, it is hard to say whether this team has yet to come down from that high.

A pretty mediocre and quiet offseason from the Giants' front office has this team against the odds once again.

That is, until you look at their pitching staff, when you quickly remember why this team won it all last season.

Still, there are question marks aplenty for this team.

Bruce Jenkins's column in the San Francisco Chronicle this past week sent waves throughout the San Francisco Giants community.

Jenkins' report? Barry Zito may be released.

Barry Zito, who has struggled in a San Francisco Giants' uniform, still has three years and $57 million left on his contract. There is a good chance that Zito will be boughtout by the Giants, who already have a deep array of starting pitchers

Since the offseason before the 1999 season, when Mike Piazza and Kevin Brown signed by far the two biggest contracts ever at that time, there have been many gigantic contracts, almost none of which worked as a whole.

I am a Barry Zito fan.  He is not worth his $126 million contract. He is a competent starter. Replacing him would be expensive and ineffective.

Point Proven.

Just kidding.

San Francisco Chronicle writer Bruce Jenkins has stirred up a bit of controversy over his article claiming inside sources are fed up with Barry Zito to the point of releasing him or attempting to buy out his contract prior to opening day.

When two objects plummet towards a narrow abyss, a meeting becomes more and more likely, until it is inevitable.

Such is the case of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito.

I know it sounds crazy, but is it that crazy?

An article released today in the San Francisco Chronicle cited various internal sources that said the San Francisco Giants are prepared to release Barry Zito or attempt to buy out his contract before Opening Day.