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ESPN is reporting that the San Francisco Giants will move high-paid pitcher Barry Zito to the bullpen, the team’s response to Zito’s pitiful start to the 2008 season. In six starts this season, Zito has a record of 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA. He is only the third pitcher since 1956 to go 0-6 in April. Many baseball fans remember Zito for the enormous contract he received prior to the 2007 season, when the Giants signed him to a 7 year $126 million deal, then a record for a pitcher. Zito, who as a member of the Oakland A’s won the American League Cy Young award in 2002, didn’t live up to expectations in his first year with the Giants, going 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA. But that is nothing compared to his struggles this season. What’s even more frustrating for the Giants is that Zito still has over $100 million left on his contract which is looking like a major albatross right about now.

I usually have a hard time feeling bad for guys who make $18 million a year, but I kind of feel bad for Zito right about now. While he seems a bit off-beat (one of his nicknames is Captain Quirk), he is a good guy by most accounts. What I really like about Zito is that he started a charity called “Strikeouts for Troops” where for every strikeout he gets, he donates $400 to benefit hospitals for solider wounded in military service. That’s my kind of guy. So to see Zito struggle the way he has, I legitimately feel bad for him.

What so mysterious about Zito’s decline is the suddenness of it all. It is extremely rare to see a guy go from being a very good pitcher to an awful pitcher so quickly. Zito is a three time All-Star, and was named to the All-Star team as recently as 2006, when he went 16-10 with a 3.83 ERA. Over 8 season in Major League Baseball, he has a career ERA of 3.73. So it’s not like Zito was some flash in the pan, he was a good pitcher for a long time. Now he was never worth the contract he received, but that’s not his fault, it’s San Francisco’s fault for grossly overpaying him. But it’s unusual to see a guy as good as Zito was get so bad so fast, especially since he’s still young, as he turns 30 in about two weeks. The only thing I can think is that he must be hurt, and either it hasn’t been detected and/or he isn’t telling anybody about it. That’s the only semi-logical explanation for Zito’s ultra-rapid decline.

All I can think right now is that every Met fan in the world must be on their hands and knees thanking every holy being (Jesus Christ, God the Father, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, all of them) that the Mets did not sign Zito after the 2006 season. For years, they were rumored to be heavy players in the Zito sweepstakes. They almost traded for him multiple times, it was like the rumor that would never die. Once he hit the open market as a free agent, Queens seemed like the logical destination for Zito, given the fact that the Mets were perpetually interested in acquiring his services. That off-season, many executives figured it was a lock that Zito would end up a Met. However, the Mets were not the highest bidder and Zito ended up moving across the Bay to San Francisco. And I’m sure 99.64% of Met fans feel lucky that it worked out that way and that 99.64% of Giant fans are counting down the days until Zito’s contract expires.

Happy Birthday to William Randolph Hearst, George Allen, Mickey McDermott, Luis Aparicio, Jim Ryun, Dale Earnhardt, Bob McClure, Jerry Seinfeld, Kate Mulgrew, Daniel-Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gary Cohen, Federico “Furio” Castelluccio, Master P, Andre Agassi, Uma Thurman, Rafael Betancourt, Tony Armas Jr., Kelly Shoppach, Jay Cutler and Barbaro

Tim Sharobem Adds: Yea, That sounds about right. I was definitely one of those Mets fans that wanted Zito-in part because, as Matt Cerrone mentioned on Metsblog, I never thought the Mets could get a Johan Santana type. I wish all the best to Barry Zito…but if he’s a bust, maybe he should have an annual dinner with Kevin Brown, Mike Hampton, and Carl Pavano- they all seem to have something in common.