Naturally, this diary is about our pitching coach, and the incredible effect he will have on the maturation of Rich Harden and Joe Kennedy into the quality starters we'll need to compete next year.

In other young, rich, and left-handed news, Barry Zito is rapidly becoming the belle of the ball at this year's winter meetings.  As we all know by now, the Rangers are very serious about landing Tony Danza's worst nightmare.  They are rumored to have made an incredibly rich offer of six years and $102M, which would be hard for any other team to match.  Other teams are still very interested, nonetheless--the Mariners are rumored to have also entered the Zito sweepstakes:

Of course, the money isn't going to be equal. Schmidt is looking for about $15 million and a four-year deal. The deal agent Scott Boras is trying to get for Zito is for more money and for as many as six years.

Boras and Zito met Thursday in Arlington, Texas, with the Rangers brass. Zito hasn't come to pay a similar call in Seattle -- yet. But he could.

Boras reportedly told the Rangers that the Mariners were strong players in the Zito derby. That's unquestionably a negotiating ploy -- Boras is famous for those.

Late last night, Boras also met with the Mets to discuss Zito.  According to this Rotoworld note, specific dollars were not discussed.  Money-wise, Seattle and Texas have a distinct advantage over the Mets--the lack of a state income tax.  Just for fun, let's assume that the baseline for Zito is 6 years and $90M, rumored to be his asking price.  If the Rangers really overbid to the tune of $2M per year, and Seattle and the Mets meet the baseline, this is what he actually gets:

Seattle: 6/90 = $15M per
New York: 6/90 less 6.85% = $13.9725M per
Texas: 6/102 = $17M per

Zito would be leaving an awful lot of money on the table compared to Texas, and more than a million per year compared to Seattle, if he signed with the Mets.  I don't think this can be dismissed out-of-hand when your agent is Scott Boras.

I hope the Mets step up their offer, so we don't have to see our direct competition strengthened by the addition of Zito, even if it weakens them financially.

Meanwhile, Anaheim is rumored to be targeting Braves' first-baseman Adam LaRoche in a potential deal that could include Chone Figgins and a pitcher.  It looks like the Angels are more likely to upgrade at the corner infield through trade than the free-agent market--Arizona wants to talk to them about a Chad Tracy for Joe Saunders deal as well.  I trust Bill Stonewall to hem and haw, and eventually pull no triggers, like he always does.  I don't know why the D-Backs are down on Tracy, but I wouldn't mind Beane making a phone call on that guy.

In case you hadn't yet heard, three-way Manny Ramirez trades are being discussed.  The Sox want a closer.  One permutation involves the Giants and the Nationals (with Chad Cordero involved), and the other involves the Giants and Mariners, which is predictably inciting vigorous discussion at Lookout Landing.

Oh yeah--this is an A's blog, isn't it?  Well, there's nothing new; they're still likely to get Piazza and Embree.

Who will make Barry Zito rich?  How good are th Rangers, Angels, and Mariners going to make themselves for next year?  Will the A's do anything?  Stay tuned for updates as they become available.