Zito on the Giants & Why His Philosophy Doesn't Work Over There

by Dan_Honolulu on Jun 9, 2007 9:02 PM PDT Comment 9 comments

Quoth Barry, in the rag after another horrible outing against the A's: "Just keep having fun, keep staying loose, keep playing baseball. We can't beat ourselves before we get out there. You can't not go out and have fun playing baseball. That's the key to a good second half, a nice summer."'

Now ain't that an A's 'tude? An East Bay attidue?

But it doesn't work in SanFran, and never will.

SF is a city that keeps trying harder, like it wants to be an oceanside version of Chicago.

SF is a lot more blue collar and hard-nosed than Midwest tourists and idealistic gays and lesbians from Topeka and Austin would like to believe. Altho diesel dykes might go for the hard-nosed bizness.

That's a rough town over there, and some of it spills into Information Age Ballpark, from time to time.

Zito will learn. He'll learn, all right, because he has to. When he begins to comprehend the meaning of his megamliion dollar deal, pressure will descend on him like water on a Chinese torture board. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was pitch, surf and strum his gee-tar.

Zen my ass. Guy better check into J-Town for some real Zazen stylee!

East Bay residents understand more about fate, the transience of life, and Suzuki's teachings -- innately -- than wannabe snobs and Okie immigrants to China Basin or North Beach or Telegraph Hill will ever comprehend.

East Bay ain't SF, child. Welcome to the hard line.

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My take: Zito's skills

were already on the decline--as hitters can wait better on the changeup and curve when his fastball is only mid-80s--and his new contract just widens the gap between expectation and performance.

In other words, he isn't pitching that much worse for the Giants than he did most recently for Oakland April-May; he's just getting paid a whole lot more to be "decent".

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 9, 2007 9:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Zito has a routine

His routine is different this year because he has to take BP before every game. For the last 7 seasons he has had a routine that has worked for him to get him in the "zone" for the game. Zito just has to adapt to the new routine of taking BP

by OaklandADude on Jun 9, 2007 11:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

How does that explain

last April and May? Or the ones before? Over the last 4+ seasons, Zito is an average pitcher early in the season and a good pitcher late in the season, and that's it. The only things that have changed are his salary (up) and his velocity (down).

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 10, 2007 9:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe 50-150 years ago SF was as you say ...

... before the docks, and wharves, and Chinatown became tourist attractions, when Alcatraz was a prison, when there really was industry in South SF and The Castro was a dairy farm called Eureka Valley (cows? in San Fran?). But it just ain't so now, nor certainly in any of the ten-or-so years of Big Phoney Park.

The boom-n-bust mentality of the gold rush era may be alive in SF, but this generation of risk-takers works with their synapses and fingers, not their chests, arms or "broad shoulders." And if those latter-day badasses do exist, they're not in the stands -- priced out by a ballpark built in-town, but not for them -- for the financiers, professionals and entrepreneurs who office nearby.

Baghdad-by-the-Bay is a quaint notion, but it belongs to an era when Baghdad conjured the strange, exotic and carnal, not a fail[political reference deleted].

Where's your evidence?

The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus

by The Dogfather on Jun 10, 2007 9:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I had similar thoughts

when I read Barry's quote this morning. The Giants are an older team led by an old-school manager and an old-school front office. There will not be any RC races at the Cingular, you will not see Randy Winn in a Ronald McDonald costume and you certainly won't have players talking about the loose clubhouse atmosphere.

Barry is going to have to grow up, and then grow old, to keep up with his new teammates. Buy a Chevy Impala, start listening to the Stones, and get in line for the early bird special at Joe's. Then you will be in the Zone, Zito.

''Certain types of players are born for the dramatic, and Marco Scutaro is one,'' teammate Nick Swisher said.

by fridaynightfan on Jun 10, 2007 10:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm offended by this diatribe

I'm not offended of the critique of Zito although I think Zito plays up to that image more than its realistic picture.

What I'm offended by is the anti-San Francisco b.s. My family immigrated from Italy to San Francisco at the turn of the century. They lived with being second class citzens and meanial labor. My grandfather had a 7th grade education. My grandmother, an 8th grade one. My grandfather was a union activist and was part of Bloody Thursday in OAKLAND! He worked at the docks as a longshoreman. He was a gang boss and he believed in equality for EVERYONE! He worked hard so BOTH of his kids got an education and graduated from BERKELEY! He worked until he was 60 and died a couple months later, just so my grandmother could get his benefits. Oakland and the City have a long, bloody, beautiful blue collar past that is linked forever. It is a bastion of art, science, and all that is kooky and wonderful in this world. Do not confuse the mood in a clubhouse with the spirit of 'the bay'. This can do attitude on both sides of the bay is why I make my home here.

"If I'm an 8 or a 5 on a scale of 1-10, what is Eric Chavez?"-Drunk guy. "A 15" his seat neighbor.

by mlleaimee on Jun 10, 2007 9:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Rightous

Oakland & SF, Berkeley & Daly City have lots more in common than not.

Sure, folks in SF can be a bit snobby about visiting the east bay, but I'm sure Giant's fans hate the Angles just like we do.

by MobiusKlein on Jun 10, 2007 11:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed - I can't stand 150°!

Maybe if it wasn't so obtuse...

by calgbear on Jun 11, 2007 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's hardly

an acute observation. You'll have to do better if you want to find the right angle.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 11, 2007 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs