Aces down

[DocTee]

]Is there anything else to say other than "ouch?"

How about: "WHEW!"

[Frayed Knot]

The problem with Zito's contract is that he was merely an above average pitcher already showing signs of decline 4 seasons removed from his CY year by the time of the signing, but still getting paid like the ace he had briefly been. And it was too long.

Reportedly the curveball isn't what it was allowing batters to ignore it and instead tee off on the fastball and/or change, pitches which not only are average offerings at best but hardly differ from each other these days. Not sure what caused his bread-and-butter pitch to abandon him at such a young age.

[Guest Triple Dee]

John Kruk says putting him in the bullpen will allow him to scuff up or vaseline the ball. WTF?

[Guest AG/DC]

It's the sort of situation that makes 'bucket refer to some guys as Brand Name aces or Brand Name releivers or such. They won a big award a few years back and they have a honeymoon period when, despite receding from that level (in some cases sharply) their names still evoke quality, and high pay.

I stay far away from such guys and I wanted nothing to do with Zito.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I recently saw a segment discussing Zito on Baseball Tonight. They said the problem is that he has lost arm strength to the point that his fastball was consistently in the 82-84 range this season. His change up is being clocked at almost the same speed. Without a decent fastball to work off of, his curve has lost it's effectiveness.