Zito Strong, Hitting Weak

I don't think Barry Zito deserved to lose last night. If he can get past the fact that his record is 0-7, he should feel mighty confident about last night's start. Maybe it is not all you hope for out of the $126 million dollar man, but he was strong, throwing easily his best start all year. It would have been a great story for Zito to come out and get a win, but unfortunately, his team did not have his back.

They were facing a converted reliever who had yet to get a major league win, but it may as well have been Greg Maddux out there. Nothing seems to click just right when Zito pitches. Often it is him missing his spots, but other factors come into play as well - the defense is often shoddy, and the run support has not been there. Last night the root of the problem stemmed from a weakness at the bottom of the order. With Brian Bocock and Emanuel Burris hitting seventh and eighth, respectively, you are almost guaranteed two outs before you have to face the pitcher. Thus, stepping up the pressure on Rich Aurilla and Jose Castillo, who have some pop, but likely aren't getting their choice of pitches given whose hitting behind them. The two middle infielders may be a key part of the Giants future, but right now they are going to have to figure out major league pitchers.

Not to dwell on the loss, for Zito to have come out and gotten shelled would have been a step backwards. Instead, we got a giant leap forward. The line of five innings, two runs, two walks, and five strikeouts may not be all that impressive. But given where Zito was in his last start, the difference was night and day. He appeared confident on the mound and his mix of pitches and speeds was actually effective.

After playing a tough team tough for every game, the Giants have been at the mercy of the Pirates, and have hit a new low. This is the first time this season they have been six games under .500 and this road trip is a losing one. The 2008 Giants will likely be streaky - they may play spoiler for a tough team, and then appear confused against a bad one. Some days everything clicks. In this series, little has.