Last Zito post until the next one

How do you conclude that he has never had an ERA below the league average?  I looked at the stats and, according to my reading, last year, for pitchers with over 100 innings (ie, starters) he was 16th in the AL.

Mike Hampton's problem isn't really that he's an awful pitcher, it's that he has an awful contract.

If Zito somehow decides to forget that he's most teams' last chance for an impact pitcher and his contract goes from "awful" to "mostly bad but good when you consider what Jeff Suppan got", then having him on the roster becomes more palatable.

Although, if given the choice, I think I take Schmidt at $17M for three over Zito at $17M for four.

Regardless of whether Zito inks with the Giants, I like the idea of adding Ohka to fill the fourth or fifth spot.

In answer to the question, yes.

Like Grant, I have been conflicted about Zito, but have come down on the side of being against signing him. My rationale is that whereas he would make the team (a little) better, the Giants aren't going to win the Series next year with or without him, and I would prefer to save the cash and go for some of the tasty free agent morsels available next offseason (specifically Zambrano and Andruw Jones).

However, management seems determined to make a big run at Zito, so if we get him I hope it's 4/$72M and not 6/$120M. My girlfriend will like the signing either way.

It's not my money.  Four, six, sixteen, whatever.  I don't care. Sign him. I want instant gratification. NOW.

He's only 28. If they sign him to a sixteen year contract, he'll be 44 at the end of it. One measly year older than Randy Johnson is now. With inflation, sixteen mil a year will be a real bargain 16 years from now.  Pocket change in 2022.

This guy is not a franchise pitcher.  I look at the 1.40 WHIP in two of the last three years, not to mention the decline in K's, and say he just isn't worth it for one year, let alone four or six.

I'm much more enthusiastic about Zito for four years than six. But if he's willing to do four I think that makes it even more likely he ends up in New York with the Mets -- as thin as our pitching is, they need a quality starter even more. Not only do the Mets offer a team that is more likely to be in the playoffs but they have a near-stud closer in Wagner who could make his won-lost record look better than whoever we are going to throw out there.
Two things might tip it in our favor. The Mets are in better shape to trade for a middle of the rotation starter, which Zito would be, so maybe they don't feel pressure to pay up for him. And (I may be wrong on this), but isn't he a fly ball pitcher? His home run rate could soar in the NL East so maybe he'd prefer the relatively spacious parks, temperate weather ballparks of the NL West.

It makes a difference, but the worry with Zito for me was never the length; I think he'll age relatively gracefully, I just don't think he's that great. Four years means we'll be paying him way too much while we're sucking/rebuilding (sucking prior to Sabean leaving, hopefully rebuilding after), but it probably won't make too much of a difference.

The other rumor I'd heard is young pitching for Randy Johnson. Given that I hope to all that is holy that Sabes is smart enough to not trade Cain/Lincecum, that would mean Lowry/Hennessey/Correia. I'd be fine with the last two and probably against the first, but if you look past the Unit's misleading ERA he'd likely be enough to make the Giants a genuine contender in '07 (combined with Zito). I haven't given it much, but it is a thought.

Four years or six, 75 million or 100, just sign Zito already!

If the Giants trade any prospect for Johnson, I will officially turn in my Brian Sabean fan-boy decoder ring. Now, a straight up trade of Benitez for RJ is fine by me. As long as they still sign Zito.

Congrats E.  Your curdling negativism can infuriate me at times, but this ("I am not interested in watching David Wells, David Weathers, David Cone, David Bell, Mogan David, King David, or Mt. Davidson cast shadows across the SF pitching mound. And nobody that I can think of would either.") is one of the funniest lines ever.
  I am currently representing a guy charged with dumping raw sewage (our defense, of course, is that the governement never tested it, so how can one reliably say it was, in fact, a hazardous material?).  
  Really, there is a connection here, but, as it is 3:00 a.m. here in Dallas and I am waiting for my connecting flight to LA (God, I hate Chrizstmas), it escapes me.  I'm just wondering if Barry (Z) will play guitar in his underwear in ST.  ST, damn, only 7 weeks away.

This anti-Zitonian hates the idea that any pitcher not named Marichal might make $16 a year. But I could perhaps chant "it's not my money" long enough to not burst a blood vessel if the Giants sign Zito for only four years instead of six. I'm with Jake on this one - I just don't think he's THAT good a pitcher. Clearly, a step or two above the Jeff Suppans of the world. But I think Noah could easily become the next Zito. And I think Sanchez has an even higher ceiling than either one of them.

I guess I'm not so much an anti-Zitonian as a pro-Sanchezite. And especially at these terrific Sanchez prices!