Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Zito Giving Giants a Glimmer of Hope
Barry Zito improved his record to 5-12 Tuesday, beating the Nationals and picking up his second win at home this year. Zito won his second consecutive decision for the first time this season. Striking out five and scattering seven hits over six innings, Zito is finally beginning to quiet the boo-birds that dogged him during his horrendous start this season. With the Giants on the hook for another 5 years at $101.5 million, the team's fan base is desperately looking for reasons to cheer their $126 million man. After starting the season 0-8, his 5-4 record and sub-5 ERA since are reasons to believe that, although he will likely never live up to his monster contract, he at least has the ability to provide San Francisco with a rotation-worthy starter for the foreseeable future.
Doctor X -- the 'Baseball Medic' -- is an anonymous U.S. government trauma specialist with a Duke University sports medicine background and more than 20 years experience in emergency medicine. From time to time he considers MLB rumors, events and news reports as they pertain to baseball players' injuries, illnesses and various other disabilities, both on the field and off.
MLB Rumors editor Greg Fieg is a former sports news editor and award-winning writer whose bylines have appeared on the wires of the Associated Press and in numerous publications, including San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio Light, Houston Chronicle and Philadelphia Bulletin. He formerly was posted in various positions on the U.S.-Mexican border with Freedom Newspapers, and was a regular, independent contributor to United Press International.