Barry Zito is off to the best start of his career.
At the time, Zito was 5-9 with a 5.01 ERA in 18 starts, and he’d went into the All-Star break having allowed nine runs and 10 hits in 4.1 innings to the Padres after Jonathan Sanchez had no-hit them only two days prior.
Zito lost his first post All-Star break start, but from that start on, he pitched very solidly for much of the remainder of the season. He went 5-3 with a [] ERA in his final 14 starts of 2009, and while he had his Zito moments, he had reason to go into the off-season with at least a little confidence after what had been a horrendous start.
So far, it looks like Zito has taken that second half and run with it and then some, to the tune of the best run he’s had to start any of his 11 major league seasons. He’s 5-0, and he sports a nasty 1.49 ERA.
It took him 17 starts to register five wins last season, and it took 21 to get to the five-win mark in 2008, but it’s taken him all of six starts to reach that mark this season.
So far, Zito has made nary a misstep and mistake. All six of his starts have been quality starts, and most importantly, that penchant he’s shown for being able to get into mass amounts of trouble hasn’t been there.
In 42.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed only 27 hits and only 12 walks, and he hasn’t surrendered a single home run. Consider that he’s faced some pretty potent lineups and hitters (Dodgers, Cardinals, Marlins, and Rockies in his last four starts), and those numbers are made all the more impressive.
Even when he won the AL Cy Young in 2002, he didn’t start this well. That season, he was 1-2 with a 4.81 ERA in his first six starts before going 22-3 in his final 29 starts on the way to beating out Pedro Martinez for the award.
And that begs the inevitable question: Can he keep it up?
It would seem to be only a matter of time before he has a lull, because hey, even rotation mates Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain can have them, but there’s every reason to believe that he can and will continue to be strong throughout.
Here’s the real kicker. Over his career, Zito has been a notoriously slow starter, with the lone exception being the 2003 season, when he started 5-2 in his first seven starts (he finished 14-12 that season).
So, if he’s coming out of the gate pitching this well, then what does he have in store for the rest of the season?
Success is a contagious thing. When you see your rotation mates doing well (Lincecum’s being Lincecum, Matt Cain has it going after a slow-ish start, and Jonathan Sanchez is off to a solid start as well), it’s going to motivate you to bring your best every time out.
And when you’re doing well, that success breeds confidence, and when you’re confident, it’s a whole lot easier to get the job done than when you’re questioning your abilities, which I’m sure Zito had to do a time or two over his first three seasons with the Giants.
The only concern, at this point, is keeping him fresh for the long haul. Zito has gone at least seven innings in his last four starts, and as big as it is to be able to get seven-plus quality innings out of your starter almost every time out, those innings can add up over the course of a season.
On that note, one thing in Zito’s favor might actually be his struggles over the last few seasons, because if he‘d been pitching well, his arm would‘ve been full-on worn out by now. After pitching no less than 213 innings in his six full seasons in Oakland, Zito has thrown 196.2, 180, and 192 in his first three full seasons with the Giants.
It remains to be seen how much of a drop-off he will have as the season goes on. But at this rate, Zito looks to be well on his way to reclaiming his place as one of baseball’s best arms, and that could mean big things for both he and the Giants this season.
