Yardbarker: Barry Zito

MLB Injury Extra: Replacements - Week 17

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:40:26 -0500

Screaming Sports' Drew Thibodeau breaks out another Screaming Sports original. With so many valuable fantasy studs going down with injury, Drew decided it was time to take a look at several replacements. So if you're one of the many fantasy GM's who have been ravaged by injury, then this piece is exactly what the doctor ordered.

MLB Start 'Em, Sit 'Em (7/21)

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:06:12 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon goes over a week of upcoming matchups and determines who you should sit, who you should start and why. Surprisingly, there are three pretty big names that should be riding the pine this coming week.

ZITO changed his style !

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:38:53 -0500

BARRY ZITO is buggin he gets traded to S.F. GIANTS and decides he wants to change his delivery to the plate ! I don't get this ,is Dave Righetti kidding is he not trying to get this guy to go back to what worked prior to the change in style ? Does anyone know what prompted this change ? Better yet can someone tell me why he doesn't realize its not working . This guy was a pretty good pitcher ,now hes got 4 wins & 12 loses on the year WOW ! Come on Dave spend some needed time with this guy he could be a good pitcher . But I'm glad the Mets don't have to deal with this problem . They need to go back to the 2002 tapes and get that delivery back .

Random All Star Festivities Thoughts

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:32:56 -0500

You know me and my random thoughts that seem to go in many tangeants. Well it seems that I have a lot of things to talk about during the All-Star Break but unfortunately nothing of great substance. So here's a few quick hits to let you know what's going on at The BearDown during the slowest sports week of the year.

All-Star Break Awards--National League

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:44:09 -0500

It's that time of year, with no games to watch and no fantasy stats to rack up, when we are all Jonesing for baseball. To help us get through the next couple of days and fill the void, everyone likes to come out with their own mid-season awards. I guess I'll be like everyone else and do my own awards.

MLB Midseason Hardware

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:39:25 -0500

With today being the last day before the All-Star break, DraftNation's BJ Pickard outlines his awards for the first half of the year. AL MVP – Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers Runner-up – Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox AL LVP – Richie Sexson, 1B, Seattle Mariners Runner-up – Edgar Rentaria, SS, Detroit Tigers NL MVP – Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals Runner-up – Lance Berkman, 1B, Houston Astros NL LVP – Andruw Jones, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers Runner-up – Freddy Sanchez, 2B, Pittsburgh Pirates AL Cy Young – Cliff Lee, P, Cleveland Indians Runner-up – Justin Duchscherer, P, Oakland Athletics NL Cy Young – Ben Sheets, P, Milwaukee Brewers Runner-up – Tim Lincecum, P, San Francisco Giants AL Rookie of the Year – Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays Runner-up – Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox NL Rookie of the Year – Geovany Soto, C, Chicago Cubs Runner-up – Manny Parra, P, Milwaukee Brewers AL Manager of the Year – Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays Runner-up – Rod Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins NL Manager of the Year – Fredi Gonzalez, Florida Marlins Runner-up – Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals AL Biggest Surprise – Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers AL Biggest Disappointment – Carlos Silva, P, Seattle Mariners NL Biggest Surprise – Edinson Volquez, P, Cincinnati Reds NL Biggest Disappointment – Barry Zito, P, San Francisco Giants AL Playoff Teams – Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins NL Playoff Teams – Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers

All-Star Game: American League Domination?

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:14:11 -0500

With the exception of the absurd tie in the 2002 All-Star Game, the American League has won the battle of the leagues 10 consecutive years. This statistic is supported by interleague play as well as recent World Series Champions, as 3 out of the last 4 have come from the AL. So far this year, the AL has thoroughly dominated the NL in interleague play, winning an astounding 59 percent of the time. some may argue that the institution of the DH has contributed to the American League's superior lineups, but a lot of the imbalance can be attiributed to luck. Multiple successful drafts by American League teams as well as horrible free agent signings by the National League ( Mike Hampton, meet Barry Zito) have furthered the gap. These disparities appear in other sports as well and tend to correct themselves over time. Just some food for thought in this slow period before the All-Star Break and the trade deadline.

NL All Crap Team

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:09:28 -0500

Screw the All Star Game let's put together a roster from those that have been utter disappointments this season.

C: Carlos Ruiz - With a lot of bad awful terrible catchers out there, Ruiz takes the cake this season. He's hitting .206 with only 2 home runs in the band box in Philly.
1B: Todd Helton - His power #s have been in a steady decline for awhile but now he's not even hitting for average, registering in at .266 so far this season.
2B: Freddy Sanchez - The former batting champ is now hitting .226 with a .253 on base % and a .307 slugging %. Ouch.
3B: Geoff Blum - Not that surprisingly Geoff Blum hasn't been very good. He's hitting .219 for the Stros.
SS: Omar Vizquel - Old Man River has been basically the worst hitter in baseball history.
OF: Eric Byrnes - Captain hussle, has not been hustling too much with multiple trips to the DL and only 4 steals and 6 homers to his name.
OF: Andruw Jones - Whatever has happenned to ole Andruw Jones. No longer a beast, he's now a player fans are grateful to have on the DL and not on the field.
OF: Corey Patterson - Somehow still on the roster despite an OPS of .562, but mercifully relegated out of the Reds starting lineup.

Bench: J.R. Towles - Basically you can pick out any bad catcher for the backup position but Towles was the rookie de jour coming into this season and well he's hitting .152.
Bench: Felipe Lopez - A utility man of awful this season. He's mixed time at SS and 2B and is
Bench: Troy Tulowitzki - While not spending massive amounts of time on the DL, Tulowitzki is hitting under .170.
Bench: Khalil Greene - Hitting .222 on a team that needs hitting more than any other in the league.
Bench: Michael Bourn - His massive amount of steals be damned, the guy has an OPS of .571.
Bench: Wily Mo Pena - Wily Mo is having a major major power outage this year with only 2 homers while hitting .210.

SP: Barry Zito - Who wouldn't want to pay 200+ million for 12 pre-all star break losses.
SP: Brett Myers - So bad that the Phillies decided to send him to the minors to get straightened out.
SP: Ian Snell - Looking like an emerging young star after last season, Snell has an ERA of 5.88 before landing on the DL.
SP: Brad Penny - Formerly an All Star game starter, Penny has an ERA well above 5 and is now on the DL.
SP: Mark Hendrickson - The opening day starter for the Marlins now sits with a bunch of losses and an ERA above 6.
SP: Tom Gorzelanny - Gorzo was terrific at times last season. This year he has 7 losses and an ERA above 6.
RP: Guillermo Mota - Former Steroid User Guillermo Mota has been so bad the last month he's gone from closer to be to ERA above 6.
RP: Scott Proctor - The former Yankee who was abused by Torre, is now abused once again in LA where he has called himself out for being so terrible.
RP: Luis Vizcaino - He was a Type B free agent, meaning the Yankees got a draft pick for letting him go. Now he has an ERA above 9 for the Rockies.
RP: Manny Corpas - Corpas went from looking like Mariano in the postseason last year to out of the closers job in a flash.
CL: Eric Gagne - Continued his miserable performances with the Red Sox last year with Milwaukee this year.

Billy Beane: GM Genius Or Trigger Happy Fool...You Decide

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:25:07 -0500

Watching Mark Mulder leave after just three hitters last night reminded me of how good Oakland A's General Manager Bill Beane can look at times. Let's see, he traded... www.rawsportsblog.com

Barry Zito's Fathead poster is on clearance..

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:18:07 -0500

2008's been a bad year for Barry Zito. A 4-12 record, a 5.73 ERA and no run support from the Giants. But it just got worse - Fathead put his wall poster on clearance.

THE AFTER PARTY

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:19:31 -0500

Have Orioles fans let Aubrey Huff off the hook? (Stet Sports Blog)
Don't look now, but the Mets are coming. (The Sports Lounge)
Barry Zito's Fathead is on clearance. (Home Run Derby)
Mike Lowell, cell phone prankster. (Red Sox Monster)
Braves GM a frequent flyer felon? (eTrueSports)

Giambi mustache goodness. (Tirico Suave)
Will Harden keep the Cubs on top? (I'm Writing Sports)
Game On: Iron Ref Round 3 - Cheap Shot. (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
Sucks to be Baron Davis right about now. (Rumors and Rants)
Gladiator or Zoologist: A game for Cleveland AFL fans. (TDBR)

A journey through the NFL with some burning questions. (Bad News Bloggers)
NFL Mystery File: Peyton Manning. (NE Patriots Draft)
Charles Haley should be in the Hall of Fame. (MoonDog Sports)
I am starting to understand Tony Romo now. (on 205th magazine)
The 20 greatest celebrity-athlete couples of all time. (All Balls)

Six GMs on the Hot Seat

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:10 -0500

With the All-Star Game just around the corner, it’s time to look at which general managers are at risk of being shown the door at the mid-way point in the season. Already Wayne Krivsky of the Reds was fired and replaced by Walt Jocketty, followed by Bill Bavasi of the Seattle Mariners being let go in early June with his replacement being Lee Pelekoudas in the interim slot. But, those two maybe just the beginning. Here’s a list of those that are feeling the pressure. J.P. Ricciardi – He bad mouthed Adam Dunn. Apologized to Dunn, only to find out it wasn’t Dunn, but a prankster, and Cito Gaston is back in the fold. Add in the fact that the Blue Jays are in last with a payroll just shy of $100 million ($ 97,793,900 to be exact), and could Pat Gillick be on the speed dial? Omar Minaya – When Willie Randolph was let go, many said he was a victim of the hand he was dealt. After an historic collapse last season, the Mets have puttered about at the .500 level this year. All that while boosting payroll to $ 137,793,376, second highest in MLB. With the poor way in which Randolph was hired, and no more fall guys in-between, Minaya’s Teflon coating may be finally gone. Brian Sabean – Sabean has been abysmal at developing talent, which meant that free agents have been the soup de jour in San Francisco. Two words… Barry Zito. Jim Bowden – “The Plan” which has Nationals team president Stan Kasten riding shotgun with GM Jim Bowden hasn’t panned out to date. “Trader Jim” hasn’t worked any magic since Day One. Fan attendance has been low at Nationals Park, but then the fans haven’t had anything to root for since the team arrived in DC, other than the team arriving in DC. Ned Colletti – Colletti was a Sabean protégé, which caused more than a few fans to do head slaps when he was brought on. Deals like Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones haven’t exactly helped his cause. Ned’s the luckiest of the lot at the moment. After all, the NL West is not exactly lighting it up. As of publication, the Dodgers sit 2.5 games out of first behind the D-Backs all while posting a sub-.500 record (.470). Kevin Towers – Towers has been a great evaluator of pitching talent. The same cannot be said of the rest of the staff. Currently sitting in the cellar of the lackluster NL West, Sandy Alderson has made noise that wind of change is in the air. That may, or may not, include Towers.Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29).

Barry Zito's Fathead poster is on clearance …

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:50:06 -0500

How bad are things for SF Giants' pitcher Barry Zito? He's 4-12 this season with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP He started the season 0-8 with a 6.25 ERA Opponents are batting .305 against him with an .863 OPS His record is even worse in San Fran - In 9 games he's 1-8 with a 6.66 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP The Giants' [...]

Barry Zito's Fathead poster is on clearance …

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:50:06 -0500

The Worst Team Money Can Buy

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:49:26 -0500

As we approach the mid-point of the 2008 season, much has been made of the success of small market teams like the Rays and Marlins. Heck, even the Pirates have scraped their way towards mediocrity. While these teams' successes are usually attributed to the talented, young players they have, I think it also has something to do with the expensive, old players they don't have. Here is the worst team money can buy, and no, it's not the Mets roster...