The Giants were definetely persistant in their pursuit of the top starting pitcher on the market, and there persistance paid off. The Giants signed Barry Zito to a 7 year, 126 million dollar deal on Thursday in a move that officialy has turned around what had been an uneventful offseason on the Giants front. Zito is getting big money, but I think he will be worth it. He is only 28 years old, and has never missed a start in his career. As I've said many times here, you don't worry as much about giving that type of pitcher a long term deal as you would with a power pitcher such as Schmidt. Zito has a good chance to be just as good or better than he is now 7 years down the line. This move gives the Giants a potential roation of: Zito, Matt Cain, Noah Lowry, Matt Morris, Jonathon Sanchez. A rotation which consists of 1 pitcher over the age of 28. Whether or not the rotation alone can carry this team into the playoffs remains to be seel, as they still have a terrible bullpen that has again gone untouched this year, but it does give the Giants an area of strength for the future. The eye is on 2008 and beyond when the Giants again should have some money to spend in free agency and could make upgrades to the lineup and bullpen. Overall, I have to give Sabean an A- on this move, the minus only because I do think he did overpay a little to get the deal done, but I have to give him the double thumbs up besides that. If Cain and Lowry continue to grow along with Zito, the Giants could have one of the best roations in the league for years to come. Now if only he could deal Armondo Benitez and get a few relievers in here to help out the bullpen.
The Giants were definetely persistant in their pursuit of the top starting pitcher on the market, and there persistance paid off. The Giants signed Barry Zito to a 7 year, 126 million dollar deal on Thursday in a move that officialy has turned around what had been an uneventful offseason on the Giants front. Zito is getting big money, but I think he will be worth it. He is only 28 years old, and has never missed a start in his career. As I've said many times here, you don't worry as much about giving that type of pitcher a long term deal as you would with a power pitcher such as Schmidt. Zito has a good chance to be just as good or better than he is now 7 years down the line. This move gives the Giants a potential roation of: Zito, Matt Cain, Noah Lowry, Matt Morris, Jonathon Sanchez. A rotation which consists of 1 pitcher over the age of 28. Whether or not the rotation alone can carry this team into the playoffs remains to be seel, as they still have a terrible bullpen that has again gone untouched this year, but it does give the Giants an area of strength for the future. The eye is on 2008 and beyond when the Giants again should have some money to spend in free agency and could make upgrades to the lineup and bullpen. Overall, I have to give Sabean an A- on this move, the minus only because I do think he did overpay a little to get the deal done, but I have to give him the double thumbs up besides that. If Cain and Lowry continue to grow along with Zito, the Giants could have one of the best roations in the league for years to come. Now if only he could deal Armondo Benitez and get a few relievers in here to help out the bullpen.
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