Giants send Zito to the bullpen

Magowan: A move 'that had to be made'

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

Barry Zito is no longer the highest-paid starting pitcher in the major leagues.
He's the highest-paid reliever.

In an anticipated but still stunning move, the Giants demoted their $126 million opening-day starter to the bullpen Monday. Left-hander Pat Misch will replace Zito, at least temporarily, in the rotation; Zito will be available to pitch in relief when the Giants begin a series at Philadelphia on Friday, Manager Bruce Bochy said.

With Zito just more than one season into his record-setting seven-year contract, the Giants still owe him about $112.5 million guaranteed.

"I'm obviously very disappointed," Giants owner Peter Magowan said. "Barry is too. Neither one of us signed up for this, frankly, and we both know it."

Apprised of Magowan's disappointment, Zito shrugged.

"Yeah, and the sky's blue," he said.

After giving up eight runs in three innings to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, Zito is 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA in six starts; he has not missed a turn over his eight major league seasons, a streak that will end at 261 starts.

Bochy made the decision to demote Zito after weeklong discussions with General Manager Brian Sabean and the coaching staff. Magowan said he consulted with Sabean and Bochy and that the move had his "full support."

"I mean, we've got to do something," Magowan said. "We can't just go on (as if) five days from now things are all of a sudden going to be different. I know it's got to be significant for Barry. This will be the first start he's missed, I guess, since he was 12 years old. So it's clearly significant.

"But it's a significant problem and we've got to try to work through it. We still believe that we can. We want to support him. He's a great guy. Nobody wants to see him succeed, other than him, more than the organization does. But I think it was the move that had to be made."

Bochy said he hoped it would be a short-term demotion. Zito said he knows it will be.

"Oh yeah," Zito said. "I know it's fun to run with stories, 'Oh, is Zito done?' Whatever you guys have got to say, go say it. But from my standpoint, this is a bump in the road. It's a big bump. . . . There hasn't been the kind of scrutiny around it because of the market or the contract, but I've gone through these things before."

April struggles have been as predictable as tulips for Zito. With the A's, he had a 6.83 ERA in April 2004, a 6.60 ERA in April '05 and a 5.93 ERA in April '06.
Zito is fighting a little harder now as he pitches with a fastball that tops out at 85 mph. He cannot throw as effectively up in the zone, which lessens the effect of his big, breaking curveball. And there is less of a gap between his fastball and change-up velocity.

But Zito said he doesn't see the radar gun as his undoing.

"I showed the last 10 starts (in 2007) that with the stuff I've got, I can go out and be one of the top pitchers in the league," Zito said. "It's not about stuff, not about velocity. It's about attacking the strike zone and being aggressive."

The Giants are idle two of the next seven days and will go with a four-man rotation, Bochy said. They'll need a fifth starter again May 10.

Noah Lowry, currently on the disabled list, will not be ready by then. The left-hander is dealing with an elbow setback in his recovery from forearm surgery and still hasn't thrown off a mound.

Bochy would not say whether he is targeting May 10 for Zito's return to the rotation.

"It's happened to a lot of great players, great pitchers," Bochy said. "I just feel at this point it's best for him to sit back."

Zito will use the next few days to throw on the side with pitching coach Dave Righetti, Bochy said. He will be available mostly as a long reliever Friday.

Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner, had never lost six consecutive decisions in his career, let alone taken defeats in six straight starts. He has allowed 41 hits in 28 2/3 innings and his ERA is the highest over any six-start stretch in his career.

"I'm certainly not happy with it, by any means," said Zito, who didn't attempt to persuade Bochy to reconsider. "This is the bed that I've made. I have to lay in it for the time being and I have to overcome."

Zito said he would not use the time to tinker, saying his problems have not been mechanical.

"It's just a good time to take a hard look at the way I've been approaching things," Zito said. "Sometimes in life you know you have to make a change . . . and for whatever reason you're stubborn. Life sometimes throws you on your ass in order for you to take a good hard look in the mirror."