Barry Zito began his new job as a reliever Tuesday by doing exactly what he would have done as a starter. He threw a 10-minute, 70-pitch bullpen session that impressed pitching coach Dave Righetti.
"His side today looked like he was pitching-ready for a game," Righetti said. "I enjoyed that as a coach."
Zito has had good bullpens before. The issue is what he does on the mound, and Righetti understands he and his charge will travel a long and difficult road. At the end of the road, Righetti said, will be a successful starting pitcher.
"Personally, I think he can win with the stuff he's got," Righetti said. "I believe that. If you don't believe that, you can't coach him, right? That's the way I'm built. I believe it. He's got to make adjustments."
The biggest will be accounting for a fastball that rarely surpasses 85 mph and, in Righetti's mind, probably never will. Asked if he believes Zito can regain his velocity, Righetti said, "No, unless he has an operation, unless he does a Rod Beck and puts on 20 or 30 pounds and throws harder. But how can you throw harder? I've never seen it other than somebody getting hurt and getting a new arm."
So what does Zito do? One key is creating speed separation between his fastball and offspeed pitches, and one does not need to be a flamethrower to do that. Righetti cited Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer, who throws some fastballs in the high 70s and offspeed pitches in the high 50s. Fastball movement would help, too, and Zito has been working on a sinking fastball that he has not brought into a game.
One of Righetti's main concerns is preserving Zito's arm strength, which can be difficult from the bullpen. On one hand, Zito might not pitch for several days. On the other, he cannot keep throwing bullpen sessions and tire his arm on nights he might have to pitch. Even so, Righetti believes this move to the bullpen can benefit Zito, as much mentally as physically.
"Sometimes, it does relax you a little bit and you come back feeling different," Righetti said. "Who knows? If you're a competitive person, which he is, you find sometimes you need to light a fire one way or the other."
Vive le Bochy: Manager Bruce Bochy was amused to learn that he set the major-league win mark for foreign-born managers (1,034). He was born in Landes de Bussac, France, where his father was stationed in the military. Bochy left when he was a year old.
"Well, they're probably still celebrating there," he joked.
Bochy returned to France for the first time last winter and visited his birthplace, or so he thought.
"My sister, who was born there too, did some research and it turns out there are three Bussacs," he said. "We went to the wrong Bussac. We missed it by a scant 50 miles."
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