Barry Zito Link Dump

Well, by now you've probably read the Bruce Jenkins article that's stirred up a lot of Giants fans. And other people, for that matter. Many have already chimed in on the matter, and pretty much nailed it. I don't feel the need to say much myself, because everything's pretty much already been said. I'll say a little about my take on the issue, but I will also do you the service of providing these links (in no particular order) to write-ups by others...all of whom, as I said earlier, pretty much nailed it:

• Like the other Barry, Zito isn’t going anywhere — sorry, Mr. Jenkins (Bay Area Sports Guy)
• Barry Zito: History's Greatest Monster (McCovey Chronicles)
• Zito and the Giants Need To Stay Together For the Kids Ladies (Golden Gate Giants)
• Jenkins on Zito: "Definitely Not Safe" (8th Inning Weirdness)
• A toothless threat to Zito (Paapfly)
• Barry Zito Controversy and Sunk Cost Analysis (Crazy Crabbers)
• Really? Followed By a Shoulder Shrug (Baseball Monk)
• SF Giants Report to Jump on Zito Topic Bandwagon? (SF Giants Report)
• Giants Fans' Zito Misconceptions (Obsessive Giants Compulsive)

My take on the whole thing (don't worry, I'll keep it short): it would be foolish to "buy out" Barry Zito. Either way, he's gettin' that money. He's an excellent number five starter...so why should we pay him all that money and scramble to replace him with somebody (Jeff Suppan or Clayton Tanner?!) who would inevitably be worse than him? It just makes no sense. And all of this, after one bad Spring Training start? I assure you, this piece never would've been written had Zito thrown three shutout innings. But it's small sample size, and really not indicative of how he'll perform in the regular season. However, I'll be honest...it bothers me that Zito wasn't throwing strikes. I'm hoping the walks won't be a lingering problem, but let's wait until after we've seen more of him before we assess that.

Anyway, Jenkins has completely and utterly blown this out of proportion, and that's the real problem here. Poor journalism courtesy of Bruce Jenkins. Very poor.