San Francisco Giants Should Release Barry Zito and Bench Aubrey Huff

By now, it’s pretty obvious to everyone what Barry Zito’s main weakness is.

It’s not an inability to throw a fastball harder than 20 mph or getting a strike call against the pitcher.  

No, it’s pitching.

This observation wasn’t made after Sunday’s 8-0 drubbing by the Reds. Though Zito gets most of the blame for getting clobbered in the early innings for the third straight time, the Giants were awful throughout the series collectively, and at times it felt like Felipe Alou was about to limp out of the dugout to make a pitching change.

But Zito has been terrible since the day he signed one of the most lucrative (and imbecilic) contracts in baseball, and his game isn’t showing any signs of improving.

Batters are actually starting to push across each other to get to the on-deck circle every time he’s on the mound.

Zito’s fastball has nearly the same velocity as a changeup, except it doesn’t move. Junkballers are only effective if they manage to keep their pitches 30 feet away from the strike zone. It’s how Kirk Rueter managed to win 130 games despite throwing balls that were often beaten to the plate by a passing dragonfly.  

The Giants placed Barry back on the disabled list yesterday (without disclosing the nature of his injury), which may have been an artificial move to make room on the roster for their new 126-year-old shortstop.

Chances are they’ll leave him on the DL for a few weeks, then release him once Jonathan Sanchez returns from Fresno.

A lot of people are wondering why Brian Sabean couldn’t trade Zito for Alfonso Soriano after a couple of decent stints off the DL. The truth is, Zito was likely to block any trade outside of the Bay Area and the Giants didn’t want to pay the $17 million Soriano is slated to make in 2014.

The Giants shouldn’t feel bad about cutting Barry considering how good they’ve been to him over the last five years. They gave him $126 million (about 125 million more than what he was actually worth) after another mediocre season with the A’s. 

His 2006 numbers (3.83 ERA, .257 opposing .BA, and 99 walks) continued a steady decline which started after his Cy Young-winning year in 2002.

He stayed in a suite on every road trip and received a championship ring despite not throwing a single pitch in the postseason.

The main reason for the Giants' hesitance to this point was they believed that unloading Zito would be a huge waste of money (Barry is owed $46 million over the next three years).

Perhaps they've finally come to the realization that millions and millions of dollars on a pitcher that gives up four or five runs in the first two innings of every game isn’t money that’s very well-spent, and an open spot on the roster can be worth a lot if that player is Gary Brown or Brandon Belt.

Barry's one of the few players who won't get booed when he returns to AT&T Park wearing another uniform, and that's saying something. It takes a lot of personality to suck with a team for five years (and make a sh--tload of money doing it) and still get a nice round of applause from the home fans.

Some people might even miss him.

I know I won't.

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The biggest problem for Madison Bumgarner this year has been staying out of the big inning. Four of his five sub-quality starts have all included innings where he’s allowed four or more runs.  

It’s a bizarre statistic, but I think I might have figured out the problem.

Much like his doppelganger Cliff Lee, Bumgarner loves pitching into the strike zone regardless of the hitter or the situation. That’s great, but the strategy can backfire when a team gets hot.

Batters typically become more aggressive when a pitcher is getting lit up on the mound. They’re looking to drive the ball and swing at anything remotely close to the plate.

This trigger-happy approach can be infectious, as evidenced by the 75 hits the Twins reeled off against Bumgarner last July.

Escapologists like Matt Cain and Justin Verlander know how to use a hitter’s eagerness to induce a pop up or a groundball double play.

Madison will learn this technique in time. He’s already better than most 21-year-olds at playing baseball and rarely lets something like a bad start bother him.

I'm just curious to see if he'll show more enthusiasm winning his first Cy Young than his first World Series.  

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No, Brian Sabean, Brandon Belt is not Travis Ishikawa.  

Brian Sabean ruined his finest hour of the season last Thursday when he announced that the Giants would be keeping Brandon Belt on the roster as a replacement for Travis Ishikawa.

It’s comments like this that make me wonder how Sabean is still the GM of the Giants. Sure, winning something like the World Series might be a small reason, but the inane and ridiculous assertions earn him a seat right between Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the Fox broadcasting booth.

Travis Ishikawa had an average season in the minors at class A and AA in 2007, batting just .248 with 126 strikeouts in 104 games. In 2008 he split time between Connecticut and Fresno, hitting .299 with 24 home runs and 94 RBI.

He was named the starting first basemen in 2009 and batted .261 with an underwhelming .715 OPS. He hit nine home runs and struck out 89 times while drawing 30 walks.

The Giants acquired Aubrey Huff in the offseason, and Ishikawa spent most of 2010 as a pinch hitter and a defensive infielder (which wasn’t really necessary given that Huff played solid defense over at first base).

Brandon Belt was nothing short of outstanding in his first full year in the minors, moving rapidly from Class A San Jose to AAA Fresno batting .352 with 23 home runs , 112 RBI, 22 SB, and a 1.075 OPS.

The Giants were forced to rush him into the majors after Cody Ross was injured during Spring Training, and Belt hit a three-run home run off of Chad Billingsley in the second game of the season against the Dodgers.

After batting .194 in 17 games, the Giants optioned him back to Fresno to work on his swing. In 43 games, he compiled a .324 BA, seven home runs, a .549 SLG and a 1.011 OPS.

He was called up after Buster Posey got injured and was hitting .333 before fracturing his wrist in a game against the Cardinals. He returned a month later and single-handedly beat the Dodgers going 2 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBI.

His .BA over the last ten games would be at .300 if not for the blind scorekeeper that lives under the bleachers at the Great American ballpark.

To compare Belt to Ishikawa is ridiculous and makes little sense in a logical world made up of things like space and evolution.

More disconcerting than Brian Sabean’s comments however, is Bruce Bochy’s decision to continually start Aubrey Huff at first base.

After 110 games, it’s safe to say that last year may have just been special for guys like Aubrey, Cody Ross, Juan Uribe, and Andres Torres. How great is it that they had their best season wearing a Giants’ uniform?

Well, reality has set in and fans want another championship. The chances of reaching that goal becomes a lot more difficult when your No. 5 hitter is batting .240 with 10 home runs and a .294 OBP.

A lot of fans and media personalities have expressed reluctance in demoting Huff. I guess it’s because no one wants to pull the plug on someone who makes $10 million a year, especially since benching highly paid players never wins championships.

The Giants found that out the hard way last year with Aaron Rowand and Barry Zito.

Wait, what? Never mind.

Leaving Belt on the bench jeopardizes his development as a major-leaguer and the Giants’ chances at improving their offense over the long run.