Insane in the Giant Membrane

I was ready to post a blog today about how the Yankees should trade Randy Johnson and sign Barry Zito, a much younger and healthier left handed pitcher. Well, things changed a bit today around 1 p.m. when an earthquake with same seismic force of the 1989 earthquake hit San Francisco with the announcement of Zito's 7 year/ $144 million signing with the Giants. While, I think Zito (pictured to the left, under the stack of money) is a good, young pitcher, I do not think he is worth anywhere near the record deal that makes him the best paid pitcher in the history of the game of baseball. Zito is and will never be one of the top 10 pitchers of all time, so I have no idea why the Giants decided to pay him like the best pitcher of all time.

Of course, Zito's agent is none other than Scott Boras, the agent for Alex Rodriguez, so it's no surprise that Zito got the richest deal for a pitcher in the history of baseball. Zito has one 1 Cy Young Award from his 2002 season when he went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA. Those are pretty awesome numbers...

But since then, Zito's never won more than 16 games....going 14-12, 11-11, 14-13 and 16-10 with an ERA no less than 3.30. Maybe it's just me, but it looks like Zito - who's only 28 years old - is on the downside of his career. And because of that, he certainly doesn't deserve the richest contract ever for a pitcher....But, it's not my money, so what am I complaining about.

...And yes, I still want the Yankees to trade Randy Johnson (whose downside of his career happened about five years ago), but that's a different story for a different day.