Barry Zito has been named the starter tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates after being demoted to the bullpen last week. The San Francisco Giants skipped him in the rotation for his last start and he has thrown just two bullpen sessions since. He has not appeared out of the pen and has not received any game experience since his demotion. Why the sudden change of heart?

For all you Giants fans out there, we’re going to do a poll today to see how many runs you think he’ll give up tonight:

Also, just for giggles, how many innings will he last?

Raise your voice and shout out an opinion on the game tonight! I can’t wait to hear what each of you have to say. My guess is he’ll last 4 2/3 innings and give up 5-6 runs. Be bold people! Put your money where your mouth is.

Barry Zito, the San Francisco Giants #1 starter in the rotation, the supposed ace of the staff, and the second highest paid pitcher in the history of the game, is suddenly washed up! The problem is that the Giants have him signed through 2013. Including this year, we’ve got six more seasons where he will make a total of $111.5 Million. Gulp!

The line on Zito so far this season is pretty pathetic to say the least. He is 0-6 in his six starts this season, with a 7.53 ERA, 15 walks, 11 strikeouts and has given up 30 runs. Lefties have hit .348 off him and righties have hit .333. He’s averaging only 4 2/3 innings per start and taxing the bullpen every time he takes the mound.

So, it’s time to look at our options. I’ve compiled a list of the top 6:

1) Send him to the bullpen to see if he can figure out his location problems.

2) Skip his next start and give him some extra work with Rags on the side.

3) Pull off a miraculous trade and dump at least a portion of his salary. (Who am I kidding)

4) Option him back to the minors where he can regain his confidence.

5) Force him into an extended stay on the DL citing an arm problem.

6) Cut ties and eat the $111.5 Million we owe him.

Honestly, every scenario here makes my brain hurt. I can’t stand the fact that we are even talking about this subject to begin with. But, since we’re in the situation, we’ve got to put our GM hats on and figure out what we can do. Although I would like #3 to happen, I know that no team out there in their right minds will trade for him. So, if it were me, I would do #1. We can’t afford to run him out there every 5th day and blow the game. We’ve got to do what is best to help this ball club win, and keeping Zito in the starting rotation is not the answer. So, I ask you…what would you do?

The San Francisco Giants have won their third straight game. Kevin Correia pitched magnificently, as he lead the Giants on to victory. He took a shutout into the 8th inning and had great stuff all night long. He finished giving up five hits over 7 2/3 innings, while striking out four. His ERA for the season is now a measly 2.63.

Well, it looks like our starting pitching is living up to its hype! We’ve got a solid starting five who could all be legitimate #1’s over the next couple of years. With this kind of rotation we have a chance to win every night. I’ve been a Giants fan my whole life and I can’t remember a time when we’ve had a better starting five.

Fred Lewis had a great game last night for the Giants as well, with two runs scored and an electrifying triple! He’s turning out to be all that we could hope for and it looks like he’s going to be the regular from now on in left field. I’m excited that he’s getting his shot. Two nights ago he thrilled Giants fans with his defensive play as he caught a ball off his shoe laces and came up throwing for home. He gunned the guy out trying to tag up from third on a one-hop to Bengie Molina. He’s a five tool player!

Tonight we get back to the top of our rotation where Barry Zito takes the hill. I really hope he can get his stuff together. It would be nice to see him get his first win tonight.

The San Francisco Giants won last night on some fantastic heroics by rookie Daniel Ortmeier. The game went scoreless through eight and a half innings when Bengie Molina came to the plate to start off the bottom of the ninth. He hit a single down the right field line to get it going. He was pinch run for by Rajai Davis, who promptly stole second base. The next two batters get themselves out without advancing the runner and then came Ortmeier.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Daniel Ortmeier delivered a HUGE hit to seal the victory for the Giants. He smashed a two-strike fastball to deep center field over the head of Jim Edmonds, who was racing back to save the day for the Padres. The ball landed just inches from the wall and Rajai Davis easily came around to score from second base.

The benches immediately cleared and a sea of Giants players met Ortmeier to celebrate the victory. It was a great confidence booster for the club and an even greater one for Ortmeier who has struggled at times this season. Tune in tonight as the Giants face the St. Louis Cardinals at home.

The San Francisco Giants got a victory last night against the LA Dodgers 2-1 in a stormy night that was chock-full of great pitching! Despite both starters being late scratches, due to weather, they each came into the game in relief. Tim Lincecum pitched 4 solid innings giving up only one run and got his first win of the season, and the Giants first as well.

This was a badly needed win for the Giants who have high hopes for their club early in the season. It is vital that they begin their season with some momentum to keep morale high as all the experts have picked them to finish last in their division this year. More importantly, is that they establish themselves at the plate, where they have struggled all spring.

My best friend Todd was at the game in LA decked out in all his Giants gear for the rainy night. He sat pretty much anywhere he wanted as the stadium was quite empty due to a 1 hour and 14 minute rain delay in the top half of the 5th inning. But, he stuck it out, along with the other faithful, and got to see the Giants pull down their first victory of the season.

It was good to finally see some of the youngsters get a start last night! I hope we keep up the youth movement as I see it crucial to our success moving forward. Bill James claims that the best years of a baseball player’s career are from age 25-29. So, we’ll see if those guys get into the games for us.

Tomorrow the Giants travel to Milwakee to face the Brewers in a three game series. We’re expected to see Jonathan Sanchez vs. Carlos Villanueva on Friday at 11:05 PT.

The San Francisco Giants got totally obliterated by the Los Angeles Dodgers today. Opening the season for the Giants, Bruce Bochy put together the following lineup:

1. Dave Roberts - LF

2. Rich Aurilia - 1B

3. Randy Winn - RF

4. Bengie Molina - C

5. Ray Durham - 2B

6. Aaron Rowand - CF

7. Luis Castillo - 3B

8. Brian Bocock - SS

9. Barry Zito - P

According to Brian Sabean, we were planning on a HUGE youth movement this year. Yet only one opening day starter is under 30, and that was Brian Bocock, who is playing for an injured Omar Vizquel. So far, we’re not sticking to the plan I’d say. Bruce Bochy also said in the off season that he was planning on playing the best player at each position, regardless of salary. That also did not come to fruition, as the highest paid player at each position took the field for opening day.

Looks like the same old Giants took the field and we’re in for a long season. It’s going to be VERY long if I have to watch the cane-walking Giants take the field day in and day out. Let’s get the youngsters out there! Our triple A squad beat us last week for crying out loud! That should tell you something.

One more thing…why is Aaron Rowand batting 6th? He’s by far the only guy in the lineup who might be considered an offensive threat. Move him into the 3rd or 4th spot please! Now that I’ve ranted for a while…let’s get to today’s game.

Barry Zito started off the day giving up three Dodger’s runs in the first, including a homerun to Jeff Kent. The next inning he gave up another run on an RBI single by Rafael Furcal. That pretty much sealed the deal for the Giants. They came up with 5 hits in the entire game, two of which were collected by none other than our only offensive threat, Aaron Rowand.

Since there’s not much else to talk about, I’m going to look forward to tomorrow’s game. I’m hoping for a completely new lineup from Bochy as this one didn’t work. Hopefully we’ll see some youth. Tomorrow’s game features Matt Cain vs. Derek Lowe.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse…you go and to something like this! It’s sad to say, but the San Francisco Giants won’t be fielding their starting shortstop come opening day. Omar Vizquel tore the medial meniscus in his left knee and won’t be able to return to the field for 4-6 weeks.

He was flown back to San Francisco and operated on today. Team doctors said the surgery went exactly as planned and he’ll be on schedule to return sometime the first week of the season barring any setbacks. However, the 41-year-old shortstop may not heal as quickly as we need him to. With age comes longer healing times and it could be the end of April before we truly see him take the field and playing at 100%.

What this means for the Giants, is that Kevin Frandsen will get the opening day starting job at short, ending his competition with Ray Durham for the job at second. This also means that we will see Rich Aurilia as the starting third baseman, unless the Joe Crede deal goes through before the end of spring training. I just hope that this doesn’t put more pressure on the front office to bring someone on that we don’t need. I’d hate to see us lose a great prospect just to put on a bandaid.

Spring Training games officially begin tomorrow with the Giants facing the Cubs at home in Scottsdale. Stay tuned!

The San Francisco Giants have announced that they have signed relief pitcher Vinnie Chulk to a one-year, $837,500 deal for next season. Chulk, 29, finished 5-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 57 games last year. He was tied for the team lead in appearances when a circulatory ailment caused numbness in his right middle finger and forced him to miss the season’s final month.

Vinnie was definitely one of our better relievers last year and we desperately needed to sign him to get some bodies in the pen. I’m still not convinced however, that the guys we have from last year are the answer to our relief problems. As you all know, our bullpen was one of the worst in the majors last season. It was a glaring need, staring us in the face when the season closed. Yet we have done nothing to improve it.

It is clear that the Giants want to give their youngsters a chance to prove themselves. We will see how the season pans out, but my guess is that we will be changing our tune a bit in the off season next year. We need to bring some big names to this club or people will lose interest.

Late last night, rumors were flying around the league that Pedro Feliz had agreed in principal to a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth $8.5 million. The contract also includes a club option for 2010. With principal and performance-based incentives, the deal could be worth up to $15 million after all is said and done if the club exercises their option.

Feliz had reportedly been asking for a three-year deal worth close to $21 million as he hit the free agent market at the end of the season. Apparently, his price has come down considerably as the season approaches. Brian Sabean, GM of the San Francisco Giants has repeatedly stated that he would not offer the sure-handed third baseman a three year contract and that his price was too high. If he were willing to sign a one-year agreement, then the Giants would consider it, but not three years.

Feliz joins a solid lineup with the Phillies who have been assembled to score a lot of runs. He will more than likely bat in the sixth or seventh spot in the lineup, a place that should better suit him. He had previously batted behind Barry Bonds for a good portion of his stay with the Giants. I believe his productivity will go up as he hits with less pressure, and he’ll get more power from the HR happy Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

For the Giants, I am so glad we will never see him in the Orange and Black ever again! I’ve had too many years of watching him miss an off-speed pitch for strike three and walk himself back to the dugout. Good riddens Feliz! Bring on Kevin Frandsen!

Barry Bonds asked the federal judge in charge of his perjury case to dismiss it today, arguing the indictment is “scattershot” and noted for its “striking inartfulness.” This gives us an inside look at how his lawyers are beginning to outline and defend their client. The attorneys said that the questions asked by prosecutors during Bonds’ December 2003 grand jury appearance were vague, ambiguous and confusing. The lawyers asked that the case be thrown out on the grounds that he couldn’t have been lying when the questions asked of him did not allow a concise response.

It should be noted that motions such as these are frequently filed but rarely granted. The lawyers are definitely trying what they can when they can to get the process streamlined as possible. Bonds has been accused of lying on nineteen different accounts of which he has been indicted on four separate charges of perjury and one obstruction of justice charge. Bonds’ attorneys argue that the instances should be detailed and charges should be filed separately, instead of being lumped together. This way, the charges can be dismissed and approached on an individual basis.

An interesting development indeed for Mr. Bonds as the season begins to get closer by the day. He is still a free agent with no potential suitors that we know about. Many teams I’m sure are waiting to find out more about his legal troubles before beginning negotiations with the all-time home runs leader. It is to be seen whether he will sign a contract for another year or if this will be the end of the slugger’s career. If it is, he’ll go away under suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs. If he gets signed for another season, the story continues and more and more records will undoubtedly fall from the pages of history.