What to Do With Zito

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The Splash Blog: What should the Giants do with Barry Zito?

A. Send him to the minors ala Dontrelle Willis

B. Hire Rick Peterson to work with him

C. Offer him $50 million to buy out his contract

D. Keep him out there to take losses every five days until Brian Sabean gets fired.

E. Put him on the DL with a hangnail, if necessary.

F. Your suggestion here.

Reasoning
A: Zito's contract stipulates he has the right to refuse assignment in the minors. Slim chance he revokes that right. Besides, we all know what happened the last time he pitched against a minor league team.

B: Peterson is not a genie who will magically restore 6 mph on Zito's fastball. Still, it won't hurt to bring him in to help Zito, especially when $100K is loose change compared to the Salary-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. I don't know if Peterson can tweak Zito's mechanics to circa-2004 form, but if I were the Giants, I'm certainly bringing him in to try. The only problem is that the Mets are paying Peterson until 2009, and any money he makes will be deducted from his salary.

C: We knew Zito's signing was a disaster from the start, but by offering a 50 mil buyout, the Giants will have admitted Zito was a mistake. After the complete mishandling of Barry Bonds' departure last season and the "OMG new era of Giants baseball!!!" promotion with Zito as its poster boy, I don't think the front-office nor the PR department can take another beating.

D: I'm not sure about the Giants potentially firing Sabean for Zito's losses, considering the 2007 offseason rumors that Magowan wanted Zito more than Sabean did. It would be interesting, in a perverse way, to have a 20-game loser on the Giants, though.

E: Win-win for everyone: fans won't see him pitch, the Giants send him to the minors regardless of the clause in Zito's contract, and Zito gets to work out whatever's wrong in a low-pressure situation.

F: I'm a bit surprised The Splash Blog didn't list "bullpen blowout mop-up," but we can be a bit creative here. Instead of hiring Rick Peterson, I would hire Chris Lincecum to tweak Zito's mechanics. The guy threw an 88 mph fastball when he was 55, enough said. Or, given that teams most likely won't want Zito in a trade, the Giants could exchange him for a bag of bats. It's happened before.

My Answer: B
Fun Answer: F, bring in Chris Lincecum!