Mark Kreidler: When A's want a special delivery, Zito is the man on the mound

[missionhockey21]

Mark Kreidler: When A's want a special delivery, Zito is the man on the mound
By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, August 11, 2005
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1

OAKLAND - For the longest time this summer, you could forget the A's once were the Big Three. They kept rolling out kid after kid on the pitching mound, and every night set up as Choose a Shutout Night at the ballpark. It looked as if they could win forever.

On Tuesday evening at the Coliseum, though, the whole Oakland world sort of snapped back into place. The air was cool, the mood felt like October, the opponent was real, and the truth was evident.

Down the stretch? There really is just the one guy left.

Maybe the most remarkable thing about Barry Zito's night against the Disneyheim Angels was how mediocre he looked. Lordy, but the man struggled. He worked from behind in the count almost constantly and walked five batters. He was his own worst enemy in the Angels' big rally. He burned through so many pitches, he had to be lifted after just six innings.

But you take all that and put it through the processor that is the history of Zito in the second halves of baseball seasons, and this is what you get: The A's trailed by only 2-1 when he left, then came back to snag a huge 4-3 victory and regain their tie atop the American League West.

Zito was almost comically off his game, and yet he never veered completely off the road. It's the veteran move.

"More than anything, it's the home stretch," Zito said. "These are definitely the most important starts that you're going to make."

He's making them now. And, really, he's making them alone.

You don't have to worry about the collective mind-set of the A's. Anyone who saw Bobby Kielty come into the clubhouse Tuesday afternoon wearing a full clown costume could tell you that. As Zito pointed out, "It's baseball, not boot camp," and Oakland's ability to shrug off Monday night's 9-2 shellacking and come back for this win highlights the basic integrity of general manager Billy Beane's easy-does-it approach with a team of mostly kids.

But attitude is no substitute for game, and talent never does completely cancel out experience. For years, Zito's reputation-making late-summer starts were delivered in a context of Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson pitching either beside or around him in the rotation.

Now it's Zito out there in front. He's the guy. And the A's will go exactly as far in this divisional race as Barry Zito takes them.

Think a once-every-fifth-day player can't make that kind of a difference? Zito, with the A's, is 54-21 from July to the end of the season. He's 7-0 in that regard so far this year. He's the horse.

And he is ready for that distinction, which separates Zito from the merry band of toddlers who join him in the rotation. Rich Harden maybe has the chops to do it; Danny Haren has some of the stuff; Joe Blanton and Kirk Saarloos don't have to apologize for their work. But none of them can carry Oakland. Only Zito can do that.

Zito made peace with it a while back. It's his time. He's 27 years old, more knowledgable about pitching than at any point in his life. He understands stretch-drive mentality.

He counsels the kids, especially Haren, a perfectionist who has the tendency to be unduly hard on himself. There is no Hudson, with his bulldog ethic on the mound. There is no Mulder, with his cool professionalism. There's just ... Zito.

"It's something I've been ready to deal with for a while," said Zito, who, almost inconceivably, is in only his fifth full season in the majors. "I think it's better to have this early in your career rather than later."

Seems as if he has lived a lifetime in the bigs already, doesn't it? It was in 2002 that Zito won 23 games and the Cy Young Award. Two years later, he had come all the way back down to 11-11, with an ERA (4.48) a full point above his career average.

And he's the rock. There is no alternative. Manager Ken Macha is going to send the other guys out there on the other days and hope that, as each pitcher passes 200 innings for the first time in his pro career, the ensuing starts at least are competitive.

Zito? He's got to either win outright or keep his team so close that winning remains the option. That's it. That's the whole deal.

Tuesday, Zito was the guy the A's need for him to be. He battled his own desire to nibble at the corners rather than go after the hitters, and he dealt with the Angels' consistent good at-bats in which they made him work too much for his own good.

"This game's crazy," he said later. "Every time you think you've got it figured out, it comes up and bites you in the backside."

No bites for Zito in August, and that's no idle thought. It is, in the end, Oakland's only remaining plan.

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[missionhockey21]

Pretty cool article. I've always been a fan of Zito's and it's great to see him with this bounceback season and playing the role of leader as the A's surprise.

As for this though...

But none of them can carry Oakland. Only Zito can do that.

I have to disagree. I think Harden has the makeup and stuff to carry this team just as well as Zito. No doubt Zito may be the starter to lead and guide the others due to his experience, but pitching wise, a 2.9 ERA and a 8.2 K/9 can help carry a team just as well.

[A'sDiehard]

I pretty much agree with the article. Harden has the stuff, but I'm not sure if he's there yet mentally and it really showed on Monday night. He needs to calm down and rely on his abilities. Haren will be fine and Blanton and Saarloos will keep us competitive. As I've said, this team is a year ahead of schedule so anything that might happen in October is strictly a bonus. I just love how the high-paid Angels have to keep looking in their rearview mirror. There are questions about their overworked bullpen as well. We strengthened our bullpen before the deadline; they didn't do squat.

[Providence A's]

Harden gets in the "hockey player" frame of mind sometimes. He gets way to jacked up and this was a bigger problem last year (as in it happened more often)...he's better controlled it this year, but it still pops up.