UPDATE, January 21st, 2006: Benson has been traded to the Mets. Precursor to the A's shipping Zito to NY? Read more at MLB Trade Rumors »
MLB Trade Rumors is reporting about a possible trade that would send Oakland A's pitcher Barry Zito off to join the Mets. The Orioles are apparently in on this one too. Other names involved include pitchers Kris Benson and Aaron Heilman, plus a number of quality prospects. I find myself excited by the off season moves Minaya and the Mets have made this off-season–namely bringing up Carlos Delgado and signing Billy Wagner (though I think that deal was a little too sweet)–and Zito would be another dynamite acquisition. The trade sounds a little too wild to believe though, and as a result there's quite a lively discussion going on the original post at mlbtraderumors.com.
Another reason this rumor caught my eye is because I found an interesting web page just yesterday (via del.icio.us) about Barry Zito and his "secret to success": Ernest Holmes' 1919 book, Creative Mind. It's an interesting read, though I'm left wondering: what affirmations does Zito write inside his cap?
Sam, didn't Zito have a really pathetic year last year? I seem to remember having him in some of my fantasy leagues and he was stinking up my teams (maybe he rebounded in the 2nd half?) I think Minaya has done a good job so far (he always does, I think) but Zito has sort of a reputation as a head-case. Do the Mets need one of those?
Zito had a better year in 2005 than he did in 2004. Last year, he managed to notch an ERA of 3.86, walked 89 and stuckout 171 over 228.3 innings piched. He earned a record of 14-13. His best full year was 2002, when he walked 78 and struckout 182 over 229.3 innings, and wound up with a decent (!) record of 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA. Not surprisingly, he won the AL Cy Young that year.
At least some of Zito's reputation as a "headcase" stems from his spiritual leanings, so I won't fault him for that. I haven't followed him closely off the field, so I'm not aware of other "quirks" to his personality.
Wherever he lands, I think Zito will pitch quality starts and will be an asset to any starting rotation. His W-L record has deteriorated since his best season, but he can still eat 200+ innings.
For an interesting comparision, have a look at Zito's stats and compare them to the ace of the Nationals' staff, Livan Hernandez. If I were Bowden, I'd try to add Zito to the Nats!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/z/zitoba01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hernali01.shtml
As for Minaya, he does make good moves, but there's sometimes a catch: he tends to dramatically deplete the farm system. I suppose if *your* contract is 3-4 years, your plans to improve a team must come to fruition during that term. It doesn't necessarily mean that those plans are good for the long term development of the team. He gets big props from me though for signing Delgado!