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The big one: with Barry Zito succeeding in his new role—ace of a rebuilt pitching staff—the A's haven't missed a beat

Sporting News, The, Sept 30, 2005 by Dave Albee

This was supposed to be the season Billy Beane's magic act was exposed. After years of dazzling baseball with sizzling second halves performed on wholesale budgets, after watching MVPs and aces disappear annually, the A's were supposed to be so young that they'd be going back to school in September, not hanging in a pennant race. Sure, one-time Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito still was around, but he never had provided the pitching staff with much leadership in the first place, and besides, he was supposed to be going backward in his career.

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Still, the team advertised itself as playing an "A's Baseball: A Different Brand of Baseball." It sounded good, but on May 29, when they were 15 games under .500 and righthander Rich Harden and shortstop Bobby Crosby were on the disabled list, that brand appeared at best to be generic. More like Brand Xterminated.

Now look at them. The A's not only have overcome their annual budget challenges, they also have played through an endless string of injuries (Crosby and Harden, in fact, are sidelined again). Yet, Oakland entered the week just two games behind the Angels--a club with twice as many All-Stars and a payroll that's about $40 million larger--in the American League West, and the Angels will begin the last week of the season in Oakland for a four-game series.

"We're not five games up where we'd love to be, but we're where we'd like to be," says Zito. "We always knew we had the talent. We just didn't know if we'd put it together this early in the stage of developing this team."

Even if they fall short, the A's have learned at least two things in this latest reincarnation: Zito, the eccentric lefthander known as much for his unusual ways off the field as his knee-buckling curveball, can be their leader; and, oh, yeah, he still can pitch a little.

After rotation mates Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were traded last winter, Zito didn't know how his suddenly solo act would play in the A's clubhouse. He still was a funny guy, but in his new role he didn't know when or how to talk to his teammates in serious situations.

"I still feel like a rookie," says Zito, a six-year veteran at 27. "But I felt like I almost had to be unapproachable or something different as a veteran."

While Zito was uncertain about how to impart his wisdom, he also looked as though he didn't know how to pitch. He was 0-4 in April. He seemed lost as a team leader, a role that some believed was as foreign to the wild-haired pitcher as a comb.

The A's were searching for an identity, and Zito was searching for ways he could help turn things around without Hudson and Mulder surrounding him in the rotation and clubhouse.

"We would always split that responsibility between the three of us," Zito says. "When they were gone, it was just me and Harden (left), and Harden is still only 23, so I felt I had to be that veteran guy and bring some type of veteran presence in."

So Zito decided to approach his role model--former A's teammate Jason Giambi--for advice. The timing was far from impeccable.

The A's were in New York for a series in early May, and Zito bumped into Giambi in the Yankee Stadium weight room. Both were feeling a lot of pressure; the Yankees were considering sending Giambi to the minors, and speculation was growing that Zito might be traded.

"We were kind of going through the (stuff) together," Zito says. "I sought him out."

The Yankees' first baseman, in Yoda-like fashion, put Zito's apprehensions to rest.

"Hudson was the bulldog. Mulder was Mr. Consistency. And Zito would be the eccentric one and be funny," Giambi says. "Then, all of a sudden, you're the leader. But sometimes you don't have to change. You can still be you. That's what makes you a leader. You don't need to have to be Hudson. You don't have to pull the team aside. Be you, and guys will respond to that. They just want you to go out and pitch the same way you pitched."

Giambi's pep talk was Sinatra-like to Zito's ears. And Barry, feeling relaxed and reassured, essentially went back to being Barry.

"He's been the perfect No. 1. veteran leader that I've ever seen as far as the being the head guy on the staff," says A's catcher Jason Kendall.

"When a guy's struggling and needs somebody to talk to, it's always Barry," Harden says. "He's very easy to talk to, and he can talk the mental side of the game, too. That's what he studies and really focuses on."

Zito, who won his Cy Young in 2002, also began trusting his instincts and his pitches more. His post-April performance improved, but his record dropped to 1-6 and eventually 2-8 because the A's didn't score runs when he pitched.

But after loss No. 8 on June 17 to the Phillies, Zito became dominant. He put together a 9-2 record, 2.17 ERA and .184 opponents' batting average over 14 starts.

"Leadership is relative to your performance," says Beane, the A's general manager who wisely resisted the temptation to trade Zito. "Barry's not a rah-rah type. The best thing Barry has done, by and large, is pitch to Cy Young form for most of the year."

The big one: with Barry Zito succeeding in his new role—ace of a rebuilt pitching staff—the A's haven't missed a beat

Sporting News, The, Sept 30, 2005 by Dave Albee

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