Pitching is the Ticket To Success

The past two days saw standout performances from two Bay Area pitchers on opposite sides of the bay.  Wednesday saw the Zito of old make an appearance, which was a welcome change from the Zito of late.  He recorded his third win of the season and the Giants soared to a 4 - 1 victory.  Zito it seemed was finally able to get out of his head and pitch with out thinking.  All to often he would get in his own way, and I believe the Zito of old has been hiding under his muddled mind this whole time.  He had 6 2/3 dominant innings before being taken out but he should be proud of finally getting out of his own way. The Giants manager Bruce Bochy had this to say about his dominating performance, "That's the Zito we knew.  He had a good rhythm out there, pounded the zone and went after them." Zito was able to throw fastballs, sliders, curveballs, and changeups all for strikes and ended the night at 109 pitches.  Zito had previously lost velocity all year on his pitches but on Wednesday he pitched in the high 80s for most of the night.  When asked about his night Zito had many comments and if you know Zito they will make you shake your head and say "Oh Zito." Really Zito is one of those few players that possess a loud personality and are a true character of the game.  "Just letting it fly and trusting yourself was the key.  That's the hardest thing to do in life, the hardest thing to do in baseball.  When you do it, you usually see good results, which I haven't been able to do a lot this year. You've got to try something different.  I've tried to do so many different things, tweaking my mechanics.  Sometimes you've got to just let it go and stop trying to control things and let things run their course.  It's about self trust."  Yes he is a bit on the eccentric side but his words can ring true for many of us.  I hope he keeps his self-trust up and doesn't get bogged down in self-doubt any more.  I am sure the Giants hope the same. 

On the other side of the bay Harden threw another fantastic game Thursday.  I have no idea how he is either 0% or 100% but when he is 100% he is a phenomenal pitcher.   I pray to the baseball gods that he doesn't get hurt for the rest of the year.  Behind his masterful pitching the Athletics won Thursday 5-0.  It looked like Harden was going to have a no hitter all the way into the fifth inning when the Phillies got their first hit off of the Athletics 26 year old right hander.  He struck out 11 batters a career high and left in the eight inning after 85 pitches.  Harden was able to last in to the eight inning because he recorded quick outs and had not one bad inning.  When talking about his game Harden said, "Maybe it was just being able to locate pitches.  I wanted to stay away from getting in trouble - sometimes I rear back and throw as hard as I can, but today it was more abut having a purpose behind every pitch."  Rob Bowen the back up catcher caught Harden's game and did a really great job.  I love it when players that are not day-to-day get a chance and shine.  Harden is 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA while Duchscherer has a 1.99 ERA making both All Star contenders and the Athletics only hope to make the team this year. 

The saving grace of both Bay Area teams right now is their pitching.  I hope the amazing starts continue on both sides and that the Athletics have some pitchers in the All Star game.