Kuzul

Working his way back from a foot injury which occurred in April, Barry Zito is almost ready to re-join the big league club.  After three tune-up games in the minors, the question no one wants to answer looms like a frightening beacon of light over the San Francisco bay. What do you do with Barry Zito? His replacement Ryan Vogelsong has pitched exceptionally well going  4-1 with an E.R.A. under two since taking over Zito's spot in the rotation. His success has made it tough to justify demoting him when Zito returns. On the other hand, Zito was the fourth starter when he went down, and it is difficult to ignore the fact the team still owes him close to $60 million. Several articles on how to solve this pitching conundrum have been written, but all ended up with no viable conclusion. Even the latest Hardy Boys novel, previously slated to ...

We are about a third of the way through the 2011 campaign and the Giants are in first place in the National League West, despite the devastating loss of catcher Buster Posey. Based on the amount of one-run contests and last inning heroics, the casual fan is likely to be flabbergasted when they open up the sports page to see the orange and black atop the standings, but that is torture in its truest form.   Up in the show, Brian Wilson, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and the rest of the S.F. misfits, are holding things down. While down on the farm, players are quietly blossoming, attempting to work their way up the major league ladder. Unless you’ve been trapped inside the huge baseball glove behind the left field bleachers at AT&T Park, or are being held hostage in Lou Seal’s harbor lair, you know Brandon Belt is San Francisco’s top prospect. While he ...

The 2011 baseball season is upon us, and that can only mean one thing for eager fans: a fresh start.  With hopes of celebratory bliss, you announce confidently, “this is our year,” as you retrieve the enormous foam finger lodged behind your bed. The once prized possession is now dusted with crumb remnants and dead ants.  While one’s prophecies for the upcoming season may be nothing more than fantasy, players must approach each year with the goal to maintain past success, improve on past failures, or return from an injury, thus proving they still are one of the elite.  No player is more eager to prove he can return to greatness than Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan.     Nathan made great progress this spring and has reestablished himself as Minnesota's closer to open the season. This tale, however, is not about Nathan’s return to the mound.  This is ...