The Lunatic Fringe has finally gotten its way – with a $127 million price tag to go along with it.
For years, Giants fans – namely those dubbed the Lunatic Fringe for their views of what the team should do with its money – have clamored for Peter Magowan and Brian Sabean to get out there and land the big free agent.
Two years ago, it was Vladimir Guerrero that drew the attention of the Giants faithful and plenty of other big name (and big money) free agents have signed elsewhere while the Fringe has lashed out against the organization.
But now, at long last, the Fringe will have its man.
The Giants’ signing of Barry Zito marks a new era in San Francisco baseball. In recent years, a front-line starter has been something the Giants have acquired mainly by luck.
Jason Schmidt was about a .500 pitcher before reaching ace status with San Fran. Shawn Estes had one breakout 19-win campaign and fizzle shortly thereafter. Billy Swift and John Burkett, the last two Giants to win 20 games in a season, were nothing before or after their careers by the Bay.
So for this current ownership group, this signing marks a change of direction.
Zito is 28, a guy in his prime who has never had any injury problems. That alone makes him different from most recent Giants signees.
He’s the type of free agent that certainly helps the image of the organization and will make fans happy. Unfortunately, that alone doesn’t make this a great move for the Giants.
By investing so much in one player, the team has handcuffed itself for the next seven years. For those who expected the Giants to land an All-Star caliber bat when Barry Bonds finally retires, you can probably forget about it.
If you had dreams of seeing Andruw Jones or Miguel Cabrera roam AT&T Park wearing orange and black, you ought to keep dreaming.
Zito is the new man. He’s the guy the Giants will now be building their franchise around.
He certainly has the potential to take over that role. His Cy Young year of 2002 shows that.
But for what he’s being paid, the Giants must get Cy Young-type production out of him every year. That means 15-18 wins with a 3.50 or so ERA and more than 200 innings – every year.
The beauty of the seven-year deal is that while the money and years may seem a little scary now, if Zito produces it could end up being a steal.
With guys such as Gil Meche getting $11 million per year, Zito at an $18 million per year average doesn’t look so bad. Especially if salaries keep rising as they are, Zito could be making the league average by the time his service with the Giants is done.
Nothing is certain in the world of free agency, but I’ll be happy to know I won’t have to listen to three months of crying from the Lunatic Fringe and I’ll be as excited as anyone to check out No. 75 wearing orange and black when he takes the mound on opening day.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t go the way of the last two $100 million pitcher (Mike Hampton and Kevin Brown) and can give the Giants something to get excited about.
At the very least, he’ll help bring down the average age on the roster.
