Zito signs with Giants

Pitching in the soft hitting NL West (with the exception of playing the Rockies, especially in Coors' Field) I definitely foresee success for Zito.  His best asset has been his durability, so the length of the contract doesn't bother me as much as the money.  I can't believe that the Giants just commited $18M per year to a pseudo-ace.  This offseason just found a way to get worse; the payroll hangover from this spending spree will be killing several teams well before the turn of the decade.  

You AL fans absolutely over-rate the difference between the AL and NL for hitting. I know you follow an AL East team, the best offensive division in probably all of baseball, but the AL West was a pathetic hitting division and he had a great defense in Oakland, as well as a huge foul territory.

He's going to a worse defense, possibly a worse offense, and a home ballpark with not nearly enough foul territory(new age ballpark with limited foul ground.)

So where exactly is the logic of making an absurd comment like that Randy? Zito was and is over-rated. Even his Cy Young award was a joke, Pedro totally deserved it that year.

Face the facts. His walks are going up. His strikeouts are going down. The NL West can't hit, but even with a pitcher hitting they are almost as good as the AL West, which besides games at Arlington are very poor.

Scouts have been mentioning that even his famed curveball is losing some of it's bite. He's never been hurt, that's right, but neither had Mike Hampton when he got his huge contract.

Even though Zito is staying in another pitcher's park, without the expansive foul territory and the great defense, he's not going to be as good as he was in Oakland.

You can't win a Cy Young or be in contention for the award with an ERA around 4 and around 13-15 wins.