Barry Zito

The Giants number one prospect Madison Bumgarner just won again, but you know what? What else is new with this kid?

Madison Bumgarner is quickly becoming the David Price of this year and his numbers continue to show why the Giants regard him so high.

Let's take a look at his numbers between Advanced Single A and Double A.

W-L: 9-2

ERA: 1.63

CG: 1

IP: 77.1

SO: 66

Pretty spectacular numbers if you ask me. 

The Giants, now without Barry Bonds, will need to find a new way to fill the seats and, in doing so, fast.

A lot has came at Barry Zito since his glory days back in Oakland. A blockbuster $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, the high hopes of being the ace for a team wanting to return to greatness, and being a role model for young athletes in America.

How about what has came at him on the field. Since winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2002 with a 23-5 record, 182 strikeouts, and a 2.75 ERA, Zito has found himself in the dumps.

With 2008's dismal season behing them, the San Francisco Giants are looking to bounce back in 09.

With one of MLB's best starting rotations and an unproven defense the Giants will look to make a run for the National League West's Penant.

Manny Ramirez and Dodgers loom as the obvious choice for the division leaders. The Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies all have more recent post season appearances than the Giants.

Still, if the Giants can play to their strengths and limit their weaknesses, they might have a fighting chance.

The first month of the season has never been easy for Giants starter Barry Zito. Even when he was at his best in Oakland, the stats he put up in April made it look the subsequent months would be a struggle.

However, for the first time as a Giant, Zito has found a groove in his first five starts of the season. His ERA is under four for the first time since June of 2007 and his dominance at home is something to note.

The San Francisco Giants will finish off their six-game homestand this weekend with three games against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are in last place in the NL West with an 8-12 record and are beginning a five-game road trip out West.

The Giants are 10-10 and are only three games behind the Dodgers.

The Giants are playing very well at home this season and have an 8-3 record at AT&T Park. The Rockies have a 4-7 road record.

On December 29, 2006, Barry Zito, a then 28-year-old southpaw from Las Vegas, signed a seven year contract worth approximately $126 million with the San Francisco Giants.

Zito had nothing but success in a more difficult league, and one of baseball's best offensive divisions, so Zito was sure to continue his success in the National League, right?

Well, if you follow baseball you know that Barry Zito has since lost his one-time Cy Young ability.

The Giants have started off slow, and fans in the Bay Area are already worried and giving up on the season.

But they should not give up just yet.

The Giants opened up the season 2-1 against the Brewers. Enough of a great start to pump life back into what has been a downer for most Giants fans the past few years.

But the series that started in San Diego on Friday was enough to remind the fans of those embarrassing times.

A game in which San Diego, the Little League team of the NL West, should have lost, they ended up winning. Was it the bad defense, the hitting, away game, or just the pitching?

Never in the 126-year history of the Giants have fans endured five straight losing seasons.  But patrons passing through Willie Mays Plaza on their way to the bayside ballpark are faced with that formidable fact in 2009.

Usually, standing at the precipice of history suggests greatness is at hand. But for the Giants—with 2004 the last time a season ended in positive territory—it’s more like an abyss.