Zito could learn a lot from Moyer

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Fret not, Barry Zito fans. Your favorite funky left-hander has a prayer and a road map to redemption, after all. The San Francisco Giants' $126 million man has already sought him out, so to speak.The Patron Saint of Pitchers Who Have Had To Reinvent Themselves To Survive In The Show was simply warming up in the Citizens Bank Park outfield when Zito approached. He might as well have genuflected at the feet of Philadelphia's ageless Jamie Moyer."We talked briefly," said Moyer, the 45-year-old soft-tossing left-hander who made his major-league debut during the Reagan administration and was hit so hard he was nearly drummed out of the game. A struggling Zito, meanwhile, was in the throes of despair that first weekend of May, having been demoted from the rotation for a turn."I kind of felt bad for him but again, he's Barry," added Moyer, who enjoyed many an A.L. West battle against Zito when he pitched for Seattle and Zito the A's. "The thing I've learned in this game is nobody's going to feel sorry for you, no matter how well you're doing, or how poorly you're doing ... it's a very difficult game to play, and all of the expectation makes it more difficult."Everyone having an opinion as to what's wrong with the 2002 A.L. Cy Young Award winner and offering up just as much advice to fix Zito since he jumped the Bay two winters ago only adds to the static.The most obvious example for Zito to follow to get out of his career-threatening funk, though, is the trail blazed by Moyer.Moyer was never a flamethrower; same with Zito.Moyer's fastball is in the low 80s; Zito tops out at about 88 mph, though for stretches he has lost a shocking amount of velocity.Moyer battled mental demons as well as mechanical issues; Zito's most obvious problem is a loss of confidence, even as he continually tweaked his delivery by adjusting his arm angle and release point.Everything was in alignment Wednesday in Cleveland, where Zito had his best outing of an awful year, going a season-high 6 2/3 innings and giving up one run and four hits with four strikeouts in the Giants' 4-1 victory. For the first time since Sept. 30, the oft-skittish Zito, who has set a franchise mark for losses before the All-Star break, did not walk a batter."I have better 'stuff' with this adjustment," Zito, who won his third game against a big league-high 11 defeats, told the San Jose Mercury News. "Consistency is the key."Moyer's resurgence began when he took a figurative page from singer Roberta Flack's songbook and starting killing batters softly with his assortment of junk pitches."I can't speak for Barry at all, but I can speak for myself," Moyer said. "I had to dig down and find a way if I wanted to continue to play."The biggest thing that Barry needs to do, and I'm not trying to tell him what to do, Barry's got to be himself. And whether he has to reinvent himself or recreate himself ... he's got to somehow, someway, find the confidence to do it -- repeat pitches, repeat his mechanics -- and I don't know what his issue is, if it is a mechanical thing or if it's a 'stuff' thing. You've got to have decent 'stuff,' but you've got to be able to locate it, regardless of how hard you throw or how soft you throw. He needs to find out what makes him click."If it is a career-altering loss of arm strength, can Zito adjust, ala his kindred spirit?"It can be done; it's a little harder," said Moyer, 7-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 16 starts this season. "You've got to be a little more precise ... one pitch can make or break your game. It's confidence, too, and you need your defense to make a lot of plays behind you. It ain't too often you win a one-run game or a 1-0 game with my style of pitching."It's a style Zito might have to emulate in the near future.(Contact Paul Gutierrez at pgutierrez@sacbee.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)