7:05 PM, WPGB
Barry Zito (0-2, 8.18) vs. Tony Armas (0-1, 13.50).
Zito isn't an elite pitcher and hasn't been since maybe 2003, and yet the Giants gave him the biggest contract ever for a pitcher this offseason. What made that contract really odd - or maybe not odd, just misguided - is that Zito is a good-but-not-great pitcher who isn't even consistently good. He relies heavily on his curveball, which is a great, great pitch. When it works, Zito's good. When it doesn't, as it didn't during parts of 2004, he isn't. I haven't seen either of his first two starts this year, so I'm not sure if there's a problem, but that's something to watch for tonight. Whether Zito has the curveball or not, though, there's a pretty good chance that the Bucs' offense will make him look like Sandy Koufax.