It’s starting to feel like a rite of spring: Barry Zito shows up with a new delivery he was working on in the offseason, only to ditch it on the advice of Giants coaches.
Zito arrived this year with a new crouched over stance on the mound. I’ll let Andrew Baggarly take it from here:
The end results bared that out: Zito had a 7.91 ERA in five spring starts. He allowed 32 hits, including five homers, in 19 1/3 innings.
The plan is for Zito to use his old delivery in a minor league start Wednesday. He’s still slated to be the Giants’ fifth starter this season, though if he has a rough April, the team could turn to youngster Eric Surkamp. After a solid 2010 season, Zito went 3-4 with a 5.87 ERA during an injury-riddled 2011 campaign.