Is Barry back with the Giants?

I think so. It seems as if Barry Zito has reworked his approach to accommodate the loss of velocity from his years with Oakland.

According to Aaron Gleeman at HardballTalk:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/did-you-know-barry-zito-has-a-246-era-since-last-seasons-all-star-break.html.php

what's interesting about Zito's turnaround is that it actually dates back to last season. In fact, since last year's All-Star break Zito has the sixth-best ERA in all of baseball among pitchers with at least 100 innings

The FB velocity numbers are about the same as when Zito signed his huge Giants deal, but apparently Zito is going back to "pitching backwards"--or using his curveball to set up his fastball instead of the other way around.

With Zito revitalized and Jonathan Sanchez continuing his development, the Giants may have the most potent pitching staff in the National League. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain continue to pitch like elite top of the rotation starters.

Now if only the bats begin to come around......maybe we can shake off the surprising Padres and run away from the competition. It looks like the Rockies may come around once the weather warms up and overtake the Padres as the main competition. The Dodgers may be close to pushing the panic button along with Milwaukee and Atlanta in the NL. In the AL, it seems like the Sox--both Red and White--are also close to panic-button pushing mode.

The Cubs and D-Backs may be close to being in panic mode as well. The Cubs, with the Zambrano shuffle, are showing early signs of fraying around the edges. Zambrano moving from the rotation to the bullpen does nothing to address their need for a significant left handed bat in the middle of the order.

On the plus side, the Rays, Twins and A's continue to do the most with the least and solidify their reputations as the most well run organizations in baseball. The Mets, Nats and Padres lead the surprise list in the NL.

But it is early, the weather is still football-like in many areas, so while firm conclusions cannot be drawn, trends are beginning to develop and bear watching.