[vincesanity82]

Barry Zito was "banished" to the bullpen for all of ... exactly zero outings? Yup. Zito pitched so embarrassingly bad as a starter for the San Francisco Giants (in case you haven't been following his season, just think about what that says) that Bruce Bochy decided to move him into the bullpen.

There seem to be all kinds of quasi-contradictory reasons for why Zito is coming back to the rotation, with the bottom line being that Bochy's got a $120 million starter on his hands, and management wants him pitching. And not stinking.

The Giants were going to need a fifth starter by Saturday and decided to have Zito pitch Wednesday, manager Bruce Bochy said, not only to balance the rotation but to ensure the left-hander does not go too long without pitching.

[...]Barry's going to start. He's a starter," Bochy said. "We felt we had to break it up and give him a break. We were hoping we cold get him out there (in relief) a couple of times. Now, that didn't happen, so he's going back into the rotation."

Heeeee's Ba-ack: Zito Returns to the Rotation - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

[Lefty Noob]

Well, that was pointless. If they were trying to send him a message, they should've at least had him pitch one or two outings in relief.