What If Barry Zito had Adrian Gonzalez in the line up when he pitched?
What If Barry Zito had Adrian Gonzalez in the line up when he pitched?
by Darrin Reyes
Last year Barry Zito had the lowest run support for the Giants rotation in 2009. As Giants fans we know that one big bat added to the line up could have added a lot more wins and possibly a playoff birth. If Adrian Gonzalez was on the team it could be the added push that the Giants need to get into the playoffs. The difference that he may have brought is going to examined here.
Only Barry Zito starts are being talked about in this post. Other pitchers and other hopeful Giants will be brought up in future post. Here are guidelines:
1. On the day of the pitcher start, the players stats from that day will be used in the Giants line up that day.
*If player was off that day the next days stats may be used.
2. The players stat will be placed in the spot in the line up of the player he is replacing.
*If Ishikawa batting 6th than Gonzalez will be 6th. This is just to show the difference the player makes to the line up.
3. If the players current team is against the Giants the current Giants roster players stat will swap.
4. On the days Pablo Sandoval played first base, the numbers from the third baseman will be switched for the inserted player.
The changes to the line up may not all be good. It may increase more losses as well as wins.
After reviewing all the games that Zito pitched and including the numbers of Adrian Gonzalez the results are as follows. Zito’s record would be increased to have 16 wins and 10 losses compared to last years record of 10 wins and 13 losses. The Giants would have an additional 3 wins to their record. The additional 3 wins would’ve made the Giants record to be 91 and 71. One of the games that was changed from a loss to a win included the Monday Massacre against the Colorado Rockies on August 24. This would have changed the Rockies record to be 91 and 71 which matches the Giants record. Its very possible that the addition of Adrian Gonzalez would’ve made a couple more wins that would set the Giants passed the Rockies and maybe even the Dodgers.
As Giants fans all we can do is hope that a big bat is acquired this off season. Once an addition is made to the roster will the What If questions be answered? It will also bring more What If questions to all Giants fans. We know a change needs to be made and all we can do now is wait and see.
