Barry Zito's Redemption

In continuing my review of the top ten Giants stories of the 2012 season, it is time to reflect upon the redemption of Barry Zito. The former ace of the A's will never be the pitcher that we all hoped for when he signed a huge contract with the Giants several years ago but over the past couple of seasons he has been able to redeem himself a bit and it all came together for him in the second half of last season and even more so in the NLCS and World Series.

After years of disappointment, culminating in being left off the 2010 playoff roster, Zito has began to re-establish himself as a reliable starter for the Giants. The pressure of being the ace is long gone, with the development of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner. As a fifth starter for the Giants, anything the Giants get from Zito is now a bonus. For much of last year, the pressure was off and Zito turned in his best year as a Giant.

In the regular season he won 15 games and pitched well enough to earn a spot in the playoff rotation over Tim Lincecum, who struggled  through most of the regular season. After surviving a short, rocky start against the Reds in round one, Zito delivered a season saving effort for the Giants in the NLCS when they were down 3-1 to the Cardinals. To say the least, we saw the Zito that we all thought we were getting years ago. To top it all off, Zito then went on to out-pitch the best pitcher in baseball, Justin Verlander, in game one of the World Series. Counting the playoffs, Zito now enters 2013 with a Major League best 14 start unbeaten streak.

Angel Pagan Sets the Tone

In continuing to review last season's top stories, I think Angel Pagan's contribution atop the batting order was a huge key to the Giants success. Despite the fact that Buster Posey was the National League's MVP, Pagan was almost as critical to Giants victories all year long. After struggling through much of April, Bruce Bochy moved Pagan out of the lead off spot and down in the order. Once he got his swing back he made his way back to the top of the lineup and there really was no looking back from that point on.

In the second half of the season Pagan was one of the best leadoff hitters in the National League and, despite not getting the national attention that he deserves, once the playoffs began I really felt that he gave the Giants the best leadoff hitter in the postseason. His play exemplified hard work and determination. Angel Pagan played the game hard all year long and that made him a lot of fun to watch in 2012. His reward was a 4 year contract worth 50 million dollars. As long as he stays healthy and plays the game the way he did last year, the contract will be worth it.

Melky Cabrera and his Melk Maids

With the year ending, it is time to review the top ten Giants stories of 2012. Over the next two weeks, I will work my way from ten to one to remind us all about the things we loved most from this past season. If you have any others or comments on what I have included, please let me know. With that said, here is my number ten Giants story of 2012-Melky Cabrera and his Melk Maids.

It didn't end well for Melky in San Francisco but you can't deny that he almost instantly became a fan favorite with his tremendous hitting and hustle. It didn't take long for fans to adopt him as one of our own and we started seeing stadiums everywhere the Giants went with a contingent of Melk Men and Melk Maids. His hustle and stellar hitting were a hit with fans and Melky was one of the most popular players on the team. The vote for Melky initiative got him a starting spot in the all star game, where he went on to win the games MVP award.

Now, with Melky, you do have to remember why it didn't last beyond a year. While he was a highlight of this season, his PED suspension left a dark cloud over the team and the way that he handled that entire situation is the reason that he won't be back. It is a shame that the Melkman ended it the way he did, he could have been a Giant for years and it certainly was nice to see a star in left field again. However, some things can't and shouldn't be forgiven. Melky is in Toronto now and it will be interesting to see how he re-builds his character there. I hope he has success because I don't want to see a man buried by one case of horrible decision making.