Today’s postgamer is going to be pretty brief, in part because 1) I’m sick, 2) I prefer to write about games that were fun, and 3) Psych is beckoning to me from my Netflix account. But here goes:

Ryan Vogelsong looked great. He got touched up for a couple runs in the second inning, but ended up getting 12 straight outs after that. Bruce Bochy had told us in Spring Training that they were hoping for Vogelsong to be ready to pitch 5 innings by April 15. Instead he pitched 6 1/3 IP, 102 pitches, and looked like his old self. His new old self, not his old old self. You know, the good one. So consider “Concern over Ryan Vogelsong” crossed off in my mental checklist.

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I think it’s pretty obvious what the main story is coming out of today’s game.

If Ryan Theriot can continue slapping singles in key spots Barry Zito pitched a good game, which is not something that you would expect if you’ve seen Barry Zito pitch in the last six years. He got a little roughed up in the first, but settled down and controlled the game, pitching through errors and keeping the ball down. He mixed his pitches well, fooling batters with his curve and slider, and locating his slowball on the outside corner regularly. In the ongoing Barry Zito quandary, we’re 2-0 in the “Could be a serviceable pitcher” column versus “Complete and utter disaster,” so that’s progress.

The notion that Barry Zito could actually be a decent fourth starter seems pretty far-fetched, but hey. Ryan Vogelsong happened, so anything’s possible.

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