His Game Includes Some Pillow Talk

Oakland left-hander Barry Zito, who beat the Angels this week, is . . . discriminating.

“This was a guy who taped everything he did in spring training,” General Manager Billy Beane said. “He reminds you of those guys in 1972 who read ‘Psychocybernetics.’ You know--played the whole game in his mind before he actually pitched it.”

So, the Angels can’t hit left-handers in Barry Zito’s head, either.

But, it’s complicated in there.

Zito travels with a pink satin pillow and a few stuffed animals.

“I don’t know what it is about hotel pillows,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. “They’re made of down and you just sink right into them. It seems like the nicer the hotel, the worse the pillows. Motel 6, they’ve got the best pillows.”

Alas, there was a recent tragedy.

“I left my favorite [stuffed animal] in Tucson,” Zito said. “It was a frog named Smootchie. My girlfriend gave him to me. I was going to get another and try to sneak him in, but I figured I’d better not.”

Right. You wouldn’t want to get weird about it or anything.

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Oh, yeah, this’ll work: Dave Stewart, on the occasion of being named Toronto Manager Jim Fregosi’s pitching coach: “Jim is the manager of the ballclub. My job is to manage the pitching. I don’t plan to interfere with Jimmy managing the game and I don’t expect him to interfere with my managing the pitchers.”

What?

Third man in is General Manager Gord Ash, who said, “I’m a firm believer that sometimes out of differences of opinion come the best decisions.”

Then he ought to prepare himself for some really, really great decisions.

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Pudge, the potty-training years: It’s been a week now.

Is Carlton Fisk still talking?

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And, they both bloom in spring: In case you missed Fisk’s induction speech--assuming it’s over--here’s the gist:

There are two kinds of baseball players: catchers and pansies.

There are two kinds of catchers: Carlton Fisk and pansies.

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Of Pete and Bob: The proceedings at the Hall of Fame are a delight.

But it’s even better on the sidewalk.

That’s where Pete Rose spends these Cooperstown induction weekends, briskly signing and chatting and reminding.

This year, Bob Feller, Ralph Kiner and all the other freedom-of-speech champions threatened a walkout if Red broadcaster Marty Brennaman prattled on about Rose. Didn’t happen. Still, it was Rose, unflappable as ever, who delivered the finest speech.

Rose told ESPN.com: “Ask Bob Feller where he sat last year for two days. Know where he was? Sitting right next to me, because that’s where he knew the crowd would be.

“Know anything about memorabilia? Well, I’ve got something for you. It’s the rarest thing ever seen--an unsigned Bob Feller picture.”

Rose should talk, of course. They deserve each other.

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Iceberg dead ahead: If the San Francisco Giants have any illusions of Barry Bonds’ seaworthiness in a pennant race, this will set ‘em straight.

“Barry Bonds has never taken anyone to the Promised Land,” he, Barry Bonds, said of himself, Barry Bonds. “If you’re going to ride me you’re going to sink. If you jump on one person’s back and don’t do it together, you’re going to lose. You’ll definitely drown. I mean Titanic.”

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Great gobs of cement: Philadelphia Manager Terry Francona grew up near Pittsburgh and as a child attended many Pirate games at Three Rivers Stadium. The Phillies played their last game at the ballpark last weekend, so Francona might not ever see it again.

That’s not a bad thing.

“I loved it,” Francona said, “but it isn’t exactly Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. When they knock Three Rivers down, half the people won’t know if it’s Riverfront or Veterans Stadium, because they all look alike.”

Next season, the Pirates move into PNC Park. It will probably look just like Coors Field, Jacobs Field and Camden Yards.

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Built to lass: Sparky Anderson, on a young Jose Canseco: “I’ll tell you what, this kid is going to be something. Just look at him. He’s built like a Greek goddess.”

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Stan, the pan: Released this week by Colorado, reliever Stan Belinda was the rare pitcher with better results at Coors Field, where his ERA was 5.66, than on the road, where it was 9.00.

Still, the ballpark sent him out on a stretcher, like the rest of ‘em.

“I consumed myself with trying to prove that you could pitch here,” he said. “It took a lot of energy and mental work to pitch well here. And when I went on the road, it was almost like relaxation time and I just didn’t get the concentration level back up where it should have been on the road. I just tried so hard to prove this place wrong and it was wearing me down. This place chewed me up and spit me out just like a lot of other pitchers.”