Rick Peterson Might Not Be Unemployed Long

You clearly heard about all the drama surrounding Willie Randolph and the wrongful axing peaceful separation of the Mets organization and most of its coaching staff. One of the men without a job is Rick Peterson, the former pitching coach. But Peterson might not be out on the streets for too lengthy a time.

This is because a previous stop on his resume -- Oaktown. Namely because of a certain pitcher he coached there.

However, when asked what type of relationship they had, Zito noted that as far back as college, he and his family hired Peterson for private coaching. When the A's drafted Zito, Peterson was their pitching coach.

"I had success from the start there in Oakland," Zito said. "There's a lot to be said for your first coach in the big leagues, too. He moved me on the mound and did something also with my hands, stuff like that, stuff I still do today."

Now, this is primarily speculation, as noted by a no comment from Zito. However, it does make a ton of sense. The likely move -- because clearly Dave Righetti is doing a good job -- would be to pay Peterson to coach Zito, and Zito only.

And if that seems like too excessive a move to you, then you haven't been following the disaster that is Barry Zito's 2008 season. And you forgot he won a Cy Young award with Peterson.

Fantasy Spin: I'm going to do something stupid here and suggest you take a flier on Zito. I don't think he has "it" (meaning "the ability to pitch well") anymore, but if anyone can get it back for him, it sure seems like Peterson. Obviously the dominoes have to fall right, but it's a pretty decent gamble if you have the bench room.