Oh I wish I wish I hadn't squished that fish...

The title doesn't have anything specific to do with the Giants signing Barry Zito, but the general feeling of regret still remains.

There are plenty of places to read why signing a pitcher to a long-term deal is disastrous, why Zito isn't an elite pitcher and why this will blow up in the Giants collective face. I will not endorse any of these thoughts, though I recognize he is King Mediocre and the title alone is worth $10 million a year in royalty fees.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Bary Zito is actually Shawn Estes. It's true. Young hot pitchers reliant on devastating curve balls who saw that curve ball become less than stellar and never returned to the former glory.

For Estes that meant he became a fifth starter/never-heard-from-again. But Zito was always a a better pitcher, so when he lost his curve ball (oh, I don't know, around here) it didn't hurt him as much as Estes. Zito has gotten some of the snap back since 2004, but I've never seen it like it was. Still, that Estes-Zito connection was made in my head and it will never go away.

So congratulations Peter Magowan. You just paid $126 million dollars for Shawn Estes+. Have fun with that.