After signing a 7 year, 126 million dollar contract, what does every good pitcher do? Yep, you drastically change your delivery.

The left-hander started the session measuring the distance from the rubber to a line he drew in the dirt, then with feet about shoulder-width apart, bouncing slightly he took a large step backward to gain momentum, pushed off hard using his now-stronger legs and finished off with a much longer stride. Please explain, Mr. Zito, as this caught even pitching coach Dave Righetti by surprise in what he termed a "going from one extreme to the other" alteration.

So he's taking a huge step back and then striding much farther forward as opposed to starting from a still position. But sure, maybe he can regain his velocity. Just as long as he keeps that killer curve of his, he should be fine.

"With that backward step, he could wind up at second base," quipped Righetti. "He may not pitch that way, but we'll find out. That will wear him down on different mounds, and it's going to be tough. "He's a good athlete, and to me it's all about making his pitches. If he loses his curveball ... which he could because he's throwing from a different angle now instead of straight up as before. Now he's way out there." "We'll see," added Righetti, "how his groin is tomorrow."

No really, this sounds...well reasoned. I see no potential downside that could have drastic reprecussions for the next 7 years or so. In an interesting parallel, Alfonso Soriano, having signed his own eight year deal, has changed his batting stride some. When asked to describe it, he replied "First I limp to the side like my leg was broken, Shakin' and twitchin' kina like I was smokin'." Teammates simply said it looked like a fit or a convulsion. So, you know, the jury's still out.