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Soy un perdedor said:
If his fastball really does clock in at 88 (and I thought it was around 92-94)



Most of the time it sits between 87-90, occasionally touching 91.

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The 88 mph fastball is a changeup for most pitchers.



For most pitchers....named Kerry Wood. 88 is a slightly below average fastball, but it's not that uncommon. As you mentioned, Maddux threw about that hard(though earlier in his career he could get it to the low 90's).

Then there's the extreme soft-tossers, like Jamie Moyer...

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Zito has that in-your-face mentality. Last year, his heater was going 92, and he was using that curve to scare guys. Rely on a pitch too much, and players adjust. Simple. Only so much can be given to coaches and catchers. A lot is due, and Zito has good mechanics, but I think some batters might have wised up. "Hey, maybe if I lay off the 12-6. it will go low, and be a strike." Force a man to throw strikes, and you take away a lot of his leverage. Then, he has to throw that no-so-overpowering fastball or changeup.



The changeup used to be a pretty effective pitch, and even his fastball could get guys out simply because Zito could locate it so well. I think that's something else that's thrown him off. He always walked his share of guys, but before, when his changeup wasn't working, he could locate his fastball well enough to get by(afterall, guys don't always bring their best stuff to the mound).

MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.