The first benchmark on the way to Opening Day

Some will tell you that the Super Bowl is the first benchmark on the way to Opening Day of the baseball season, but I'll take it a bit further and say it's the Winter Meetings, which start in Florida on Monday.

The much-vaunted Mets pitching staff has been pretty much decimated now. Pedro won't be back till the All-Star break at the earliest, Tom Glavine could still go back to the hated Atlanta Braves next season, Chad Bradford has signed with Baltimore, Guillermo Mota is a free agent and has to sit out a 50-game suspension, and for some strange reason, the team has sent high-profile up-and-comers Royce Ring and Heath Bell to the Padres for an outfield prospect and a relief pitcher. Yes, Ring and Bell are in their late 20's, which is starting to get up there for two guys who haven't really made it to the majors yet, while Jon Adkins is an inning-eater with major league experience. But while I trust Omar Minaya, color me skeptical on such a two-pitchers-for-one deal when the other player involved is a .250 hitting outfielder.

But with the Mets losing out on both of the Big Name Japanese Pitchers out there, the Barry Zito stakes can now begin.

I always worry when American League pitchers switch to the National League, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez notwithstanding. It's a very different game, and sometimes American League stars become washouts in the National League. Zito has a good relationship with Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson from the latter's days in Oakland, but he also is close with new Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington, Zito has expressed a desire to play for the Rangers, and the Rangers have already made an offer.

Zito is going to get a contract worth the Gross National Product of several countries. As Eric Simon notes at Amazin' Avenue:

Barry Zito is a better pitcher than Adam Eaton. Zito has, at times, been a very good pitcher, and he has always been an innings eater. He has thrown at least 213 innings every season in which he has been a full-time starter, his ERA has been better than league average in each of those seasons as well, often well above average. A big concern with Zito is that he has been considerably worse these past three seasons compared to his established level of performance from his previous three.

Zito's worth will vary depending on whom you ask. In a sane world, $12 million or so would be more than fair market for his services. In a world where Adam Eaton will make $8 million a year, who's to say that Zito isn't worth $18 million? Then, Johan Santana must be worth $30 million.

I wonder about Zito playing in Texas, though. It's one thing to be a quirky guy in Oakland or New York, it's quite another to be one in the Bible Belt. And Zito is a quirky guy:

Zito — whose hobbies include yoga, rock guitar and surfing — is known for his idiosyncrasies. His personality has made him a media favorite.

He once made it a practice to buy his own autographed baseball cards on eBay; when asked why he bought them at auction for high prices rather than acquiring unsigned cards and signing them himself, Zito replied, "Because they're authenticated."

Zito carries satin pillows on the road, collects stuffed animals (which he used to travel with), and burns incense to relax.

Many Oakland fans first became aware of Zito when, early in his career, he dyed his hair blue. He has earned the nicknames "Planet Zito" and "Captain Quirk."

He is known for his very simple lifestyle, living in a small apartment with no TV or real furniture (he sits on the lawn chairs that were left on the balcony).

Frankly, that he's only 28 and practices yoga is a major plus, as far as I'm concerned. In his first seven years he never missed a start because of injury, and yoga makes it less likely that he'll come up with the assorted hamstring and achilles tendon injuries to which ballplayers are prone.

He's not going to come cheaply, though. He made almost $8 million in 2006 there are eight teams in the running, and Scott Boras is his agent, which means that he's going to get astronomical money no matter who signs him. Jason Schmidt is the other high-profile pitching free agent out there, and he doesn't want to play in New York. You have a team here that came within one pitch of making it to the World Series, and right now the pitching staff is Orlando Hernandez, John Maine, and -- who? Besides, if Zito comes to the Mets and doesn't live up to the hype, we can still get our money's worth just looking at him.

UPDATE: Tom Glavine has signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with a 2008 vesting option -- with the Mets.