He stood on the grass in left field and short-tossed with Buster Posey who stood at the foul line. As Zito limbered his arm, he moved deep into center field and after a while he was throwing the ball 200 feet to Posey.

He was a man getting ready for his job. There’s nothing unusual in that. It’s just that his father, Joe, had died a few days earlier in Van Nuys. Zito had left the team on Wednesday and traveled to Van Nuys and returned to the team on Thursday. He received the condolences of his teammates and he took his regular bullpen session.

After making the long throws to Posey, Zito began walking toward his catcher. The throws became shorter and faster. Then Posey crouched at the foul line and Zito went into his motion and they got serious. And then they walked to the bullpen for the final preparation.

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