Ricky Romero must be wondering what he did wrong. 

Could be he just has to learn how to win.

In all seriousness, Greg Zaun said something to that effect about starting pitchers that floored me (I expected more coming from him). As if channeling Joe Morgan, he said something like "it's all about wins and losses for starting pitchers; if the other guy is putting up zeroes, you've got to as well", etc., etc.

..... if the other guy is putting up zeroes, you've got to as well....

Isn't Zaun simply saying that a pitcher will pitch differently if he has an 8-run lead than if it's a scoreless tie?

Must be hard, in two hours of talking, to avoid the occasional obvious statement.   I think anyone who is required to fill the airwaves for a couple of hours is going to occasionally say something that we already know.....  The real question is whether he sometimes provides a bit of insight.  I haven't listened to Zaun on the air, so I'm not really qualified to comment, but his analysis of Snider's swing problems (which I saw quoted on blogs) was shrewd and prophetic.

his analysis of Snider's swing problems (which I saw quoted on blogs) was shrewd and prophetic

Agreed. I have enjoyed most of his from-a-player's-view perspectives, this being one of them. And I actually saw this when it aired. He even stood with a bat and imiated Snider's swing, showing the flaw. I have usually found that what Zaun has to say is worth listening to (unlike Tabler, for instance).

But he does not fill up two hours of air time. He and Jamie Campbell have a brief pre-game show and several 2-minute breakaway segments during a game, so he generally has plenty of time to prepare what he is going to say.

His comment about wins and losses what most definitely not the Jack Morris pitching to the score blather. He was not giving Romero a pass for not winning more games despite having pitched well. It sounded so much like Joe Morgan it surprised the hell out of me. I think he even caught Jamie Campbell by surprise (it's possible, though, that I was simply projecting).

I haven't listened to Zaun on the air, so I'm not really qualified to comment, but his analysis of Snider's swing problems (which I saw quoted on blogs) was shrewd and prophetic.

His comments on the Fan590, the day Snider was sent down, were pretty wack. He vehemently disagreed with the demotion, which he is entitled to do. However, he didn’t seem to have even clear understanding of Snider’s career progression to that point in time on which to base his opinion.

I don't mind Zaun. But I certainly don't expect him to regularly provide sophisticated, or even logically coherent arguments.

I couldn't disagree more with this mindset.

Greg Maddux (whose name I utter whilst genuflecting) was once asked about what it's like to go up against such-and-such a  pitcher. He responded that he doesn't concern himself with the other starting pitcher, that he's only concerned about the other team's hitters.

Just how many things is a pitcher supposed to worry about? When the other team's pitcher is added to the list, that sounds like one too many.

I'm pretty sure ‘The Mental ABC's of Pitching’ would suggest to completely disregarding any such considerations. All a pitcher can be concerned with are factors within their sphere of control. This would include throwing quality pitches, and exclude run support and the performance of the other pitcher.

Ya for sure.

It works from that angle.

However, the "Holy Jeeze, this opposing pitcher is shutting us down, our offense looks useless and I have to pitch flawlessly" mind-set is less likely to facilitate peak performance. (IMO.)

Though, I'm sure pitching coaches were prefer the pitcher just stick to the mandate and keep executing what they work on in practice.

I think Magpie did a study of one-run games.  Correct me if I'm wrong but essentially the study showed that good teams don't have particularly good records in one-run games because even games they lose they keep close.  Good teams are really good at blowouts.  Bad teams have better records in one-run games than you'd think because that's the only games they can win.  They aren't good enough to blow anyone out often.  I'm not sure I've worded this correctly but that's the general idea.

That's how players think. It's the view from inside the forest. From one of the trees.

So that sound I heard was him falling?

they let you bring in good food from outside

There was a time when you could bring your own beer into Olympic Stadium, let alone food.

It cost $5.50 to sit on one of those benches

That was a great price except that the left field beachers were only $2 and were regular seats and were covered.  A buddy of ours worked part-time at Dominion so he could get them for $1.  They were general admission but we always made sure someone got there early to save seats.  A $1 doubleheader.  The best deal of all time.