Barry Zito was in a heap of trouble. He stood on the mound in Oakland, a 22-year-old in the fifthinning of his big league life, flush with anticipation, havingrecently arrived with a rainbow curveball that was the talk of theminors. The Anaheim Angels loaded the bases with nobody out. The heartof their order was coming up. Zito already had issued six walks andhit a batter.