Of course. Zito. Of course.

I’ve included links to several Zito articles because I don’t have much to add to what’s been written.

I will say this, though: I have never been more proud of a professional athlete. Everything about that pitching performance is why I love baseball.

One other thought: throughout this series, even the Game 2 win, my overall impression has been that the Giants look tired and worn out, while the Cardinals seem alive and inspired. No shame in that, it’s a long season and sometimes you just run out of gas.

But last night the team looked fresh. They looked alive. They were having fun playing baseball. And that, more than anything else, give me hope for the rest of the series.

The Links:

Jeff Passan (Yahoo!) on the redemption story

Grant Bisbee (McCovey Chronicles) on what this means moving forward

Albert Chen (SI) on the unpredictability of this postseason

Andrew Baggarly (CSN) with some other great tidbits