[AZTarHeel]

Just when Andrew Zarzour felt like things couldn't get any worse, they did. In his fourth Triple A start, the 7-foot-2 teen-ager got lit up again. This time, he made it just 2.1 innings, surrendering eight runs - all earned.

Manager Mike Scioscia made his familiar mound visit and didn't say much this time, other than to pat his giant pitcher on the back before handing the ball over to long reliever Masao Kida. Zarzour didn't even want to look at the papers the next day. Of course, one of the sidebars was whether the Dodgers had moved too soon in bringing Zarzour up to Triple A.

"He still belongs in Double A," the columnist for the Albuquerque paper had said. "His confidence looks shot in just a few short weeks. He's no longer the beaming young kid he was when he stepped onto the field the first time here. He looks forlorn, almost like he's beaten before he even begins an inning."

And that was one of the big things Scioscia and other coaches talked with him about the day after this latest poor start, his mental demeanor.

"Hitters feed off any chink in a pitcher's armor, especially a timid or scared facial expression. It becomes like a shark with blood in the water for them when they know you're on the ropes mentally," Scioscia told him. "So you need to look and feel confident every pitch you throw. If you don't have it, don't let them know you don't have it."

Scioscia ended the private converation by telling Zarzour that he believed the young prospect belonged in Triple A. "I wanted you here, and I still want you here," the manager said.