Barry Zito: I don't think so. There may be some, but I don't really feel it. I try not to feel like I have to live up to everyone's expectations. I want to live up to my own expectations, that's the biggest thing. When you fulfill your own goals, everything else falls by the wayside. You don't want to repeat yourself. You're never going to repeat a year or an outing. You just stay consistent in your preparation mentally and physically.

PB: Forbes named you the biggest pitching bargain in the Major Leagues. Do you feel underpaid?

BZ: I'm a young guy who has had success before he could go to arbitration. In my case, I signed a multiyear deal so I wouldn't go to arbitration, and so before you're a free agent in six years, you're gonna be cheaper than most players. If you look at the production of myself, [pitcher Tim] Hudson, [pitcher Mark] Mulder, [third baseman Eric] Chavez and [shortstop Miguel] Tejada, and then you look at what we're making, if we were on the free agent market it would be a lot more. But that's just the rules of the game.

PB: How would you rate your performance so far this season?

BZ: For the most part, I'm still OK. I feel like I'm in a lot better position than I was at this point last year. Maybe the record doesn't show it, but definitely my other numbers show that I'm a lot more in command.

PB: The Players Union has agreed to steroid testing for this year, anonymously. If more than five percent of players test positive, mandatory testing will go into effect for the next two seasons. What do you think about steroid testing for Major League Baseball players?

BZ: What we've got now may not be the best testing policy, but it's getting the ball rolling. I think in the next couple of years, they're going to start cracking down a little more. As for right now, the fact that we've got a policy that the owners and union can agree on is a huge step, because it's never happened in baseball before.

PB: Do you think that will change the batting production numbers?

BZ: I don't know if raw strength can make you hit a baseball. They say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. Any old strong guy isn't going to be able to do it. There's lanky guys out there, totally skinny, that can hit balls just as far as the huge guys, because it's all in their mechanical approach.

PB: Speaking of hitting power, did the corked bat incident cause you to question Sammy Sosa's prowess at the plate?