Scottsdale, Ariz. --

If Barry Zito somehow has a better 2013 debut than he did in 2012, a four-hit shutout at Coors Field, he might need to be tested for pixie dust.

"No-hitter?" a writer asked.

Zito burst out laughing, which had to be easier to do over an offseason that followed one of baseball's best rebounds.

"I think generally I was probably in a better mood most of the time," the 34-year-old left-hander said. "When my mind crossed over into the baseball side and I thought about those things, I think I had a better mood about it."

So did the fans. During Zito's first five years as a Giant, the only numbers that popped into people's heads were seven and $126 million, the length and value of his contract.

After his sixth year, fans were able to chew on 15 wins and one season-saving performance at St. Louis in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.

Zito held the Cardinals scoreless for 7 2/3 innings. The Giants won 5-0 to send the series back to San Francisco, where three nights later they won the pennant in a rain-soaked euphoria on the way to their second World Series title in three seasons.

The Cardinals will get another crack at Zito right away. The tentative rotation that manager Bruce Bochy unveiled Friday has him pitching the home opener against St. Louis on April 5.

On the line will be a streak that no rational person could have foreseen. The Giants have won 14 consecutive Zito starts, including three in the postseason.

Zito is not getting the home opener as a reward for 2012 per se. He is locked into the fourth spot in the rotation, which drops Zito onto the mound at AT&T Park on the day the Giants raise another championship banner.

That does not diminish the symbolism of Zito coming nearly full circle from 2007, after he signed the contract and then took the loss at AT&T Park in his Giants debut.

Zito takes the same mound April 5 after a trip to baseball hell and back.

Bochy said Zito should accept the assignment as an honor, "especially with the year he had and some of the things he'd been through. I'm sure it would mean a lot to him."

Zito already has the scene set in his mind.

"It's going to be exciting to be there," he said. "It's going to be a great vibe there. Pitching against the Cardinals is going to be great coming off last year."

Zito did not rest on his success. To the contrary, he dived into his winter work almost manically, throwing eight bullpen sessions before he got to camp. Most starters throw two or three. Tim Lincecum did not throw a 'pen at all.

One can understand Zito's motives. He thrived in 2012 after making several mechanical adjustments. He borrowed some of what he learned off-campus from former major-league pitcher Tom House, but far more important, he adopted changes suggested by Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti after a spring that even the normally diplomatic Bochy termed "awful."

After the season he just had, Zito did not want to lose his stride over his three months off.

"It's all about feel and timing," he said. "For me, the groove I got into the end of the season, it's like a template, and I'm just trying to hit that template every time I start my delivery."

Zito's early throwing sessions suggest his winter work is paying off. He will make his Cactus League debut against the Angels on Wednesday.