Don't count Tim Lincecum out

[Band of Brothers]

I know it had to be hard for Tim to sit for most of the playoffs but he showed tons of class by not pouting and is biding his time for next year which he shall return. He was smiling just as much as anyone on the team when the Giants won it all and that is a true sign of a Champion. It was not about Tim but he was all for the team and for what Bochy thought was best. There must be a trust between Manager, Coaches, and players to be straight up with each other and say whats up. There is nothing worse than to deceive or flat out lie to players and alienate them from the trust that is needed to achieve a winning ball club.

That is one of the reasons Bochy is going to the HOF. Players know how good he is and will be straight up with them. I expect Tim to bust his butt this Winter and come back strong. He did throw a No - Hitter this year and there are moments when he looks totally unbeatable on the hill. Tim is taking some heat for the cash he is making but remember that when he was young the Giants had a bargain on their hands when Tim was putting up big numbers. He rolled the dice taking small year contracts and could of really cashed in for a long contract. Some fans don't want to hear it though because fans only remember what players have done for them lately and that is fair up to a point. Lincecum though has always been a top notch teammate and a top notch competitor. In the big games he has showed to have ice water in his veins and now owns 3 rings.

I wish Tim the best and I will always stand up for him. He has the heart of a Champion and will find a way to improve next year. Don't ever give up on a Champion ...he will be back.

Go Giants !!

 

[tzill]

You mean that pitcher that has sucked for three years now? The guy who is the worst starting pitcher in the league three years running?

That guy?

Oh, yeah, let's NOT count him out....

 

[Mays-Fan]

You mean that pitcher that has sucked for three years now? The guy who is the worst starting pitcher in the league three years running?

That guy?

Oh, yeah, let's NOT count him out....

Tim Lincecum 'going back into the rotation' - McCovey Chronicles

"Lincecum is one of eight pitchers in baseball history to have three seasons with 150 innings pitched and an ERA+ below 80. He's the only one to have them consecutively. We've had three full years of Lincecum being the very worst starting pitcher in the National League with a regular rotation spot. Three straight years, with the final one ending on the least optimistic not of the three."

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

If we are going to commit to Timmy as a starter, I seriously think we should consider going to a six-man rotation, at least for the first half of the year or so.

Assuming we sign either Vogey or Peavy, the six starters would be, with a comment on why a six-man rotation would be good for him:

Bum - I know this dilutes Bum, but maybe he deserves a rest season after being such a horse in 2014.

Huddy - he'll be 40 after the ASB, with a LOT of miles on him, faded down the stretch. 'Nuff said.

Cain - a lot of miles on him, coming off elbow surgery

Peavy/Vogey - both have a lot of miles, and faded down the stretch.

Petit - still new to the starter's role, not sure he can go 200+ innings in the regular season

Timmy - faded before the stretch, and has sukked in historical fashion for 3 straight years. Maybe he needs more rest between starts.

I imagine we'll be in contention after the ASB. It is also likely one of these pitchers will be a candidate to be dropped from the rotation, and we go back to 5 for the stretch. Those 5 will be better rested, fresher.

I admit it's a little out-of-the-box, but I think with our relative abundance of fragile starters, we would be good candidates to try this.

It may also prove to be a good way to break in one of the rookies, should one emerge in ST or in the first half of the year.

 

[calsnowskier]

I am open to discussing a 6-man rotation, but I do not like the idea. SPs are creatures of habit. Changing their pattern will only mess up their flow.

I think that creative use of the DL is the better strategy, even for Bum. I would not be opposed to Bum even STARTING the season on the DL. You know, navigating that clubhouse can be dangerous. It would suck if he were to stub his toe...

 

[Mays-Fan]

I am open to discussing a 6-man rotation, but I do not like the idea. SPs are creatures of habit. Changing their pattern will only mess up their flow.

I think that creative use of the DL is the better strategy, even for Bum. I would not be opposed to Bum even STARTING the season on the DL. You know, navigating that clubhouse can be dangerous. It would suck if he were to stub his toe...

As an alternative, we could put Bum on a 5-day, and everyone else on a 6-day. The other SP's I'm sure would understand that Bum is just so much better right now.

I'm open to the creative use of the DL as well. Rotate 6 starters through the DL, make it look like we have a 5-man rotation.

Just have lots of sharp knives on the post game spread.

 

[Hangman]

This is the first time since he started sucking he went home to papa to relearn how to pitch. It has been something I have talked to my friends and family about for years. The Giants fucked up his motion big time. They wanted him to have more control even at the expense of velocity. So he did gain some control and that was his last goodish season, but he wore down at the end of the season. Then he tried to gain weight to see if that would get his velocity up, but that made things worse. That is when he started losing control and had no velocity now so he started sucking.

I am glad he is going back and relearning his old pitching motion. It should not take that long to get back. The problem is he will be older and will not recover to what he was, but I think he can recover to throwing 94-95 and be a bit more wild. Hopefully Chris can get that under control too. Get the ball down. Too many games he was missing high instead of low. I think it is too early to give up on Lincecum and he has a good shot to be a middle of the rotation guy.

In case you were wondering a similar thing happened to Pedro. His last year with the red sox he lost speed and control. Then with the Mets he sucked for a while due to a change in his delivery motion from an injury. Once he healed up and get his motion back he performed more like his old self. It took a few (4) years to do, but he got it back when he was with Philly.

I think i would be worried if Lincecum lost that speed due to injury, but it was all due to a new motion.

 

[Mays-Fan]

This is the first time since he started sucking he went home to papa to relearn how to pitch. It has been something I have talked to my friends and family about for years. The Giants fucked up his motion big time. They wanted him to have more control even at the expense of velocity. So he did gain some control and that was his last goodish season, but he wore down at the end of the season. Then he tried to gain weight to see if that would get his velocity up, but that made things worse. That is when he started losing control and had no velocity now so he started sucking.

I am glad he is going back and relearning his old pitching motion. It should not take that long to get back. The problem is he will be older and will not recover to what he was, but I think he can recover to throwing 94-95 and be a bit more wild. Hopefully Chris can get that under control too. Get the ball down. Too many games he was missing high instead of low. I think it is too early to give up on Lincecum and he has a good shot to be a middle of the rotation guy.

In case you were wondering a similar thing happened to Pedro. His last year with the red sox he lost speed and control. Then with the Mets he sucked for a while due to a change in his delivery motion from an injury. Once he healed up and get his motion back he performed more like his old self. It took a few (4) years to do, but he got it back when he was with Philly.

I think i would be worried if Lincecum lost that speed due to injury, but it was all due to a new motion.

I hope you are right, but I believe odds are you are not.

Timmy was like a young gymnast. Notice that all the world champion gymnasts are now all in their mid to late teens. That extra bit of flexibility one has as that age makes all the difference.

Timmy's motion was gymnastic. He needed every millimeter, every tenth of a degree of flexibility to generate the speed and spin that he had. As he aged into his mid-twenties, he lost that hyper-flexibility. No way, you say? What Olympic Gold Medalist won in their mid to late twenties recently? None. I'm sure they are impressive in a vacuum to the untrained eye, but they are no longer world-class. And so it is with Timmy.

Again, I hope you are right, and I am wrong. If he could get back to 94-95, he would be a #1 again, I have no doubt.

 

[calsnowskier]

I hope you are right, but I believe odds are you are not.

Timmy was like a young gymnast. Notice that all the world champion gymnasts are now all in their mid to late teens. That extra bit of flexibility one has as that age makes all the difference.

Timmy's motion was gymnastic. He needed every millimeter, every tenth of a degree of flexibility to generate the speed and spin that he had. As he aged into his mid-twenties, he lost that hyper-flexibility. No way, you say? What Olympic Gold Medalist won in their mid to late twenties recently? None. I'm sure they are impressive in a vacuum to the untrained eye, but they are no longer world-class. And so it is with Timmy.

Again, I hope you are right, and I am wrong. If he could get back to 94-95, he would be a #1 again, I have no doubt.

This has been my theory for a while now. I am not 100% sure it is accurate, but to the armchair pitching coach in me, it makes sense.

 

[Mays-Fan]

This has been my theory for a while now. I am not 100% sure it is accurate, but to the armchair pitching coach in me, it makes sense.

Simple aging brings on calcification and ossification of soft tissues, including ligaments and tendons.

Once that starts, even to a small degree, you begin to lose flexibility and range of motion, critical elements to maintaining the gymnastic ("freak") motion that Timmy had.