Matt or Tim: Part One- The Intangibles

(Warning: This is posted by the "other" author. Please excuse the drop in eloquence, I don't have the gift of gab like the the Irishman.)

Clearly the biggest source of hope (perhaps the only one!) for all Giants fans is the dynamic duo of Cain and Lincecum. It is also obvious that the key issue to be resolved is whether we give up some pitching to get some much needed position talent. So far it looks highly unlikely that we will part with either Matt or Tim (thank the gods!), but still it makes you wonder...if we did decide to part with one of "the chosen ones", which should it be????

Since I am not prepared to do a statistical analysis (maybe MOC can do that for a followup post), I thought I would approach it by looking at the intangibles, in other words, gut feelings with little or no justification. So, here goes...

Most likely to not get injured:
Yikes. Scary topic, but always there with young pitchers. I suppose the experts may cringe at Lincecum's motion, but I get the sense that it is a carefully thought out mechanism. The fact that he doesn't ice down his arm is interesting. Cain's build would seem to give him an edge, but his body seems more "high maintenance." Don't ask me where I came up with that.
Advantage: Tim

Most likely to have the mental edge, domination factor:
After the year Cain was subjected to, you have to give him the edge here. That has to make you tough. Matt has that dumb country boy thing going for him. Seems like I remember him getting real mad towards the end of last year...he yelled at somebody rounding the bases, or something (somebody help me out on that one, please). Tim is only as nasty as his stuff, Matt has more than that. A couple high and tight pitches in big situations and he could get a Drysdale mystique started.
Advantage: Matt

Most likely to get the "glory":
By this I mean the hearts and souls of the fans, the acclaim, the awards; that kind of stuff. I think Matt's working man persona hurts him here. Also not having a nickname (an issue that this blog has tried to address) is a big handicap. I get the sense that Tim might be more likely to get the flashy stats (strikeouts, low BA) and we all know how the media loves that. Tim seems like a better photo op and that's probably the difference maker here.
Advantage: Tim

So, for no real reason at all, my final determination is that, in the highly unlikely event of a trade involving one of our two golden boys, I would ship out.....Matt Cain.

Gosh, I almost feel like I should be fired from the staff here at "Raising (Matt) Cain." Sorry. Perhaps, in part two - The Statistics, I come up with a different choice.

So what do YOU think??? What does your GUT tell you?