Start # 32 Loss (10-15) 4+ innings (77 pitches) 5 hits SEVEN runs 4 walks 3 strikeouts
Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy a no pressure, "fun" game, the disastrous 2012 Tim Lincecum reappeared. Tim gave the Giants no chance as they fell, 7-2, to the pesky Snakes. He pretty much did everything wrong: walks, wild pitches, hit batter, long ball... in other words, it was a total return to pre-All Star break Tim. I so wanted to believe that Tim had it back together...maybe he had to re-invent himself a bit, but it was working...now I just don't know. We have some tough questions to deal with.
Should Tim be the starter dropped from the play-off rotation? He pretty clearly is the least reliable of the group.
Considering his contribution in 2010 ( or does that still matter? ), can the Giants actually pull "it"off without Tim? I mean, I know they can... this is a good team... their resilience will be lauded for years to come, but it just doesn't seem "right" to do it without The Freak. Sigh... I guess I don't know what I mean.
6 comments:
The Giants need starting pitching to win. Does Barry Zito give you a better chance than Tim Lincecum? Scary thought, that. You have to figure Boch is cogitating along those lines. Tim's got one more start to pull his head out of his ass. The way the ro' is set up right now MadBum could pitch game 1 or 2 (Cain the other) and bump Tim to game 3.
Winning is winning. If the Giants win, I don't care who the hero is, just like I don't care who gets assigned the pitcher-win. It's a team game. Contributions come from lots of places. The starters are the key, but they can't do it alone. Maybe Tim needs to stop thinking he has to dominate to win and recognize that he has to pitch and get outs just like everybody else. Lots of guys can rack up quality innings and keep it close without overpowering stuff. A pitcher's brain is more important than his arm.
Speaking of contributions, I notice that the Giants got four hits last night, one of them from Clay Hensley. Lots of zeros from hitters we need to produce no matter who is on the mound.
WTF Tim?
I can't see leaving Lincecum out of the playoff rotation. Vogelsong is still the man on the bubble.
I'm worried that clinching early may end up hurting us. We're playing semi-meaningless games now. We're relaxing. Let's just hope we can re-find the sense of urgency when it matters. There are lots of teams that are probably better than us, in both leagues. We'll need some more crazy mad mojo to succeed.
Tim's last start is scheduled to be a meaningless game against SD. Maybe, it would be better to re-arrange things, so that he starts a possibly meaningful game against LA. It might have playoff qualification implications for LA - if nothing else, it's a Giants'-Dodgers' game, so it means more than pitching against the Padres. I want to see him pitch again in an important game, before making a final decision on who pitches in the playoffs.
Right now, it would be hard to put him in the rotation instead of Zito, but I still think that I would. A strong last start would make the decision.
I don't want us to just tank in these post-clinch games - I want to see us rack up a few more wins. 89 wins doesn't have same ring as, say, 94 or 95 wins.
Matthew Cain was born to pitch and become a legend. He will become one of the world's greatest pitchers. ...I remember when at the age of 14, when asked what he wanted to do with his future, he replied, " I want to play pro baseball." This young man knew at that young age exactly what he was destined to do and he set out to do it. I hope he does great things with not only his pitching talent, but also his financial wealth!
Bumgarner and Cain and pray for rain. Timmy has to be the odd man out. He is the worst starting pitcher in baseball this year that has pitched over 160 innings. He leads in runs given up during the first inning. He leads in wild pitches, and for a while he led in percentage of stolen bases allowed, but in the last two games a runner was caught stealing, and Timmy got the call on a pick off at first base. The rotation has to be Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelson, and Zito with Lincecum waiting in the wings or winds or whatever.
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