Game Summary:
Reality returned after yesterday's glory and it took the form of yet another horrible Tim Lincecum performance. At least it was short. The Nationals racked the former stud, got a quality start from Zimmerman, and won easily, 6-2.
Tim Facts:
Start #26 Loss (10-9, 4.64) 2.2 innings 6 hits 6 runs 4 earned runs 4 walks 2 strikeouts 1 hr
Second shortest start of Lincecum's career. Plus that makes SEVEN crappy starts in a row. At this rate it will take a long time for Tim to reach victory #100. In fact, I hope he gets it as a member of the bullpen. Not only does Tim richly deserve the demotion, Petit definitely deserves the chance. It was absurd to leave Tim in to hit to start the third and I was surprised Bochy did it. Time to make the move, good things may come from it.
High and/or Lowlights:
Petit could not have made a better case for joining the starting rotation. Lincecum could not have really done a better job of earning a demotion. After 11 of 18 batters reached safely against Lincecum, Yusmeiro (which is a really beautiful name) set down the only THIRTEEN Nats that he faced.
It would be a pity to lose Petit from the long relief role, though. However, it would be a pity to keep letting Lincecum start.
Pitiful.
9 comments:
Yusmeiro has now thrown 12 consecutive perfect innings.
Zimmerman was excellent. It was going to take a good start to keep it close. Alas, Timmy didn't have it. I'm as bewildered as the next guy about what to do--you don't pay $17M for a reliever.
And it is 5 crap starts of the last 6--he had a QS (6 IP, 3R, 8K) in Milwaukee. Before the save in the 14th in Philly he had 4 really good ones in a row.
So you keep sending Tim out there and waste Petit because of payroll? Really? Isn't the money already spent? Isn't there a chance to recapture some Timmeh magic with him coming out of the pen? Can we afford to do nothing?
Pavlovic said that Petit is only 7 outs away from tying, 8 from setting, the record for consecutive batters put out. Seems right, Jim Barr had that record for decades until someone beat him.
Tim was doing great from his 8th start to his 21st start (14) and really pretty much good since his 3rd start of the season (brief bad 3 start sequence in there). But something from that relief inning knocked him out of his mechanics and he hasn't really been the same since. Might have been better to pitch Colvin than Timmy given the post results.
Now, he's actually normally had, even in the Cy Young era, one really bad month of starting, before straightening out. So this could be it.
I would just skip one start, let his brain do a reset of some sort - in the interview, he said that he's thinking too much, that has always been his Achilles Heel his whole career - and see how his next start goes, with Petit getting that one start. But if that don't do it for him, swap him out with Petit for the rest of the season. This is like not placing Zito on the playoff roster, only one month earlier.
Or really, by then, 40 man guys can come up, use Kickham in the long relief role, and use Lincecum as a utility super reliever like he was used in the 2012 playoffs and see how that goes.
You don't pay a reliever $18M, but you don't pay a bench CF $12M either, it just happens. But if he can capture his magic, a reliever of what Lincecum did in 2012's playoffs could be worth as much as $18M because he could compile a lot of innings at a great ERA.
And he probably would still hold the starting role in 2015 spring training, I consider this a bump in the road than a detour into relieving, its not like he was bad all season, he was mostly good the whole season until he took a bullet for the team by pitching in a game in-between starts.
took a bullet for the team
Only time someone took a bullet and everyone else got killed.
As long as JC finds a way to post on a regular basis.
Someone has to worry about payroll but not me and maybe not Bochy, when it comes to trying to win.
All jocks are paid for past performance only. If they continue to performs up to their value, swell. If not, I refer you to 7 years of Barry Zito. Thank the Baseball Gods for what he did in '12.
Tim's value out of the 'pen would be next to nothing if he and Petit swapped roles. He'd have to be used in high-leverage situations so that means bumping someone else like Romo or Machi (I'm excluding the lefties and Casilla has been a stud as closer). Is that going to make the team better? Petit has not been a very effective starter in his few chances this season, so does that make the team better by putting him in that role? And finally, does the 2012 post-season really tell us that much? I mean, is Tim really better suited to being a reliever? And if so, what kind? Guys like Casilla/Romo/Affeldt get maybe 70 IP/250 BF max. Is that what Tim is now? I'm not saying I know the answer, but "send him to the 'pen" is certainly not enough for me. Besides, that's the one spot on the team that's been consistently excellent. Does Tim make the 'pen better?
MOC makes some good points but completely down plays crucial trends. Lincecum's last six starts make him one of the worst in MLB during that time, which truthfully is pretty much what Tim has been for the last couple years. Petit's string of dominance is borderline historic. Given how little time is left in the season, both of these trends must be dealt with immediately. Even if they go against "value."
I am sure that Tim will skip a turn but I doubt they are ready to try him in relief. I think they should. He isn't Zito, he gets ready quickly and recovers fast. (I think blaming his relief appearance is silly) The idea of Lincecum in the bullpen has been around since his rookie year, albeit not seriously. And obviously it did work once before.
It is a very good point that the bullpen is damn good now so don't mess with it. But there are just so few things Bochy can do now to shake things up. And I really think we need something, we are limping home, not hemorrhaging like earlier, but not enough to get it done as is.
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