Is it All in Tim’s Head?
He hasn’t won a game since April 28th. The K’s are there: 72 in 66.1 innings. Some people think it’s a velocity issue. Maybe. But take a look at his average FB since 2007:
(this is an inaccurate chart in terms of pitch type %)
This year his FB is averaging 90.2 mph. In 2010, by all accounts a fantastic year that ended with him celebrating a World Series win, his FB averaged 91.3 mph–a whopping 1.1 mph difference. I’m telling you, this is not a velocity issue……
I have said for quite some time now that I believe this to be a *headcase issue*. He’s looked unsure and beaten on the mound since Day 1 of this season. All his starts are weighed down by a tightness that everyone in the ballpark is feeling–I’ve likened it to a tightness that we used to feel during a Zito start (pre-2012).
Once he gets his blow up inning out of the way, he’s usually ok. In fact, his last start was a perfect example of that. He was brilliant against San Diego after they dropped 4 in him in the 2nd inning. To me, that’s another example of how the pressure to get back to being the *old Timmy* is too much for him to handle right now. He takes the mound hoping to recapture his glory and he can’t settle down until he blows up an inning. After that, in a weird way, the pressure is off a little bit. The game is lost (or out of reach) and now he can just pitch *mad*. That seems to work, I wish he’d take the mound angry today……
This is a great test today. No offense in baseball will get into a pitcher’s head more than the Rangers. They are on their way to destroying the run differential season record. But they can be beaten, as Voggy showed yesterday. Heck, the woeful A’s took care of them earlier in the week.
But Jerod Parker and Ryan Vogelsong didn’t have to take the hill with the weight of an entire fan base expecting, or hoping, to see a return to past glory. Because of his track record, he takes an added pressure to the mound that other pitchers don’t take with them. And as April 28th gets farther and farther away and the blow up inning becomes impossible to avoid, there is a specific reality that becomes impossible to ignore: In 2012, Tim Lincecum is the worst starting pitcher we have. And it’s really not even close……..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
On that level, I stay ahead of the game, no one knows which wife to insult.
Not a good game from Tim, but an across the board not-good game from everyone. The pitching, the defense, the offense, and Bochy. Absolutely brutal leaving Tim in to face Hamilton in that situation with Affeldt warmed up and ready to go. The sense of confusion in Kuiper’s voice in that moment was the appropriate response.
I don’t get Pablo not coming in on that bunt. That made no sense. Tim’s motion takes him to other side of the mound.
Zumie gives a thumbs down!
Tim was in position to field the ball. Which he should have done.And I don’t get anyone proposing he be treated like Zits was. He needs to gut it out.
“should”
Tim was supposed to cover the whole leftside of the infield? If that was the play, then that’s a strategic screw-up on somebody’s part.
The proper play is that the pitcher field the ball and the third baseman retreat for the force at third. And Tim *was* in position for that to happen.If Tim presumed that the only play was to first,he presumed wrong. What Pablo did was SOP..
Tim’s an athletic fielding pitcher, but he has no chance on that play. The bunt was too hard. It was right at the shortstop position. The only chance on that play was Pablo, but….no Pablo there. Pablo misread how hard the bunt was.
Totally wrong but no point arguing it any further. I’ve been clear that I expect Tim to turn it around but putting *his* problems on Pablo, Bochy, or anyone else is nonsense. As the other pitchers have shown, there’s no frigging reason to blow up everytime things go wrong. Errors behind him are not his problem- he is.
Ogando’s bunt was perfect. Nobody did anything wrong there. Pablo misread it a bit, that Timmy would field it, but that was just a very good, perfectly placed bunt. What would have happened if they BOTH went after it? And it could easily have been either one of them. Timmy is falling off there though and really had no chance at it. By a whisker, I’d put that on Pablo.
Pablo’s job is to read the play. He misread it. It was a close call, i don’t fault him for it. But TIm was never going to get that ball. Again, it was a perfect bunt…….
Tim could have fielded it- if he was of a mind to. I just replayed it. Pitchers, RH pitchers, make the same play all the time. When the bunt went down, he broke toward it originally and then veered off- *he* misread it. But whatfuckingever- the real issue has zilch to do with the bunt-it’s the notion that any misplay in the field excuses him for whatever goes down afterwards. When he clears that hurdle, which will only happen if makes the tough pitch to get out of jams, he’ll be on the way toward becoming an ace again.
I’m not making excuses for him, what fucking blog are you reading, lol? All I’ve done is rail on him for weeks now. The bunt was inconsequential to the outcome of the day. The only reason I dropped in with a comment is because you are way off. I’m not sure what bunt you watched but that ball was bunted WAY too hard for him to get there. Go watch it again……
you’re going to have to click once forward to get to the Ogando bunt
I’ve replayed it- you’re wrong and the only reason you’re taking your position is to pick another fight.
I’m not picking a fight. Anyone can see that Lincecum wasn’t going to get to that ball. It was bunted too hard. Pablo has to decide if the pitcher can get to the bunt. If he can’t then HE has to get it. It was in an area where a pitcher SHOULD be able to field it but it was bunted too hard.
Again, it was the perfect bunt, as I said at the beginning of this dumb side thread……
Well, then fucking drop it. I already had told you I replayed it- giving me a link to the replay is just saying I’m lying. And you really shouldn’t be doing that.
I’m not saying you’re lying, it’s a subjective call. I just happen to think it was a perfect bunt that left both players doing brain freezes on what to do. If you can’t get to it, you can’t get to it. Again, it had zero impact on the outcome of the game,
TIm just turned in another stinker. He’s been doing it all year. It surprises me that there are so many Timmy fans who are blind to this. I gave him the rope he earned with his performances over the years. But that all ended a while ago.
He’s not close, he’s a million miles away from close. If you say “He’s SO close” for 12 fucking weeks in a row, at some point, you have to say, “Hey, maybe he’s not as close as I thought.”
I’ve been well ahead of the curve on honestly assessing his performance. You must have me mixed up with many of the FOTF apologists, who was almost everybody else.
I just bbq’d some fresh salmon. Wrong thread?
by the way, how’s your dog?
It’s Mickey, the cat. He’s hanging in but it’s grim.
that sucks, putting an animal down is one of the worst things you have to do. I hope he pulls through
I know the guy has issues, but j hamilton is a guy I’d pay to watch hit. The rbi double he cracked today was essentially the ballgame–challenge situation, runners on just him vs. lincecum.
And that is what is most discouraging to me about TL—he is just plain allowing too many baserunners. I wonder what the league is hitting against him with RISP…it’s already way higher across the board than it has been in his career. For whatever reason, he is not able to execute pitches when he needs to, and I don’t think that’s mental.
I can understand being reluctant to throw a certain pitch or where the intended location is gnawing away at his confidence, but from the 3 BBs in the first inning through his last pitch, he didn’t make enough good pitches to get hitters out.
Off this subject- the food page has generated some great comments but I had to delete one of Denny’s comments. Bringing his hatred for Manny Frigging Burriss to a page designed for pleasantry is just wrong. There’s no response needed, thank you.
Denny’s used to getting deleted. I deleted 5 of his posts today while making a ham sandwich.
Mustard or mayonnaise?
May as well indict him to.
On the ham sando? Light rye, a little bit of mustard, slice of cabbage. “sandolicious”.
Did you get the sandwich indicted? Anyway, I’m pretty used to getting deleted too.
You deleted one of my food comments? To quote Ricky Waters, “For who, for what?”
I’m ashamed, abashed and downright pissed off to hear that shitty news. Fuck that.
I am thoroughly pissed off. No. No. No. I can’t believe this shit. You deleted one of my food comments?
You cannot be serious. NO. NO. NO. NO. You cannot be serious.
Is it coincidental that John Patrick McEnroe and I both share the same middle name?
I think not.
It wasn’t a food comment, it was some bullshit about Burris.
Stop internalizing negative Burriss comments. There’s more important things to worry about.
Making comments about Burriss on my food page is bullshit. Period- and I deleted it- not fucking *worried* about it.
And the fucking issue isn’t that it was about Burriss. Negative comments about the players belong here, where it’s encouraged, not on a page about food memories. That shouldn’t be hard to understand. And what kind of moron reads that I deleted a comment about Burriss and goes on a rant about me deleting a food comment?
Denny, now go on back and tell about your favorite George Foreman Grill moment.
Night all. If you have family, assign worrying to whoever is worst at it.
Wow, Reminds me of the Splash. Almost.
And people who put mayo on ham should be shot.
Still trying to figure what FOTF is. I was out of town til late last night. Where’s Melky?
Melky strained a hamstring a couple of games ago. It’s classified as day to day, I think.
I have no idea what FOTF is.
I googled it. It’s probably “face of the franchise.”
I thought it was the ‘Friends of Timmy Fund’.
Jason Grilli with the save for Pittsburgh.
Thanks 2x Zumie.