Two Starts into 2013, Where Does Timmy Go From Here?

Posted in Uncategorized by Flavor on April 10, 2013

I’m not sure which of his starts was worse. In the first one, he walked 7 but he got the win. Last night, he walked 4, but he k’d 7 in 6 innings. He walked the pitcher twice and I know one of those at bats was a 4 pitch walk. Were both of them? I can’t remember.

I would have to say that last night’s start was better than his first start of the year and Baggs sent out a tweet last night that nailed the reason why:

Timmy says he watched some tape after the 2nd inning and made adjustments. Whatever he did after the 2nd inning he needs to do more of in his next start. Aside from the MONSTER BLAST he gave up to Tulo in the 5th, he pitched very well in innings 3-6. And our dominant bullpen took care of the rest.

Lincecum has 11 strikeouts this year balanced evenly with 11 walks. 1:1 k/bb ratio is not exactly what you’re striving for as a pitcher–at any level.

If you forget the first two innings, this was a rousing, fantastic come from behind win. The East Coast Moonlight Crew (P-Koko, Mac-diggity and Bozo) represented throughout.

I have no expectations for Lincecum’s next start other than he’s going to do another hatchet job on his WHIP and probably K a hitter an inning. But we’ve won both games he’s started in 2013. If I’m gonna count Zito’s 15-0 I gotta count Timmy’s 2-0. Although who among us could even dream of another 13 in a row for the Giants in Lincecum starts after the way he’s pitched so far?

If I close my eyes and completely forget the 2 Cy Young’s and then imagine that it’s a #5 out there, I just might make it through his next start without gnashing my teeth to pieces…..

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Bozo said, on April 10, 2013 at 6:54 am

Can’t go wrong with the Philly Sports talk guys, Tony and Nick. If they were in SF the conversation would go something like this.
“What’s up with Timmy?”, “Yeah he only got his fastball up to 92 once″. “You’re right Tony, the tweets from the Beat writers was amazing, they just tweeted, 90, 89, whatever″. “Is something wrong with the guy,? I don’t know”. “You know, you don’t know. Bochy don’t know and I don’t know”. “So do you think somethings wrong?” “I don’t know, so why doesn’t everyone just say, I don’t know?”. “I don’t know, Tony”. “The good news is he got his fastball up to 92. The bad news is he walked the pitcher and gave up the Home run”
Is Timmy going to be OK? I don’t know.
- chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 8:00 am
  
  LMAO…
  - PawlieKokonuts said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:01 am
    
    I don’t know.
willedav said, on April 10, 2013 at 7:33 am

Helluva game to watch, Giants picked each other up all night. Blanco with two important walks, andres with a big line drive base hit, pagan Pence Scut and Pablo drove in runs, Crawford with an opposite field bomb and all done without posey. Casilla and pen with 3 no hit innings while the offense got it together.
Lincecum looked better at the plate than he did on the mound most of the night. Like Flav said last night, the balls to the pitcher were way off the plate and easy takes, and the strikes thrown to fowler and Rutledge were up and in the happy zone, with runners in scoring position. Hector still sucks big time, but he wasn’t the one throwing the ball all over the place.
willedav said, on April 10, 2013 at 8:06 am

Couple interesting games last night involving *reconfigured* stadia: Pads blasted 2 bombs off Beckett last night and Uribe homered too in Pads home opener at Petco as they hammer LA 9-3. In Seattle, 25 runs scored and 8 HRs (when’s the last time that happened up there?), including 5 by Dis Astros as they whip M’s 16-9. Even the little guy altuve sent one out of the yard. Hmmnnn…didn’t Mets move their fences in too?
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 8:22 am

What a great comeback win. And as Flav said, outside of the second, Tim looked pretty good. I didn’t see the pitch to Tulo…not sure if Timmy hung one to him or not. Regardless…screw him. Pagan and Scoots with 3 hits apiece, Pence with a couple of hits and two RBIs, Blanco with the drag bunt hit and a couple of walks, and of course, MudBug going yard. Damned entertaining game to watch after falling behind early. And Timmy did enough to keep them in the game, and let the offense and bullpen seal the deal.
dirtnrocksnomo said, on April 10, 2013 at 8:43 am

Last night would not have qualified but prior to this extended funk Lincecum has had plenty of tough luck losses so it was great to see the team fight back and pick up that win last night. The lineup is looking solid but Lincecum’s slow motion train wreck is tough to watch. Where does he go from here? To infinity and beyond?
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:01 am
  
  Actually, Scooter’s bonehead throw cost 5 runs, so it would have counted as a tough loss.
  - dirtnrocksnomo said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:34 am
    
    Fair enough. I was thinking more in terms of 1-0 losses with the offense doing nothing.
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 8:52 am

Linking Zits and Timmy was Denny the Troll’s idea, it’s time to retire it…
Tim did recover and pitch fairly well, the nice comeback is the bigger story and the fact that despite the unnecessarily capitalized “monster blast”, the Rockies again showed why they are indeed terrible away from their mountain retreat (10 for 61 and some very unearned runs last night)..
Belt is still struggling but he’ll come around. The areas to be addressed are the back up catcher position, having Posey catch and catch only, getting Noonan some starts at 2nd base, and Bochy understanding he’s pitching Romo too much.
willedav said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:26 am

Pen mgmt. during a lincecum game is always going to be an issue going forward, I guess. It’s too bad affeldt (it was a lhp, might it have been lopez?) got up and had to throw, and if Sf had scored a couple more times in the 8th and made it a non save game I would assume he would have been in there and not Romo. But still, getting both of them up and having them throw x amount of warm up pitches in the pen will add to wear and tear.
Since Bochy hit for casilla with torres to get things going, any of above could have pitched 9th. Which are all better options than what Weiss has. Maybe Casilla gets a chance to pitch in the 9th soon too.
And what happened to *in bochy we trust*?
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:34 am
  
  I agree with most of Bochy’s decisions. Not all, never have.
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:35 am

I agree on addressing the back-up catcher spot. Buster catch, and catch only? That is not happening now, this year, or anytime in the future. We can all talk about how much sense it makes until the cows come home, but that dog won’t hunt.

Romo being used too much? They’ve played 8 games over 9 days. Romo has had four of those days off, and his pitch total over 5 saves is about 70 pitches. I think Bochy has done a masterful job again (with the pen).
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:47 am
  
  Posey catching only is what I think they should do, not what I think they will do. And all of us-including you- offer our opinions on what what we think they should do. So I will discuss it until the cows come home, if I choose to.
  And Romo has also warmed up all those times. That plus 5 appearances is too much, IMO.
  BTW , anybody have word on when Pablo gets off the DL from that surgery that our Blog MD’s said had to be performed..
  - chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 10:43 am
    
    I agree with you that Posey should only catch (I think more here agree on that than not). And I get it…we all offer our opinions…I was just making the comment that it isn’t going to happen (well, I don’t believe it will happen).
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:40 am

Michael – how do you see it that Romo is being over-used? I just don’t see it…
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 9:47 am
  
  Math.
- Yogi Barrister said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:04 am
  
  I agree, Romo shouldn’t close every game where they have a three run lead. Of course none of us should be criticizing anything Bochy does with the bullpen, that’s his forte.
  - twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:28 am
    
    I’ve been supporting Bochy when the Splash and most on this forum wouldn’t have voted him better than Jim Davenport as a manager, John. But the idea that his decisions are above criticism is malarkey.
Alleykat said, on April 10, 2013 at 10:46 am

Heard somewhere(KNBR?)
That Hector’s. winning Pct is .625
Buster’s. 565…Yeah based on a small pct scale.
Still you have to have the best out there day in day out.In Buster we trust..
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:02 am
  
  Hector has also benefited from The Streak .
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 10:50 am

“Lies, Damned Lies, And That One Barry Zito Factoid”

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19956

I might have posted this interesting and informative article before, but it’s an antidote to the glorification of this barely serviceable pitcher.

BTW, he’s 14-6 with 4 runs of support.
snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 10:52 am

Pablo’s elbow saga is an ongoing thing. I hope it stays managed through the year. It might not, with a chip or chips floating around in there, or whatever the hell is wrong with it, depending on which Giants representative is quoted or recorded. I wouldn’t discount mid season surgery as a possibility after the first week of games…
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:09 am
  
  Yes, it’s a possibility. As with not performing surgery now, it’s a decision that physicians will make. Hopefully he will consult with an independent doctor, as well.
snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 10:56 am

The only thing wrong with Lincecum is that he can’t locate his fastball(s).
Unfortunately, that’s the one, critical thing that a MLB starter must do to be effective…
- Bozo said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:26 pm
  
  That and with the loss of velocity to his FB, it makes his slider more hittable.
Yogi Barrister said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:12 am

My tweaks: Send Hector down, call up Peguero. Switch Scuturo and Crawford in the batting order when facing righties. Bat Pagan 5th when Posey’s off.
Trade that might make sense for both teams: Lincecum and Hembree to Angels for Trumbo.
- snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:18 am
  
  I like your trade, assuming the Angels are insane…
  - Yogi Barrister said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:52 am
    
    The Angels spent a fortune on a team that won’t make the playoffs unless they get bullpen help and someone to replace Weaver.
  - snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:01 pm
    
    So they get a pitcher who can’t find the plate and walks opposing pitchers (pitchers don’t hit in the AL) in the last year of his $22 million / year deal and a totally unproven AAA closer for a proven young guy that will club 35-40 homers? Hey, if Arte is down with it, so am I…
  - twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:13 pm
    
    As I mentioned the other day, now we can’t even get Alex Rios for him..in fact, with his free agency looming he’s probably untradeable without absorbing more than half his contract and still not getting a front line player in return. Our best hope…is to hope.
  - blade3colorado said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm
    
    Another problem with that trade is Trumbo fields for shit. His iron glove is crap at 3rd, outfield, and barely serviceable at first. I love Trumbo, but he is better suited for an AL club.
  - snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:44 pm
    
    For 35 extra HRs, I’d put Trumbo at third and Panda in left…
  - blade3colorado said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:01 pm
    
    You obviously haven’t seen him field. Yes, he is that bad. 🙂
    
    By the by, new post on my blog.
Macdog said, on April 10, 2013 at 11:37 am

Day off for Pablo: Pagan CF, Scutaro 2B, Posey C, Pence RF, Arias 3B, Belt 1B, Torres LF, Crawford SS, Zito P
- Chico said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:25 pm
  
  Makes sense since Arias likes hitting lefties..
eddacker said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:27 pm

Crocodile tears for my man Belt
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
Belt 7 22 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 .091 .130 .136 .267

all that ST confidence for naught.
bochy states pablo is OK and culd play, big picture is today is a good day to give him a day off
Irish Kevin said, on April 10, 2013 at 12:54 pm

I see after 2 starts the confdense in Timmy is overwelming. too lazy to go look, but the person who mentioned being able to locate the fast ball is correct. If Tim learns how to do that he will be back to his Cy Young days. When you was throwing 96-98 MPH hittters had to start their swings sooner, so Tim didn’t have to worry about location very much. So will Tim learn how to pitch that is the question. The question about Pablo and surgery is, if he has surgery now, will the Giants lose him for the rest of the year? If he waits and then the playoffs come and he is useless or cannot play is it better to lose him then? IMO better to lose him to surgery now. That way whoever replaces him has time at 3rd base all year. okay I am done with my 4 cents worth. 2 cents worth adjusted for inflation.
- chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:06 pm
  
  Players commonly play through pain associated with “loose bodies” in joints. I suspect Pablo will continue to do the same unless it just flares up too much. And if it truly is nothing more than some loose stuff floating around in there…that does not translate to a year-ending injury (typically an artho procedure). You know the staff is monitoring him closely…
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:03 pm

Boo Yah Buster!
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:07 pm

Pencinator!
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:08 pm

Belt joins the party. G-men are teeing off on Francis.
PawlieKokonuts said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:47 pm

I like 7-0 leads. And so does Mr. Zito. The streak looks safe.
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:58 pm
  
  In the BP sample of all starters on all Saturdays in 2012, in 2010, in 2008, in 2006, and in 2004, Zits’ team won 94 percent of the time they scored 7 runs for him. The other teams in the sample( 150 starts) never lost when they gave their starter 7 runs.
Flavor said, on April 10, 2013 at 1:49 pm

Dirrrrty getting lit up again. Zito working with 7 runs of support. What’s his record when the team scores 7 after 2 innings?
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:01 pm

Turning the “and up” silliness around, when he gets seven runs *or fewer* of support, his record is just 124-131.
Flavor said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:10 pm

what’s his record when he gets exactly one run of support like he got last week in his first winning start?
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:29 pm
  
  Don’t have that. It’s 17-90 with 2 or less career. That actually seems pretty good. Since your inquiring mind will want to know, Dirty is 1-35. Timmy is 12-40.
unca_chuck said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:32 pm

Scoots is defintely back . . .
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:38 pm

The 100 percent mark has been reached. At least according to the 150 start sample, we’ve never lost when he has 9 runs.
- twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:39 pm
  
  Of course, the way his support was before last year. he may be 1-0 😉
unca_chuck said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:53 pm

Good to see BBelt go the other way there . . .
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 2:57 pm

Vungo with his third knock of the day! Giants, between last night and today, definitely have their hitting shoes on! Hope they remember to pack them for the upcoming roadie…
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:00 pm

WTF…Zits with another hit!
snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:03 pm

I’m reminded of the “When Harry Met Sally” flick.
“I’ll have what he’s (Zito) having”…
Chico said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:09 pm

Zito is a one man wolfpack right now.
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:09 pm

Sure, give him 5.5 per game, who wouldn’t win a couple 😉
snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:12 pm

Take Zito out, else he’ll rack up too many innings, he’ll hit the season contract milestone, and they’ll have to pay him $20 mill or whatever it is for next year…
eddacker said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:53 pm

sweep – sweep – sweep!
chipower9 said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:54 pm

How SWEEP it is!
twinfan1 said, on April 10, 2013 at 3:58 pm

Wonder if Andres has gone back to the big lumber, he said he was thinking about it.
eddacker said, on April 10, 2013 at 4:00 pm

a picture purr-fect day game in San Francisco. Zito, the man, 2-0 w/zero era.
Posey’s triple right in that ‘corner’ of CF the deepest part of the diamond and him, running with nary a sign of trouble.
snarkk said, on April 10, 2013 at 4:02 pm

Whatever demon inhabited Zito during his first 5 years here has exited, as of last season.
During the exorcism, the exorcist must have commanded it to enter another soul — and Timmeh was in the nearest room…
eddacker said, on April 10, 2013 at 4:07 pm

As far as the topic today asks, I say he goes to Zito, a man who has no fastball and understands how to pitch.

opps – just saw snarkies comment
eddacker said, on April 10, 2013 at 4:23 pm

via BR
fans who were hoping for a quick turnaround after Lincecum’s miserable season last year will not be getting what they hoped for. what makes Lincecum’s dilemma so intriguing is his ability to turn on and off the switch multiple times throughout the game. Walking a pitcher, then striking out the leadoff hitter. Lincecum still struggles with avoiding a big inning. Outside of the second inning—and Troy Tulowitzki’s home run—Lincecum looked promising last night. His stuff was crisp and his fastball was touching 93 mph.

To eddacker, he is on the edge, and his game can go either way in 2013. As a fan, I *want* to believe he will stop unnecessary walks and avoid both the need for miracle mistakes and giving up the big inning. Sadly, It could be just as easy to see, what Twin has called, the ten million dollar, seldom seen, middle inning reliever.

😦
unca_chuck said, on April 10, 2013 at 4:40 pm

Well, to me it seems like Timmy loses focus. There was a Dodger game last year where he struck out Kemp 4x but walked the 7-8-9 guys. He consistently gets the tough outs, but loses his shit on 8th place hitters or pitchers.
PawlieKokonuts said, on April 10, 2013 at 6:13 pm

Need proof of ESPN’s disrespect of the San Francisco World Champion Giants? At 9:12 p.m. ET at ESPN’s MLB home page, here are the lead stories:

Goat’s head sent to Cubs owner at Wrigley
CEO Ryan to remain with Rangers | Durrett
Rangers to place LHP Harrison (back) on DL Video
Red Sox put Lackey on DL Video | Ortiz to rehab
MLB creates task force to increase diversity
Jays rally from 5 runs down to stun Tigers Video
Moore, Rays edge Rangers in chilly Texas Video
Westbrook shuts out Reds as Cardinals roll Video
White Sox 2B Beckham (wrist) out vs. Nats
Red Sox’s record 820-game sellout run ends Video
Law: Re-evaluating three potential aces Insider

SO. We have . . .. never mind. It speaks for itself. Not one fecking word about Zito or the Giants today. I rest my case. ESPN douchebags.
paulinasia said, on April 10, 2013 at 7:17 pm

It seems Timmy will keep us guessing this season, from start to start. Yesterday, he viewed video after the 5-run 2nd inning, saw a flaw, and corrected it. That’s tremendous that he was able to do that. We’ll see if that carries forward to his next start. On the other hand, maybe it is just a focus thing. Somewhere in his comments about that 2nd inning, he again said something along the lines of “I should’ve been more competitive” in that inning. Bochy used those words to praise Zito after this game, implying that Barry is “competing” on every pitch (Buster kind of said the same thing). Not sure why Timmy seems to lose his “competitiveness” on occasion, if that’s in fact what is happening, but if he can continue to adjust a little flaw when it surfaces, and if he can regain that focus he had in 2010 (remember the look on his face in the clinching game 5 of the Series, as he came off the mound after the 7th or 8th?, laser focus), then he’ll be fine. He did so well out of the ‘pen in the playoffs, when he HAD TO focus in a short stint, it makes me wonder if he’s just kind of lost the thrill and motivation that it takes to pitch 7 or 8 or 9 innings. He’s gotta be feeling a little pressure, this being a contract year. Maybe that will help his focus rather than make him press.