Two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum is regaining the form that once made him a dominant pitcher for The San Francisco Giants. In 2011, Lincecum’s record was 13-14, but his earned run average of 2.74 was fifth in The NL. It was also his fourth consecutive season of at least 200 strikeouts. Lincecum came into spring training this year 30 pounds lighter than his usual weight of 175 and the results showed early. With a slighter build, Lincecum had lost some of the velocity on his electric fastball. Lincecum started the season with a record of 3-10 and an earned run average of 6.42.
With Lincecum’s weight now at 163 lbs., he has gone 6-4 since The All-Star Break and his earned run average is now at 5.09. Despite Lincecum’s early struggles, The Giants found themselves only .5 game behind The Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in The National League West at The All-Star Break. Now with 18 games remaining in the regular season, The Giants have a 7.5 game lead over The Dodgers for first place as they appear to be a lock for the postseason. The way that Lincecum has performed in the second half of the season has helped The Giants in the same way as a trade. Giants manager Bruce Bochy was able to ship out the “Clark Kent” version of Lincecum in favor of the version that flies around San Francisco wearing a red cape.
As Lincecum has turned it around, Giants general manager Brian Sabean no longer has to worry about acquiring another arm for the starting rotation. Giants starting pitchers Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, and Ryan Vogelsong have combined for 40 victories on the season and none of these pitchers possess an earned run average that surpasses 3.50. Coming into the season I pegged The Giants to win The World Series as they would ride the arms of their pitching staff led by Lincecum. Lincecum has already proven that he can get the job done when the chips are on the table. In 2010, Lincecum went 4-1 in the postseason with two victories in The World Series against The Texas Rangers. Lincecum could have easily been The World Series Most Valuable Player after helping The Giants win, but those honors went to his teammate shortstop Edgar Renteria.
In the playoffs, The Giants face the possibility of facing The Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Nationals. Entering play on Saturday, The Giants have the fifth best team earned run average in The National League as they are trailing these four teams. The teams that were implicated have deep rotations that will force The Giants to rely on their starters such as Lincecum heavily. When The Giants won The World Series in 2010, it was predicated off of timely hitting and terrific pitching as their team earned run average of of 3.36 led Major League Baseball. The Giants were able to win in the first half without Lincecum and they are doing so now without All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera who is sitting out due to a 50-game ban by MLB commissioner Bud Selig for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. Now more than ever The Giants need Lincecum to be the pitcher of old and in the past few weeks, he is starting to resemble the old “Timmy Jim”.
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