Tim Lincecum’s final pitch Monday: A plea to the media regarding
his recent All-Star game selection.
”
I just really don’t want to talk about that right now, to be
honest with you,
”
Lincecum said politely while sitting at his locker.
”
I’m not in a great mood right now.
”
His record isn’t too great, either. Lincecum fell to 6-7 after
battling through five innings of the Giants’ 5-3, homestand-opening
loss to the San Diego Padres. It gave critics more reason to
dispute manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to put Lincecum on the
National League roster for the July 12 Midsummer Classic. But stop
with all that chatter. Lincecum absolutely should make his fourth
straight All-Star trip.
SAN FRANCISCO
Tim Lincecum’s final pitch Monday: A plea to the media regarding his recent All-Star game selection.
“I just really don’t want to talk about that right now, to be honest with you,” Lincecum said politely while sitting at his locker. “I’m not in a great mood right now.”
His record isn’t too great, either.
Lincecum fell to 6-7 after battling through five innings of the Giants’ 5-3, homestand-opening loss to the San Diego Padres. It gave critics more reason to dispute manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to put Lincecum on the National League roster for the July 12 Midsummer Classic.
But stop with all that chatter. Lincecum absolutely should make his fourth straight All-Star trip.
Lincecum is a bona fide star. He is a driving reason the Giants are defending San Francisco’s first world championship. Fans have embraced his unique persona, and they’re the All-Star game’s chief clientele.
Others will claim the All-Star game should not be a reward for last season’s exploits. Florida Marlins interim manager Jack McKeon is among those chirping about Lincecum’s credentials.
That’s baloney. Why shouldn’t last postseason factor into the selection process? Even if it shouldn’t, Lincecum entered Monday with a respectable 3.04 ERA and the majors’ second-best clip of strikeouts-per-nine-innings (9.77).
McKeon asked reporters Sunday: “Do we reward for what you’re doing now or do we reward for what you’ve done in the past?”
Bochy’s defense of Lincecum before Monday’s game: “He’s good for baseball. He’s got a lot of fans out there. That’s part of it. €¦ He’s somebody people go to watch.”
Lincecum actually epitomizes the Giants’ wobbly status. They’re struggling, despite their first-place standing.
Aubrey Huff hasn’t homered in 30 consecutive games, but he is the default cleanup hitter after Buster Posey’s season-ending leg injury May 25. Neither Andres Torres nor Aaron Rowand has been a catalyst atop the lineup. Postseason star Cody Ross is struggling, and his bonus prize is a Monday MRI on a strained hamstring.
Lincecum hasn’t looked as bad as those guys. He’s had star-like moments, including two starts where he took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.
Is it any surprise the Giants haven’t scored more than six runs in any of their 38 home games? Well, maybe it is alarming when you match the 1902 New York Giants’ futility at the Polo Grounds.
But that run shortage has shadowed Lincecum at AT&T Park. He entered Monday with the league’s third lowest average of run support at home (1.81).
He surrendered singles to three of the first five batters he faced, and the Padres grabbed a 2-0 lead. The Padres’ leadoff batter reached base in four of five innings, capped by Jason Bartlett doubling to start the fifth and scoring on a Ryan Ludwick single.
“He gave a cheap run or two,” Bochy said in Lincecum’s defense.
Lincecum didn’t seek any patronage, stating: “Pretty much, it was all around a pretty bad outing.”
Is it bad for baseball that he is going to the All-Star game? No way.
Can the Giants afford an off-game from their two-time Cy Young Award winner? Nope, not with this unproductive lineup, no disrespect to hot-hitting Pablo Sandoval’s afternoon with three hits including a splash-hit homer.
Is Lincecum showing troublesome signs of exasperation? No.
“You just battle, try executing your pitches and grind through it,” Lincecum said. “I didn’t grind hard enough. Balls were falling where I didn’t want them to. I just wasn’t hitting my spots.”
His next start comes Saturday against the New York Mets, inside the six-runs-and-under emporium known as AT&T Park. If he fails to win that one, he’ll pack a losing record for his All-Star journey to Phoenix’s Chase Field.
But he can also pack a championship ring, something he couldn’t show off at the past three All-Star games. Maybe he can compare his with McKeon’s from the 2003 Marlins, a title run that reserved McKeon a spot in the following year’s All-Star game.
— Column by Cam Inman, Contra Costa Times
