Lincecum Free Agent

[Flash- bd]

I don't understand why SF doesn't shut him down already. I know there's an argument to be made that "bad luck" is playing a factor but when you lose 2 MPH on your FB (92.3 last year, 90.4 this year) there's usually something else going on. It's not like SF is exactly at a loss for good starting pitching...

[24fps]

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Subtle. Subtle is good...

[OFFNY]

I don't understand why SF doesn't shut him down already. I know there's an argument to be made that "bad luck" is playing a factor but when you lose 2 MPH on your FB (92.3 last year, 90.4 this year) there's usually something else going on. It's not like SF is exactly at a loss for good starting pitching ...

Maybe they feel like they want to "get their money's worth" for the dough that they dished out for him, similar to the Orioles hanging onto Kevin Gregg, who continues to be a garbage-time pitcher that is taking up a roster spot ??? I'm not saying that that is definitely it, but if it is, then it's amazing how people/teams/owners, etc. refuse to cut their losses in situations that are clearly dragging them down, all in the name of hanging onto the illusion of feeling like they didn't waste their money.

[Malike]

Maybe they feel like they want to "get their money's worth" for the dough that they dished out for him, similar to the Orioles hanging onto Kevin Gregg, who continues to be a garbage-time pitcher that is taking up a roster spot ??? I'm not saying that that is definitely it, but if it is, then it's amazing how people/teams/owners, etc. refuse to cut their losses in situations that are clearly dragging them down, all in the name of hanging onto the illusion of feeling like they didn't waste their money.

I took his post to imply that there might be an injury. I'm not sure why he's pitching the way he is, but I am sure that longevity is one of the reasons he was drafted so low.

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[OrangeJerseys]

From what I've seen this year all his stuff looks very straight.

[OFFNY]

I took his post to imply that there might be an injury. I'm not sure why he's pitching the way he is, but I am sure that longevity is one of the reasons he was drafted so low.

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So did I. Either an injury, or something about his mechanics is off/different, which is why I said what I did. In either case, if they are reluctant to stop putting him out there (at least give him some time off, if not shut him down completely) for those reasons, they're hurting themselves (and Lincecum) more than helping themselves.

[allquixotic]

"Arrieta syndrome" is absolutely nothing new to baseball. In fact, I predict that over 80% of pitchers who make it to the ML in the coming years will suffer from this. The simple fact is that we're pushing players too hard, way beyond their natural abilities, for an incredible, but ultimately short-term gain.

Facts pointing to the destabilization of pitching (and to a lesser degree, hitting as well), leading to inconsistencies, burnouts, and an increased rate of injury:

• Pitchers are not going as deep into games as they used to.
  
• Pitchers are throwing the ball faster overall, and with much more movement, which takes more effort and wears out joints.
  
• If you evaluate pitchers who are in the height of their career based on their objective success, they are clearly doing better than ever before in history -- tons more perfect games, no hitters, incredibly low ERAs.
  
• Simple logic necessitates that the "arms race" between pitchers and hitters could not go on forever, because there are necessarily finite limits to what the mortal human body can do (at least, without artificial influences to make the body stronger or more durable than mere organic matter can muster.)
  
• People are more likely to hurt themselves when they subject their bodies to more physical stress. This fact of medicine has been known for hundreds of years, long before the discipline of kinesiology.
  
• Being a winning pitcher/hitter/whatever in a competitive sport often involves subjecting your body to more physical stress.
  

Conclusion? In the quest to see more incredible "heroes" out there, we're burning them out. Endurance is a thing of the past. Today it's all about get up there and throw 96 - 100 every pitch, take a year off for Tommy John's, throw another good 2-4 years, then decline, then retire. Gone WAY before 40. Older pitchers (who are still effective) are a thing of the past.

I would call this "competition syndrome", not "Arrieta syndrome" -- this is hardly unique to our least-favorite ex-Orioles starter.

Personally I liked the days when endurance was actually possible, and you'd regularly see starters go 8 or 9 innings. Home runs were rarer because the power to hit one was not so easy to wield, so you only hit one out when the opposing pitcher tossed a REALLY bad pitch. Exclusive closers didn't get to see a lot of games if that's all they did, and you didn't need a dozen pitchers in the ML club with another dozen in the minors just to get through the season.

Look at all the young star power pitchers today. Jered Weaver. Justin Verlander. Tim Lincecum. Madison Bumgarner. And even those who still pitch hard with somewhat less success: Chris Tillman. Jake Arrieta. Jason Hammel. Yu Darvish. I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd put my money on the fact that NONE of these guys will be anything more than a #5 starter or reliever within 5 years (note I said "within", meaning, many of them will probably fizzle out before then).

And what of those players who don't overextend themselves? Well you have Jeremy Guthrie. Does he want to physically sacrifice his body on the altar of public fame? No, he doesn't. So he keeps a healthy training regimen and pitches within his known limits. This results in reduced success, because his stuff just isn't comparable to the ferocity of someone like Verlander or Weaver.

The only exception I can think of in active service in the MLs is R.A. Dickey, but he has a rare knack for a crazy pitch that few can master. On the other hand, if someone figures out the magic "i win" training system to teach a masterful knuckleball to just about any competent athlete, you might see the power pitcher go the way of the dodo bird. That would be an interesting world indeed, though unlikely considering the storied history of the knuckleball.

[24fps]

Your metric seems to be the status quo circa 1968.

Fair enough. I too would like to return to a higher pitching mound, no DH, the high strike called, hand-wound baseballs, no anabolic steroids, no metal bats in organized amateur baseball, no body armor, no scoreboard radar guns, no ML clauses stipulated in contracts for high SP draft picks, and so forth...

I'm lookin' at you, Bud Selig...

Integration and the repeal of the reserve clause is genuine progress; they can stay. Still undecided about the return of ML baseball to Washington DC.

[OFFNY]

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Comeback.

TIM LINCECUM O(vs. ASTROS 7/14)

IP:O 8

H:o. 5

R:O. 0

BB:. 1

SO:. 11

Pitches: 114 (75 Strikes, 39 Balls)

2012 ERA: 5.93

[Il BuonO]

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Comeback.

TIM LINCECUM O(vs. ASTROS 7/14)

IP:O 8

H:o. 5

R:O. 0

BB:. 1

SO:. 11

Pitches: 114 (75 Strikes, 39 Balls)

2012 ERA: 5.93

....vs. the Astros. To be continued...

[OFFNY]

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Back-to-back solid outings for Lincecum.

This time, he was on 5 days' rest.

Could there be a light at the end of the 2012 tunnel for Tim Lincecum ???

Should the Giants make sure that he has 5 days' rest over his next few starts to try to give him every possible advantage in his effort to regain his elite groove that has eluded him for much of this season ???

TIM LINCECUM O(vs. PHILLIES 7/20)

IP:O 7

H:o. 5

R:O. 2

BB:. 2

SO:. 6

Pitches: 110 (71 Strikes, 39 Balls)

2012 ERA: 5.72

[Floater]

And the week I face him in Fantasy, he explodes!

[OFFNY]

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Down again.

TIM LINCECUM O(vs. NATIONALS, 8/15)

IP:O 4

H:o. 8

R:O. 4

BB:. 1

SO:. 5

Pitches: 96 (67 Strikes, 29 Balls)

2012 ERA: 5.45

[OFFNY]

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TIM LINCECUM O(vs. REDS, 10/07)O [N.L.D.S. * Game Two]

IP:O 2

H:o. 1

R:O. 0

BB:. 0

SO:. 2

Pitches: 25 (17 Strikes, 8 Balls)

[OFFNY]

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TIM LINCECUM O(vs. REDS, 10/07)O [N.L.D.S. * Game Four]

IP:O 4.33

H:o. 2

R:O. 1

BB:. 0

SO:. 6

Pitches: 55 (42 Strikes, 13 Balls)