He Came, He Saw, He Conquered - After the masterful no-hit performance Roy Halladay had put on the night before, it was unlikely another pitcher would steal the spotlight unless they were to throw a perfect game. San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum didn't surpass Doc's no-hit bid with a perfecto of his own, but he came awfully close from being flawless in the Giants first Postseason appearance in 7 years. Similar to Halladay, Lincecum also made his much anticipated Postseason debut. Continuing the ongoing trend that has been 'the year of the pitcher', Lincecum went on to throw a complete-game shutout, in route to San Francisco's 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.With Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe on the mound, who's been lights out coming into this Postseason, the Giants were limited to only 1-run in his 5.1 innings pitched. But with Lincecum on his a-game, hardly any offense was needed for what the 2-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner had in store for the fans that filled up the sold-out AT&T Park. Lincecum used his weapon of choice to his advantage -- the strikeout. Having led the National League in punch-outs for the third consecutive season this year, Timmy put on a dazzling 14 K performance, setting a Giants record for most strikeouts in a Postseason game. Ironically, 14K means gold, and Lincecum was nothing short of golden as he battled off the Postseason jitters with a 2-hit, 1-walk masterpiece that would make Leonardo Da Vinci proud.
On offense for the Giants, the lone run came in the 4th inning when right-fielder Cody Ross drove in the potential Rookie of the Year candidate Buster Posey. Posey led the inning off with a single and stole second on a controversial call that looked like an out. Neither the Braves infielders nor manager Bobby Cox who's had his fair share of arguments and ejections, bothered to debate the call. And thankfully second base umpire Paul Emmel called Posey safe, or else the game could very well still be going on. It could be debated whether or not Giants skipper Bruce Bochy should have yanked Lincecum in the ninth to bring in closer Brian Wilson who tied a franchise record for most saves in a single season (48) this year. But given Wilson likes to flirt around by allowing men on base, I think Bochy made the right decision. Bochy often tends to over-manage, so I was very surprised when he left Lincecum in to finish the game after 119 pitches.The only way we'll find out if Bochy made a mistake by leaving Lincecum in too long, is if he's needed on short rest. And while I cross my fingers, let's all pray that won't happen. As the Giants plan to take a commanding 2-game lead to Atlanta, Game 2 on Friday will see Giants pitcher Matt Cain in action, as the Braves hope to even the series by giving Tommy Hanson the nod. Game time @ 6:30, Go Giants!
The countdown to baseball's Opening Day has begun as teams get set to kick off the 2010 season, a week from tomorrow. With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, the Giants have only one thing on their mind for the new season, and that's winning the pennant. Since the 2003 season, the Giants have been idle from the playoffs and are still seeking their first World Series championship since relocating to the bay area in 1957. The Giants haven't won a World Series tittle since the 1954 season in New York, giving them a championship drought of 55 years, currently the third longest behind the Chicago Cubs (101 years) and the Cleveland Indians (61 years). But with the Barry Bonds era over and years of rebuilding, many believe the future is bright for the team that lay's low in the city by the bay.
With the lack of offense over the past few years, pitching has truly become the team's hallmark. But with a slimmer Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Rowand returning from spring workouts, the team hopes to improve at the plate. One area the team addressed from last season, is the issue at first base. This offseason, the Giants took a chance by acquiring Aubrey Huff who's coming off a poor year hitting just .241. But so far this spring, Huff has continued to look a lot like the power hitter the Giants have been seeking. His defense however, is still a work in progress. But with a stellar glove in Travis Ishikawa, the battle for first base may be a close one. And with the return of Bengie Molina behind the plate who re-signed with the club for a 1-year deal, don't rule out any possibility of prospect Buster Posey playing at first either.
Another key acquisition the Giants made in the offseason, was the signing of veteran Mark DeRosa. Granted how versatile the 12-year veteran is, skipper Bruce Bochy will be able to move him around the field where ever and whenever he needs to. With last year's Giants squad often showing offense from time to time, GM Brian Sabean is confident enough that with the addition of these two bats, the team can be lethal. One player that made a splash last season that will be returning to the San Francisco ball club, is Juan Uribe. With second baseman Freddy Sanchez expected to start the season on the disabled list, Uribe could fill the void when needed if he isn't platooned at shortstop with Edgar Renteria. With the growth of Pablo Sandoval, the team will no longer have to rely on the slowest guy in the organization -- Bengie Molina. Despite his snail pace speed, the team has relied heavily on the 2-time Gold Glove Award winner as he earned the nickname 'Money Molina'. But with Buster Posey under his wing, his speed will no longer be a liability in the future.
The Giants are coming off a year in which they won their most games since 2004, and as mentioned before, are eying their first playoff appearance since 2003. Carrying the ball club for the past few seasons, Giants starters combined for a 3.58 ERA last year which ranked 2nd best in the majors, only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (3.41 ERA). Much thanks came from another Cy Young campaign from Tim Lincecum. Both Lincecum and righty Matt Cain had strong seasons, being named to the 2009 All-Star game NL roster. Last year's Giants pitching also posted an opposing batting average of .234 which was the lowest in the big leagues and the 63 combined wins matched those posted by the starters of the World Series champion New York Yankees. As this franchise has proved over the past few years, pitching is key and it'll be nice to have a lot of last year's arms on the team for many years to come. And as any pitching dominant team should do, the Giants re-signed most of their young arms.
In his first year in which he was eligible for arbitration, both the Giants and Tim Lincecum avoided the situation hours before the two met in court by agreeing to a 2-year deal worth $23 million dollars. And as early as today, the Giants made it official that starter Matt Cain, set-up man Jeremy Affeldt and closer Brian Wilson all signed extensions with the club through the 2012 season. Affeldt, who signed last season as a free agent, was named Setup Man of the Year in 2009 by MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards, posting a Major League-Best 33 holds. For what it's worth, he also led all left-handed relievers and ranked third overall with a 1.73 ERA last year. Wilson on the other hand, appeared in 68 games in 2009 and has accumulated 79 saves over the past two seasons. With Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Barry Zito and now Cain all under team control through the 2012 season, its nice to see the Giants show some commitment, recognizing young talent locking players and giving extensions for what looks to be a very bright future for many seasons to come in San Francisco.
With the unfortunate news of the tragedy that has struck Haiti, the San Francisco Giants and MLB are doing their part to help out those in need. After an earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.0 on the rector scale, some 3 million people have been effected, with an estimated death toll of 70,000. & With many celebrities, athletes and sports teams doing their part to help rebuild what's left of Haiti, you can help contribute as well. Something interesting that the Giants are doing to help raise money for the disaster that struck outside Port-au-Prince just a week ago, is auctioning off a variety of different fan friendly activities that are just as fun as they are helpful.For a starting bid of $1,500 you can help do your part with all proceeds going to the Haitian Relief foundation, and have a good time while doing it. The Giants have set up three different auctions, each with a different story to tell. The listings include: the chance to take 10 pitches off any Giants starting pitcher, a private hitting instruction session with the Kung-Fu Panda himself - Pablo Sandoval and batting coach Hensley Mulens, and last but not least, a private meeting with two-time Cy Young Award winner - Tim Lincecum. There's no doubt these once in a life time opportunities will be stories that you'll be telling your grandchildren for generations. Not to mention it's the perfect chance to actually take a few swings off of a pitcher, for those who have claimed they could hit off a big league hurler if given the chance.I love the idea the Giants organization has come up with to help the devastation and believe me, if I had the money, I'd put up a few bids myself! Who knows, maybe the lucky fan that wins the private meeting with Tim Lincecum will get the chance to smoke a bowel with him, after his recent run in with the law in which he received a ticket for marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia. I'm just kidding, but all seriousness and joking aside, I suggest all fans of the Giants and or baseball look into this once in a lifetime opportunity. For those of you who are interested, the link is HERE!
This past Thursday, the winner of the National League Cy Young Award was released, with three main candidates in mind. San Francisco Giants righty Tim Lincecum was in the candidacy against two right-handed St. Louis Cardinals --Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Lincecum however, came out on top and won the award for the second consecutive season. With the hardware, Lincecum became the first player ever to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards in each of his first two full big league seasons.
Timmy gave thanks to the Giants organization, fans and more specifically Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti, manager Bruce Bochy and catcher Bengie Molina. Tim also gave praise to his father Chris who taught him just about everything he learned about pitching. Chris was the founder and provider of Timmy's wacky, yet successful wind-up, as he played a huge role in his son's pitching development.In one of the closest Cy Young votes ever, Tim edged out the competition with 100 total points, opposed to Carpenter's 94 points and Wainwright's 90. Lincecum's 15 wins became the smallest total for a Cy Young winner who was a full-time starting pitcher in a non-strike-shortened season. The slim win total surpassed the previous 16 wins Arizona's Brandon Webb established in 2006, the same record and amount this year's American League Cy Young Award winner Zach Greinke finished the season with by going 16-8. Although both Carpenter and Wainwright compiled more wins than Lincecum did, Tim(15-7) led the league in strikeouts with and owned an ERA of 2.48, only behind Carpenter's 2.24 for the NL. The 25 year old had a remarkable season last year, but had a better year in terms of stats in 2009 in categories such as: Earned Run Average (from 2.62 to 2.48), Opponents Batting Average (from .221 to .206) and Walks (from 68 to 84).Lincecum led the Major Leagues by making seven starts in which he worked at least eight innings and didn't allow an earned run. He also had a Major League best with eight double-digit strikeout performances, including a 15-strikeout outing against Pittsburgh on July 27th. With the award in back-to-back seasons, Lincecum became the eighth pitcher to be named Cy Young Award winner in consecutive seasons and the first since former Giant Randy Johnson, who won four in a row with the Arizona Diamond-Backs from 1999-2002. After being the cover athlete of MLB 2K10, starting this season's All-Star Game and winning not 1, but 2 Cy Young Awards in Tim's brief yet brilliant career, you begin to ask, What's next on the kid's list? & The answer is starting in and winning the World Series.Other notable award recipients: AL Cy Young Award winner: Kansas City pitcher Zach Greinke, AL MVP Award winner: Minnesota Twins catcher Justin Morneau, NL MVP Award winner: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, AL Manager of the Year Award winner: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim skipper Mike Scioscia, and NL Manager of the Year Award winner: Colorado Rockies skipper Jim Tracy.
Just last week, San Francisco Giants ace and potential back-to-back NL Cy Young award winner -- Tim Lincecum was stopped in his home state of Washington for speeding 74 mph in a 60 mph zone, before police noticed the marijuana odor coming from inside his car once he had rolled the window down. Lincecum faced two misdemeanor charges, for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia before charges were dropped over the weekend. Police confiscated a pipe and a measured amount of 3.3 grams of weed, which was said to be the size of a thumb. Only enough for personal use.The San Francisco Giants were aware of the situation but did not comment immediately. Although this one isn't as big of a shocker as it was when U.S. Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was seen ripping a bong in photos that were leaked on the Internet, it'll be interesting to hear what analysts and sports writers make of this. I can't say I was too surprised about this whole ordeal, especially since Timmy's been growing that hideous hippie mullet thing since the '09 off season. I'm just glad this all came to surface after the regular season was over. I don't approve of it, nor do I think it's a big deal. But it'll be interesting however to see whether or not this will effect the opinions of those who are in charge of the Cy Young voting.In my opinion, I think it'll have little to no effect on his Cy Young candidacy, but who knows? Those old fogies that do the voting often tend to nit-pick at every little thing possible. The right-handed Lincecum went 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 32 starts and 225 1/3 innings. Lincecum also went on to lead the National League in strikeouts with 261, only 8 shy of Detroit's Justin Verlander who led the majors with 269. As we wait patiently for the Cy Young award winners to be announced, I say fuck it and light another blunt.
