Meet the new Timmy

His 162-game average year for the Giants is 14-11,  3.54 ERA a .565 winning percentage according to Baseball Reference. He has earned every bit of the $99M the team has paid him plus signing bonus. A .565 winning percentage across the board gives the team a 90 win season.

from sportsonearth.com
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/125982720/appreciating-new-tim-lincecum-san-francisco-giants-ground-ball-pitcher?partnerId=ed-9262189-802614083

That's far fewer sliders (24 percent versus 14 percent) and far more splitters (16 versus 25), plus a few extra curves mixed in (seven versus 12). The increase in splitters, another ground-ball pitch, in particular makes sense with Lincecum's apparent change in approach. You can see all of those numbers in table form here.

The more-grounders-fewer-strikeouts philosophy shows itself in the results, in addition to the process. Lincecum has a career-high 50.4 percent ground-ball rate (not to mention a career-low 18.8 percent line-drive rate) and is striking out a career-low 6.8 batters per nine innings.

from baseball-reference.com

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/linceti01.shtml

Salaries

  Convert to YYYY $$'s Back to Actual 1871 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015  

Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses

Year	Age	Team	Salary	ServTm(OpnDay)	Sources	Notes/Other Sources
2008	24	San Francisco Giants	$405,000	?
2009	25	San Francisco Giants	$650,000	?
2010	26	San Francisco Giants	$9,000,000	2.148
2011	27	San Francisco Giants	$14,000,000	3.148
2012	28	San Francisco Giants	$18,000,000	4.148	contracts
2013	29	San Francisco Giants	$22,000,000	5.148	contracts
2014	30	San Francisco Giants	$17,000,000	6.148	contracts
2015	31	San Francisco Giants	$18,000,000	7.148
2015 Status		Signed thru 2015, Earliest Free Agent: 2016
Career to date (may be incomplete)			$99,055,000

No doubt Timmy will put the franchise in a tight spot deciding whether to bring him back for four or five years. If you told me he could replicate the 14-11 pace for the next five year as he transitions from power pitcher to finesse pitcher, I would do it.

Do I think you could get him back at 4years / $55M?
Yes.
Would it be a bit of a gamble given that he has barely been over .500 since 2010?
Yes.
Would I still do it.
Yes.

But it's not my money.

It has taken Timmy a bit more time to make the transition (any more than Barry Zito?) that the change in his stuff has forced upon him, but he's doing it on the fly. Like trying to jump on a moving train. Sometimes it's going to look ugly. Sometimes it never happens for a guy. I think Timmy makes it happen and has a rebirth. I would like the Giants to be in on that. He's moving up the career Giants charts in some of the more important pitching stats, passing names like "King" Carl Hubbell. He's a fan favorite. If you burn some money here, to me, it hurts less than burning it on McGehee, DeRosa and Company.

Again, not my money, but it's never too early to start beating the drums.

BRING TIMMY BACK!!!

Will the return of the prodigal son lead to a return of "The Freak"?

Like most Giant fans, I love Tim Lincecum. Because of the personal nature of this story, no doubt I will be rooting even harder for him to succeed in 2015 than ever before.

from SF Sun Times:
Giants Spring Training: Look out for these three players | San Francisco:

3. Tim Lincecum Tim Lincecum signed a contract back in 2013 through 2015 for 2 yrs/$35M (14-15). That is an absurd amount of money for a man who averaged above a 4.5 ERA over his last three seasons. Lincecum hasn’t been great since 2011, when he had a 2.74 ERA. This is his last chance at redemption and Giants organization and fans will be monitoring him closely to see if he’s worthy of returning for next season. 

 From SF Chronicle: 

 If Lincecum cannot reverse course after posting ERAs of 5.18, 4.37 and 4.74 the past three seasons, and losing his rotation spot late last summer, he will enter free agency as the “once great pitcher who lost it.” Lincecum said the way 2014 ended — in the bullpen, worthy of one garbage-time appearance in the postseason — motivated him to do what he called a “180-degree flip” and undertake a rigorous offseason throwing program under Chris Lincecum’s direction.

'via Blog this'

Good for Timmy that he swallowed his pride and remembered who he was and where he came from.

Good for the Giants if this turns from Return of the Prodigal Son to Return of The Freak. And good for both Timmy and his Dad. Cynics will say that this is only happening because Timmy is in his walk year and ready to ring the register, but if this back story is true, it connects the dots to Lincecum's performance decline since 2011 quite neatly.

His dad helped Timmy build his unique delivery. I can see that under the circumstances -- especially the last three years of futility -- perhaps both the big league treatment he's been getting as well as giving to his pops, have combined to weigh Timmy down both physically, emotionally and psychology which caused his mechanics to deteriorate and drift away from him.

We shall see if this season, at least for the Lincecum's sake, Father Knows Best.




from mlb.com
http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/109633740/anthony-castrovince-tim-lincecum-enters-camp-with-renewed-confidence

Lincecum enters camp with renewed confidence

Father, son repair mechanics, relationship in effort to reclaim starting role

There were times this winter when the father had to step outside for a cigarette, figuring it better to rip a heater than to let an argument with his son get too heated. And in those moments, the son would air out his own frustration by firing fastballs at an empty net.
This was how the Lincecum men -- father Chris and son Tim -- learned how to let their differences dissolve as quickly as they'd arise. A quick smoke break for dad, and then it was back to the business of repairing a two-time Cy Young Award winner who had lost his way.

"We both like to butt heads," Tim Lincecum said Wednesday, "and we both like to argue. My dad's always right, and I can't ever convince him that he's wrong. So I'm not going to take that away from him."

What the son instead took away from his offseason was a renewed appreciation for his father -- the man who essentially crafted the unorthodox mechanics that made Tim a "Freak" in both name and numbers -- and a renewed confidence in his mechanics and mindset.

What the father took away from 2 1/2 months' worth of work (49 throwing sessions in all) with his prodigal son was a sense that we're going to see a much different Tim Lincecum in 2015 than we did in 2014.

"This is the most he's ever worked in the offseason since he's been in the Majors," Chris said. "I love the fact that he was so diligent about being there. He wanted to be there, even when he didn't want to be there, when he was tired or sleepy or whatever. This is the first time I've seen him with that chip on his shoulder."

That Timmy, now 30, reported to Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday in great shape and has let his hair grow long again and is optimistic about the year ahead makes him the typical first-day-of-Spring-Training tale.

Yet the father-son element -- a sort of Springsteenian repairing of relations between two men who were "too much of the same kind" -- adds nuance and substance to the story.

Shortly after Tim opened up to a group of reporters on the afternoon of the defending champs' pitchers and catchers report date, his dad sat in the grass outside the stadium, chain-smoking Winstons and talking about those throwing sessions at N-S Performance in Seattle. Some people -- mostly professional pitching coaches -- will shiver at the thought of a guy throwing 49 times in the wake of a full-season slate, but the elder Lincecum has always believed in throwing more, not less. Certainly, his thoughts on pitching have long been considered unorthodox (he likes to say he believes only in icing his Bourbon and Sevens, not the throwing arm), but who among us could possibly argue with where those philosophies took young Timmy?

With his career at a low point at the end of '14, when the Giants essentially made a championship run without him, Lincecum himself could no longer argue with the obvious, either. Like so many of us, he had valued his independence in adulthood. He wanted to be his own man. And that meant turning his back on his dad. They'd talk on the phone after his starts, but they hadn't actually worked together since Lincecum was at the University of Washington. And Tim hinted that he let the personal relationship go astray, too.

Chris didn't seem to mind the personal differences nearly as much as the baseball separation.

"Yeah, I'm his father, and that's one hat I wear," he said. "But I'm the guy who taught him how to pitch. That's the other hat. Why not come back to the source that knows? If that was his next-door neighbor or some old coach in high school or whoever, why wouldn't he go back to that source? Well, it's because -- as I'm sure is the case with anybody and their parents -- there's that breaking away or rite of passage. But if he was [mad] at the dad, that's one thing. He shouldn't have stayed away from the coach."

Timmy said going back to his dad a couple weeks after the Giants' third parade in five years was one of those "tail between the legs" moments we all have in life, but it was worth it. His dad is a stickler for detail, documenting and videotaping every pitch thrown in that Seattle gym and making it known to his son every time the delivery was even slightly awry. That discipline was something Lincecum freely admits was lacking, and the stats from his last three seasons -- a 4.76 ERA and adjusted ERA+ 27 points below league average -- make it clear something had to change in order for Lincecum to return to his old numerical norms.

"[Chris] knows my mechanics even better than me," Lincecum said. "They've been out of whack for a while now. I think repetition is the big thing for me. Going out there and continuing to do the right mechanics and knowing why they're doing it is another big thing for me. Growing up with my dad, we talked about how it was more that I listened to what he said as opposed to knowing what he meant, and I think this year I got a bigger understanding of my mechanics and why my body needs to be in certain positions."

It's probably not a stretch to say the Giants -- even with a stash of starters supposedly seven deep -- could have a lot riding on the results of this reunion. Madison Bumgarner was the star of October, but it remains to be seen if the workload that accompanied that starring role comes at a cost in 2015. More to the point, Tim Hudson and Matt Cain are both coming off surgical procedures, Jake Peavy was running on fumes by the end of October, Ryan Vogelsong isn't getting any younger and Yusmeiro Petit might be better situated to a long-relief role.

Lincecum might actually be the biggest question mark of them all, and the ongoing question among some evaluators is whether he, too, might be better suited to a relief role at this stage of his career. But the Giants -- publicly, anyway -- have been adamant all winter that Timmy is and will be in the rotation, and the work he was putting in behind the scenes adds some credence to that confidence.

We'll see if this sappy spring storyline morphs into regular-season reality, if Lincecum's winter work is as positive in public practice. But it was hard not to listen to father and son alike on Wednesday and not come to the conclusion that "The Freak" is in a really good place -- physically, mentally, mechanically and emotionally.

Once again, Chris was lighting up a cigarette outside the building where his son goes to work. Only this time, this wasn't a timeout because the two were butting heads. In fact, on the subject of Lincecum's 2015 potential, father and son are very much in agreement.

"This," Chris said, "is a good year for him."

Dissecting the pitching mechanics of "The Freak"

Given his flexibility and relative strength, some of this is going to be difficult for any other person to execute save an elite athlete. The caveat "Do not try this at home" should be attached to any article describing "The Freak" and his pitching methodology. It is amazing to me that pitching coaches across the country will try to implement some of these methods with kids of all sizes, shapes and conditioning levels. But great results spawn many imitators. I imagined an epidemic of groin pulls among youth pitchers across the nation. I guess you have to start somewhere with a model, but what you see here is the end product of years of development, rather than a starting point.

The Baseball Evolution article I believe is a synopsis of an interview with Timmy's dad, who helped him develop his unique approach.  Hopefully, Timmy will be practicing and perfecting his craft for the Giants for years to come. Like Brian Wilson, he will look strange in another uniform.

Having said that, here it goes:

RHP Tim Lincecum pitching mechanics

from Popular Mechanics:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/baseball/the-physics-of-the-freak

They call him The Freak.

"The ability to throw a 95 mph fastball has to do more with proper mechanics than size," says Alan Nathan, professor emeritus of Physics at the University of Illinois. "It begins with the legs and works its way up in a kinetic chain, transferring energy from big muscles to smaller ones. It's like cracking a whip." 
The most obvious characteristic of Lincecum's motion is his exceptionally long stride toward home plate. Most pitchers around six feet tall will make a stride that's about five feet long. Lincecum's is over seven feet long. A long stride is advantageous because it maximizes the amount of power a pitcher can generate. But it can also be problematical because a pitching motion can get out of sync as the pitcher's upper body moves faster than his lower body. 

Which leads to a less obvious touchstone of Lincecum's motion. He is remarkably flexible in his torso. Just before he releases the ball, Lincecum's hips have already moved to face the hitter. His belt buckle is aimed at home plate while his shoulders are still facing the third baseman. This contortionist-like flexibility allows Lincecum to get more power out of his lower body than just about any other pitcher. 

Just as important, Lincecum is a true master of disguise. Pitch FX data compiled by major league baseball shows that the two-time Cy Young Award winner uses exactly the same release point for all his pitches—his fastball, his knee-buckling curve, his devastating changeup, and his newly revitalized slider. This means that the hitter has to wait until the ball starts moving to identify the pitch. As the Braves proved in that playoff game, that can be almost impossible. 

from baseballevolution.com:
http://baseballevolution.com/richard/chrislincecum.html

Here's a breakdown of Tim's pitches I sent a columnist back in April 2006: 

He throws two, two-seamed fastballs and a four-seamed (averaging between 94 and 98 constantly). 

1.) One of the two-seamed are with his fingers on top or just on the left side of the closest separation of the seams which sinks and fades to the right of the plate (toward a right-handed hitter). 

2.) The other two-seamed fastball is with his finger-tips (index and middle finger) on the top of the top parallel seam (where the seams are closest to each other) which rises when thrown. 

3.) The four seam is where his finger-tips are touching the top of the seam where the seams are farthest apart of the ball. It tales a little left or right but stays on plain parallel to the ground and is easier to control and Tim feels it's what they call a heavy ball. 

He has two hard breaking curve-balls: His bread and butter which he's thrown since he was about 8 years old. His body mechanics are the same with his breaking balls as it is with his fastballs. The key to having a sharp-breaking curve is the amount of spins and always using a fast arm speed created by using total body whipping mechanics (and a soft grip just like he throws every pitch-What I show anybody that wants to know is that when you hold a ball too firmly the wrist tightens up and end of the whip never takes place. This usually causes sore arms in the bicep and elbow). 

The mechanics he uses along with maintaining core muscle strength (and most important the small muscle strength) is why he can throw for so long, while still maintaining his velocity late in his games (even after throwing 125+ pitches). The small muscles are the wrists, elbow, shoulder, lower-back, groin, and around the knee and ankles.... 

1.) The so-called 12/6 curve is held with the index and middle-finger close together with the index touching and on the left part parallel to the seams when they are closest together on the ball. Pulling the ball down on the same plane as his arm (and "letting" the ball release as apposed to forcing the ball with a snapping wrist so the ball rolls off his fingers). The angle of his shoulders is the key to the direction of the break. 

2.) The 2/8 so-called curve has been my favorite and is the first Tim learned and actually breaks twice (over to the left toward a left-handed batter and down). It's held basically the same as the 12/6 but is deeper in his grip (being held with more of his two fingers and thumb as apposed to the holding it between the middle and second joint on the fingers). The angle of the break is again created by the angle of his shoulders which are at a 2/8 angle (as though you are looking at a clock from the mound). 

He has developed a slider this year which we worked on years ago but never needed (because if thrown too often while developing his fastball it can cause lack of velocity with the fastball due to muscle-memory which tends to cause a cutter and that slows the ball down). But this year he worked on holding the ball with his fingers close together, like the 12/6 curve, and throwing it at about 1:30/7:30 angle and rather than getting on top of the ball at release he rolls around it. He throws it about mid-eighties speed. 

He tried different change-ups for the last three years (the circle with the index and thumb basically touching the tips and throws it with his index, four-finger and little finger controlling it). He's experimented with numerous pressures and deeper in his grip or toward the tips or what they refer to as a football grip and has found a comfort zone with a pitch he worked on in the Cape-Cod league. It dies off to the right and down toward a right-handed hitter in the low eighties. 

He throws a splitter (which is nothing more than an abbreviated fork-ball in the upper eighties) and a knuckleball which they don't feel he needs to throw. Some of the players tell me the knuckle is so nasty that nobody would be able to catch it. 

All in all his mechanics are (as some people have referred to as freakish or un-orthodox) like the old-time pitchers in the 30's and 40's and early fifties. Example: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller. Carl Hubbell, Juan Marichal... 

Those athletes didn't throw with just there arms and shoulders as probably 70% or more have been doing for the last 40+ years. Those pitchers don't last for more than 4 to 7 years and usually throw their elbows or shoulders out. Sad thing is that they become pitching coaches and open clinics and teach their mechanics to the children (charging ridiculous fees) addressing their mechanics as "the Pro way" of doing it (after all, all you have to do is watch a game on T.V. and see that most major leaguers are using the muscle-method way of throwing, therefore confirming it), thus creating less than efficient throwers, for the next generation, who in turn throw their arms out and usually can't understand why. Just watching these types of poor mechanics makes me cringe with pain. Pitching is a position that can be taught to almost anybody, but throwing properly is an art and needs to be respected and constantly adjusted due to growth and muscle development and aging. I love it the most in all sports. 

The Return of "The Freak" Lincecum shuts down the Rockies

Giants defeat the Rockies 2-1 in a pivotal series. The Rockies may have to run the table from here on out to get to the playoffs, they no longer have any margin of error and it's tough to play that way at this point in the season. Giants set themselves up nicely for the rest of the series and the season.

Not much more you can ask for today. Burrell provides all the offense with a two-run bomb. Typical.

How Giants starter Tim Lincecum beat the Rockies: - 93.0 average fastball velocity (highest in a start since July 7th) - Upped the fastball velocity to a 93.5 average with men in scoring position (highest this season) - Overall, hitters were 1-for-10 against the fastball (.100; .274 entering Friday)

ESPN Stats & Information

This stat is pretty awesome and speaks to how the Giants have been winning games of late.

San Francisco pitchers have gone 18 straight games giving up three or fewer runs. It's the longest streak since the Chicago White Sox set the record with 20 straight in 1917, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

So much for the lack of run support argument. If you only get three runs, hold 'em to two. If you only get two runs, hold 'em to one.

I was trying to think of teams that mirrored the Giants in terms of winning games in this fashion and the best I could come up with was the 1969 and 1973 Mets, who won with rock-ribbed pitching performances on a near-daily basis, combined with an anemic offense.

Maybe more recently, the Marlins teams that won championships, perhaps? I still like the Mets examples better.

Here's hoping for similar results.