RADIO
As the San Francisco Giants embark on their latest title defense, it seemed there would be a cloud of uncertainty surrounding their mercurial right-hander Tim Lincecum. The former multiple-time NL Cy Young winner was demoted from the starting pitching staff late last season and relegated to the bullpen. He remained there during the playoff run that ultimately ended with the franchise’s third championship in five years.
However, now it appears the plan is to reverse course and have Lincecum rejoin the rotation for the start of the season and give him perhaps one last shot to reestablish himself as a starting pitcher. After all, Lincecum was one of the best in all of baseball during a four year stretch from 2008-2011, accumulating desired accolades over that span. Since that time period, though, Lincecum’s once-dominant career has sputtered way off track. The 30-year-old has posted a 4.76 ERA in the three seasons since, leading to his banishment from the starting staff.
Lincecum has shown shades of his old self, though, and wasn’t horrible in 2014 when he toed the rubber as a starting pitcher. In 26 starts, Lincecum went 10-9 with a 4.67 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 144 2/3 IP. He surrendered 61 walks and 21 home runs. His BAA was acceptable at .258, and if his batting average on balls put in play was lower than the unlucky final mark of .307, Lincecum may have fared significantly better.
The Giants may desperately need Lincecum back in their rotation, given the status of some of their other starters. Matt Cain is coming off a considerable season-ending injury from a year ago, which puts his reliability in question. The same could arguably be said for Tim Hudson, who had surgery in January to remove bone spurs from his right ankle and is coming off a year in which he declined noticeably in the second half. The Giants also have Ryan Vogelsong and Yusmeiro Petit on the outside looking in and they certainly may get plugged in at some point. For now, it appears Lincecum will get a shot at helping maintain the stability of their starting pitching.
