Tim Lincecum pitched so poorly over the first three months of the season that he lowered the bar of expectations practically down to the ground. The Giants won only two of his first 14 starts. When he was able to put together back-to-back quality starts in June, observers started to breathe easier, believing that the turnaround had begun.
Only it hadn’t. And hasn’t still. And I’m saying, it’s not out there.
What has become abundantly clear is that Lincecum is totally over-matched by the better teams on the Giants’ schedule. If anyone was surprised that the Nationals knocked him around Wednesday afternoon, well, they haven’t been paying attention.
Here is a list of the teams Lincecum has earned wins against this season:
- Mets (2)
- Dodgers (pre-Ramirez, no Kemp)
- Astros
- Padres
- Phillies
- Rockies
The only team on that list over .500 is LA, and Lincecum got them in the middle of a 7-game losing stretch during which they scored 5 runs and were shut out five times.
Here’s a list of the teams against which Lincecum gave his team a chance to win, although he did not get a W:
- A’s (when they were four games under .500)
- Astros
Lastly, there were two games where Timmy could honestly be called a “hard-luck loser,” when he pitched well but the team lost. Here’s that list:
- Rockies
- Diamondbacks
That’s it, folks. 11 decent starts out of 25, and only one of them against a team that you could expect to see in the playoffs. By the way, only four of Lincecum’s losses have come at the hands of what you would call the game’s elite teams, so the rest of his losses have come to some bad teams.
Wondering how Timmy has fared against baseball’s best (Nationals, Pirates, Rangers)? 0-4 with 21ER in 16.1 IP, ERA of 11.57.
So here’s the good news. If Bruce Bochy plays it straight the rest of the way, and nobody gets skipped, Lincecum has eight starts left. Five are against teams he has a chance to beat (Cubs, D-Backs (2), Rockies, Padres). The other three are against the Dodgers twice and the Braves.
What’s my point? Let’s quit waiting for Lincecum to go back to his 2008-10 levels. Maybe he’ll find that gear in the off-season. Let’s just hope he gives the team a chance against the lesser teams on the schedule, and expect him to get pounded by the good ones.
And be grateful that there aren’t more good ones!