Tim Lincecum

I have to confess that I was one of the people who were appalled when the San Francisco Giants signed Tim Lincecum to his last contract.  He had not been performing, and I could not understand. Why would keep him around?  I did not get it.  At the time, I was mainly a Boston Red Sox fan.  In Boston, Baseball was mostly about the team and winning.  In San Francisco, the fans also love the players.  In particular, they love Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey. 

It was only in the last few years that I paid any attention to the Giants.  I watched them in their victorious post seasons in 2010 and 12. They really caught my interest in 2013 when they finished 16 games behind, tied for third place in the NL West.  I began watching every game when they seemed to start winning in the last part of the season.  By the time 2014 spring training came around, I was ready to be a Giants fan.  When the middle of June came around and they started to lose, it was too late.  My heart broke right along with everyone else’s.

By the end of 2015, Tim Lincecum will have earned around $100 million.  Lets face it, by the time someone has about $50 million, it stops mattering how much money a person has. When the contract was signed, Tim was already not as productive has he had been.  Except for one thing.  No matter what the score might be, Tim Lincecum sells tickets.  I can be in grocery store, and I will hear strangers talking about the fact they have to get home because it is “Timmy Day” and the game's about to start.

Today, when Yusmeiro Petit replaced Timmy on the hill and led the team to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, Bruce Bochy hesitated when asked if the Petit victory meant that Petit would be replacing Tim in the rotation.

Timmy is a local hero. You know the litany:  Two Cys.  Two no-nos. Two rings. Two dogs. 

He’s funny.  He is smart.  And he has an amazing amount of integrity.  He credits his teammates for helping him win. He makes no excuses when he loses. He loves his dad. He tells it like it is.  Pick any three of those and he can be your hero, too. Timmy will always be special in this city, just like Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.  There is a good chance Tim will make it to the Hall of Fame and that, one day, there will be a statue of the Freak on the grounds of AT&T Park.

This season, it looked like Timmy was fighting his way back. That second no-no gave him a new confidence and he started getting some nice wins. And then it fell apart again.  He could not see the plate. I was guessing ADD with some anxiety disorder thrown in.  People were aching for him more than for a losing team. And let's not forget how hard the man works. He doesn't just walk away and say, "Oh, I lost my stuff, I'll take my millions and go home." He works. He's fit, and he is always considering the game.  On the day of his second no-no he was more psyched that he had two hits and a walk than he had the no-no. Where did those hits come from? How can a man whom people think is finished come up with a no hitter?  The talent is still in there, and he has to find a way to let it out.

In the same season where he pitched his second no-hitter, he has arrived at a place where he can’t seem to find the way to the plate. “Its about me,” he told the press after losing 6-2 to the Nationals.  Like I said, no excuses.

Now here’s the thing nobody wants to talk about.  Baseball is huge business.  Tim Lincecum sells tickets.  He sells tickets when he starts.  He sells tickets when they give away t-shirts, bobble heads, and baseball cards. That's what makes a franchise. Timmy sells, but he doesn't sell out. Because of this I suspect we'll see him back in the rotation before the season ends.