Tim Linceucum, a 28-year-old, two-time Cy Young award winning pitcher for the San Francisco Giants has fallen on hard times lately, and with his contract expiring is open to a potentially shocking role shift.
"If my career takes that turn, I'm definitely open to changes, especially if it's beneficial to the team I'm playing for," Lincecum is quoted saying in a Yahoo! Sports article. He also said that this season, he's completely focused on being an effective starting pitcher for the Giants.
Lincecum was called "The Freak" when he rose to MLB prominence, thanks to the incredible velocity generated from his twisting, highly unorthodox windup. The fact that he stands merely five feet, 11 inches tall, and weighs a measly 170 lbs., made his stunning stuff all the more remarkable. He won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2008 and 2009, but last year his career plummeted.
In 2012, Lincecum made 33 starts, going 10-15 with a 5.18 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Lincecum became so untrustworthy on the mound that he was taken out of San Francisco's postseason rotation; the Giants went on to win the World Series. His home run rate spiked more than six percentage points in 2012, and his current home run rate is right at the same level as last year.
Advanced metrics suggest bad luck; both this year and last his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is in the .3oos, a rather high total that seems ripe for regression. However, after a full season of it, and two months the following year, the ugly numbers look more like a trend than an extended anomaly.
Lincecum's strikeout numbers remain very high, giving Lincecum fans, and potentially MLB front offices the hope that if his season doesn't turn around in a starting role he can be a fireman out of the bullpen. In the 2012 playoffs, Lincecum pitched 13 innings out of the bullpen, striking out 17 and walking just two.
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