More on Tim Lincecum, and his no-hitter
Tim Lincecum joined Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax and Jim Palmer as the only pitchers to win multiple Cy Young Awards, throw a no-hitter, and pitch for the winning team in two World Series. Talk about good company.
According to the July 15th San Francisco Chronicle, Linceum admits to maturing as a pitcher: "studying my hitters better, going over my mechanics to the point where I'm not trying to overthrow things, working more on placement."
Giants' Cather Buster Posey was asked about the difference between Lincecum this All-Star break compared with last year's and said, "The broad answer is he's gotten better. I think he does a better job of setting hitters up now than he did a year ago, especially (Saturday) night. He did a great job when he was ahead in the count of making really tough pitches."
Lincecum has improved his fastball command. He stopped over-relying on a cut fastball and is using his curveball and split-change more effectively. When he gets ahead in the count, he buries pitches in the dirt or throws them high to get awkward swings.
The Padres swung and missed 29 times Saturday, the most for a Lincecum regular-season start.
SOURCE: http://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Mid-career-Lincecum-fine-tunes-arm-mind-4665286.php
Having Lincecum return as shut-down starter is key if the Giants' have any hope of competing in the second-half this season. If his last two starts are any indication, this will be the case. As expected, it significantly raises his value as a free agent.
