Give 'em Some Stankeye!

Sunday was, hands down, the Giants' best game of the season. For nine wonderful innings, everything was clicking. Let's go down the list: Utter beatdown of a division rival? Check. The Boy Wonder showing the kind of badass unhittable-ness that could make him the league's dominant pitcher for the coming years? Check. Ryan Klesko windmilling another home run into the arcade seats in right field? Give me a C! Give me an H! Give me an E! Give me a C! Give me a K!

The Diamondbacks just didn't have a chance against Tim Lincecum. He had that insane 97-mph two-seam-fastball-from-hell going and the Dback hitters couldn't even touch it. They got maybe three good swings all game, if I can recall. The fact that Lincecum struck out twelve batters in seven innings without even breaking the 100 pitch barrier is the most impressive part. It'll probably be a cold day in hell before we hear Mike Krukow giggle like a school girl on air, but as Lincecum was mowing down one perplexed hitter after another yesterday, I think he came damn close.

Now all that's left is for Timmy to do this consistently. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the lad, and I know that young pitchers go through rocky stretches, but all that's keeping Lincecum from being the best pitcher in the league, right now, is consistent command. Remember, he was due to get this start skipped because he had been bombed in four straight starts before dominating the Padres last Monday. In three of those four starts (the start against the Phillies wasn't so bad; his bullpen tacked on some extra earnies after he left the game), he just didn't have any control and had to resort to throwing meatballs across the plate.

For those of you familiar with JoeChat, the favorite pastime of the FJM boys, Joe Morgan is always harping about consistency, as if it were some all-encompassing skill that will turn you from a crappy player into a star. Most of the time it comes across as mindless fooferah, but in Lincecum's case, it probably applies. Once Lincecum learns to get batters out on the days when he doesn't have his best stuff (like he didn't against the A's, Blue Jays, and Brewers), he'll be the uber-stud we've all been looking for. That'll make the days when he does have his best stuff all the more fun, like yesterday.

Labels: giants with the beatdown, Tim Lincecum