Bear
09-23-2008, 10:09 AM
September 23
San Jose Mercury News
"Finally, there's something Tim Lincecum cannot do.
"Lemme try,'' he said, clearing some space near his locker. "I don't think I can kick that high.''
Lincecum winds up, lifts his left leg above chest level, turns as if throwing a ball — and loses his balance completely.
"Nope, can't do it,'' he said. "Can't keep my head still.''
He was trying to replicate the high-kicking delivery of Juan Marichal, a man who excelled on the mound decades before Lincecum was born and whose iconic form is frozen in bronze at AT&T Park.
Lincecum's interest in the Giants' Hall of Fame right-hander was kindled two weeks ago, when the two nimble-bodied pitchers sat down for a chat and compared notes on the art of throwing a baseball.
For all his circus-show pliancy, Lincecum cannot imitate Marichal. But perhaps soon he'll be able to stand in for him, and in some fashion, correct a slight that many in the organization have considered long overdue.
He could win the National League Cy Young Award.
"They definitely celebrate their award winners here,'' Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "To have a Cy Young on your club, it does give you more confidence as an organization. It would mean a lot. It goes on your re'sume' and never leaves. It's as prestigious an award as there is in sports, really.''
For all his greatness, it was something Marichal never achieved. He was behind Sandy Koufax through the early 1960s, endured an injury-plagued season in 1967, the year Giants teammate Mike McCormick won the only Cy Young in franchise history, and was hidden again in '68 by Bob Gibson and his domineering 1.12 ERA.
But this is what most rankles longtime Marichal teammates such as Felipe Alou: Not only did Marichal not win, but he also never received a single first-place vote. Over a career that included 243 wins, a staggering 244 complete games and six 20-win seasons, Marichal received a single vote — for third place — in 1971.
"It is an injustice,'' Alou said. "I don't know how else to say it.''
Jaime Jarrin, the Hall of Fame Spanish-language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, found it hard to believe as well.
"He's the best right-handed pitcher I've ever seen, and I've been in baseball for 51 years,'' Jarrin said. "Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Pedro Martinez were all great, but Marichal's presence on the mound was unique. His repertoire made him the best. You name it, he could throw it.
"Maybe people don't believe he was as great as those others because he didn't win a Cy Young. I hope not.''
Marichal's career snub isn't the reason that Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has allowed Lincecum to run high pitch counts, pulled out the stops to help him win and even pushed back the rest of the rotation so he could get an extra start — even though his 3,477 pitches are second only to teammate Matt Cain in the National League.
Lincecum (17-4) will start today against the Colorado Rockies on regular rest, then take the mound again in the season finale Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bochy recognizes what a Cy Young Award would mean to Lincecum's emerging career, and he knows that some voters, blinded by Brandon Webb's league-leading 22 victories, might need more convincing.
Lincecum's 2.46 ERA is the best in the N.L. and his 243 strikeouts crush the rest of the league. His .810 winning percentage also ranks first, even though he pitches for a team that is 16 games under .500.
He trails Webb in victories, but that apparent advantage is leveled when you consider that Lincecum's bullpen has blown five of his decisions, and Arizona's bullpen has blown just one of Webb's."
I do not know if he is better, but he could be as good, and that would be say something!;)
San Jose Mercury News
"Finally, there's something Tim Lincecum cannot do.
"Lemme try,'' he said, clearing some space near his locker. "I don't think I can kick that high.''
Lincecum winds up, lifts his left leg above chest level, turns as if throwing a ball — and loses his balance completely.
"Nope, can't do it,'' he said. "Can't keep my head still.''
He was trying to replicate the high-kicking delivery of Juan Marichal, a man who excelled on the mound decades before Lincecum was born and whose iconic form is frozen in bronze at AT&T Park.
Lincecum's interest in the Giants' Hall of Fame right-hander was kindled two weeks ago, when the two nimble-bodied pitchers sat down for a chat and compared notes on the art of throwing a baseball.
For all his circus-show pliancy, Lincecum cannot imitate Marichal. But perhaps soon he'll be able to stand in for him, and in some fashion, correct a slight that many in the organization have considered long overdue.
He could win the National League Cy Young Award.
"They definitely celebrate their award winners here,'' Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "To have a Cy Young on your club, it does give you more confidence as an organization. It would mean a lot. It goes on your re'sume' and never leaves. It's as prestigious an award as there is in sports, really.''
For all his greatness, it was something Marichal never achieved. He was behind Sandy Koufax through the early 1960s, endured an injury-plagued season in 1967, the year Giants teammate Mike McCormick won the only Cy Young in franchise history, and was hidden again in '68 by Bob Gibson and his domineering 1.12 ERA.
But this is what most rankles longtime Marichal teammates such as Felipe Alou: Not only did Marichal not win, but he also never received a single first-place vote. Over a career that included 243 wins, a staggering 244 complete games and six 20-win seasons, Marichal received a single vote — for third place — in 1971.
"It is an injustice,'' Alou said. "I don't know how else to say it.''
Jaime Jarrin, the Hall of Fame Spanish-language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, found it hard to believe as well.
"He's the best right-handed pitcher I've ever seen, and I've been in baseball for 51 years,'' Jarrin said. "Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Pedro Martinez were all great, but Marichal's presence on the mound was unique. His repertoire made him the best. You name it, he could throw it.
"Maybe people don't believe he was as great as those others because he didn't win a Cy Young. I hope not.''
Marichal's career snub isn't the reason that Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has allowed Lincecum to run high pitch counts, pulled out the stops to help him win and even pushed back the rest of the rotation so he could get an extra start — even though his 3,477 pitches are second only to teammate Matt Cain in the National League.
Lincecum (17-4) will start today against the Colorado Rockies on regular rest, then take the mound again in the season finale Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bochy recognizes what a Cy Young Award would mean to Lincecum's emerging career, and he knows that some voters, blinded by Brandon Webb's league-leading 22 victories, might need more convincing.
Lincecum's 2.46 ERA is the best in the N.L. and his 243 strikeouts crush the rest of the league. His .810 winning percentage also ranks first, even though he pitches for a team that is 16 games under .500.
He trails Webb in victories, but that apparent advantage is leveled when you consider that Lincecum's bullpen has blown five of his decisions, and Arizona's bullpen has blown just one of Webb's."
I do not know if he is better, but he could be as good, and that would be say something!;)