Lincecum No-Hits Padres, Gets A Little Help From A Friend

Posey, Lincecum Must Lead Giants As They Enter 2nd Half.

“Buster Posey does not want to catch Lincecum."

“Lincecum does not want Posey to catch him.” 

“Lincecum and Posey, simply, don’t get along.”

During last season, this chatter surrounded San Francisco Giants teammates Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey’s relationship. Various Giants fans and Major League Baseball media types on the radio, online, and on T.V iterated these statements.  This chatter propagated lies about the two men’s relationship as teammates. This talk implied Lincecum did not feel comfortable with Posey calling pitches, while Posey could not handle the beating of catching Lincecum’s style of pitching. However, San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Tim Lincecum, and catcher Buster Posey, put these comments to rest last Saturday night, July 13th, against the San Diego Padres.

In this start, his last before the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Break, Tim Lincecum used 148 pitches to no-hit the San Diego Padres and lead the Giants to a 9-0 win. The victory was the Giants’ third in a row, and secured a road series win- the first since June 7th-June 9th series against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. With Saturday’s victory, Lincecum earned his fifth win of the season by striking out thirteen and allowing only five runners to reach base- four via walk and one via hit by pitch. The no-hitter lowered Lincecum’s earned run average to 4.26.

The no-hitter, although largely an individual effort, was a collective team effort as well. Defensively speaking, Pablo Sandoval made an excellent backhanded grab in the seventh inning to preserve Lincecum’s no-hit bid. The defense flexed their muscles again with two outs in the eighth inning. With Padres shortstop and All-Star Everth Cabrera at first base, center fielder, Alexi Amarista, stepped into the batter’s box. Amarista hit a line drive to Giants’ right fielder Hunter Pence. Pence broke in for the ball. To the 40,000 plus at Petco Park and thousands more watching at home, it seemed Pence wouldn’t be able to snag the line drive. As Pence drew closer to the ball, the ball seemed to be getting even closer to the grounder, creating even more uncertainty that a catch was possible. Pence, with maximum effort, made a full extension grab to rob Amarista of a hit and preserve Lincecum’s no- hit bid.

In addition to defense, Lincecum’s no-hitter was achieved due to the man behind the plate--Buster Posey. The battery mates were in sync throughout the warm San Diego summer night. Lincecum rarely shook off Posey and seemed to have confidence in the game Posey was calling. The effect? Lincecum was able to attain a comfortable pitching rhythm, key for any pitcher in the Major Leagues. More importantly, Posey and Lincecum’s combined effort Saturday night, shows promising signs for the San Francisco Giants as they enter the All-Star Break and the second half of the 2013 season. These two men, arguably the most popular current Giants, need to continue their strength as a tandem to lead the Giants’ in their effort to get back on track.

Moreover, this game highlights a recent trend for Lincecum. The Seattle native seems to be back to his late 2000’s form. Over his last few starts, Lincecum is learning how to pitch without his upper 90’s fastball, and is learning more about the importance of location, rather than just pure speed. He is throwing his curveball more often, something he did earlier in his career.  The results speak for themselves. Over his last three starts, Lincecum is 1-1, but has 32 strikeouts to only 7 walks. In that span, Lincecum has lowered his earned run average from 4.66 to 4.26, a margin of .40.  His earned run average over those three starts? A cool 2.54---more than 2 runs better than his season earned run average.

Lincecum slowly learning how to pitch with his 91 mph fastball shows he is a solution rather than a problem for the 2013 San Francisco Giants. He needs to continue his recent streak into the second half of the season, which begins on Friday against the Diamondbacks. If Lincecum is able to do that and solidify a starting rotation that has been shaky all season, the Giants do have a legitimate shot of turning their season around. With Ryan Vogelsong returning from the disabled list in August, and a potential trade for a pitcher (Bud Norris or Matt Garza?) in the works, and Chad Gaudin returning to the bullpen as reinforcement, will allow the Giants to climb to the top of the N.L. West standings.

So, the Giants, currently 6.5 games behind the division leading Arizona Diamondbacks, look to Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum as the second half begins. Their performance as a combination, as teammates, as battery mates, or however you want to call it on last Saturday night is a sign of optimism for the boys in Orange in Black. The two faces of the franchise being in sync, and silent leaders in the clubhouse, provides their teammates with hope and inspiration in turning around their 2013 season. Instead the radio show callers and T.V. personalities should comment on Posey and Lincecum’s relationship saying,

“ Lincecum has to have Posey behind the dish.”

“Posey needs to catch Lincecum.”