ShareThisBy SCOTT OSTLER
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, May 07, 2007
The kid didn't throw a perfect game, so he fell short of the expectations.
San Francisco Giants fans are realistic: They were willing to settle for a garden-variety no-hitter.
All Tim Lincecum got was a no-decision Sunday in his major-league debut. But let's see the Giants' front office even think about sending The Future back to the past, a.k.a. Class AAA Fresno.
Tim and the fans have bonded with Super Glue, and the fans aren't going to let the kid get sent back to the bush leagues until you pry the autograph pens out of their cold, dead hands.
"He's got a great gift," general manager Brian Sabean said before the game, referring to Lincecum's right arm.
And you don't give your fans a gift, then tell 'em you're sending it back to Fresno.
The fans gave Lincecum an ovation when his name was announced with the starting lineup, and they gave him a standing ovation when he was pulled with one out in the fifth inning.
How do you not like a young man who looks like Billy the Kid's kid brother, throws 100 miles (not kilometers) per hour, and strikes out three batters in his first inning of major-league work?
The fans fell in love. Lincecum had 'em at called "strike one" on leadoff batter Jimmy Rollins, a 97-mph heater on the outside corner.
The fans love him because he represents hope, youth and fire, three elements that the Giants and their fans can use more of.
Sending him back to Fresno after another start or two, unless he gets rocked silly, will be as messy as trying to shove the toothpaste back into the tube.
When was the last time a Giants debuting rookie lit up the place like Lincecum? Some say Will Clark carried a similar buzz. I'm thinking you have to go back further, to May of 1951, when the Giants (then in New York) called up Willie Mays.
The call-up stats have similar dazzle. Mays was hitting .477 in 35 games at AAA. Lincecum was 4-0 with an 0.29 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 31 innings.
Mays started 0-for-12. Lincecum started no-decision, giving up two two-run homers and striking out five before he hit his 100-pitch limit.
If he didn't quite live up to his legend, he didn't hurt it much, either.
He's a slip of a lad with freaky mechanics and scary command. He can walk on his hands, do back flips, and he never ices his arm after he throws, which is almost as rare in the big leagues as pitching without pants.
Pitcher's got a rubber arm.
"The day after he pitches, he'll play catch with anyone, long-toss," Sabean said.
So maybe the Giants can give him his second start tonight against the Mets?
Everyone didn't go ga-ga over Lincecum. When the Giants had their PA announcer announce during Friday and Saturday's games that Lincecum would be starting Sunday, one Giants player (not Barry Bonds, but that's the only hint I'll give you) groused that it was wrong to use the phenom to goose attendance.
And it did goose attendance, though the house wasn't full Sunday. But the real reason the Giants promoted Lincecum was that, a) they needed a starter to replace the injured Russ Ortiz, and b) it was getting almost embarrassing to keep Lincecum in the minors.
The Giants were keeping close tabs on Lincecum, of course. Sabean, a pretty low-key guy, said when he would talk to the Fresno folks after a Lincecum start, "The comments were uncharacteristic."
The kid's not normal.
He is human. Though he hit 100 mph on the stadium radar gun at least three times, the gun is at least 2 mph faster than ESPN's gun. The Giants like to save money, but you shouldn't buy radar guns from guys on street corners.
It will be interesting to see what Lincecum does next time he pitches, if the Giants decide to start the varsity lineup behind him.
There are probably solid reasons the Giants featured a split-squad-type lineup Sunday, but if I'm debuting my rookie phenom pitcher, I want to back him with my best lineup.
Like, for starters, Bonds, he of the .347 batting average and 10 homers. Bonds and manager Bruce Bochy decided it would be better for Bonds to play Saturday and sit Sunday, so the lineup backing The Kid featured a total of 10 home runs this year, and it delivered zero homers Sunday.
If you worry about rushing a kid to the big leagues for fear of damaging his psyche, it seems like you should back him with the "A" team, but that's life.
Lincecum will get at least one more start.
"We were all excited to see him, and we like what we saw," Bochy said.
Bochy also said, "He's got a chance to be real special, and we knew it, and that's why he's here."
And Sabean said before the debut, "You'd like to think he's up here for good, but we'll just have to see."
(Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
