eastbaybaseball

Tim Lincecum finishes season 18-5 with a 2.62 E.R.A

     Tim Lincecum ended his incredible season with an amazing performance to solidify his Cy Young case and end the Giants’ season on a positive note.  Lincecum threw seven dominant innings of one-run ball and had 13 strikeouts to finish the season with 265 in a 3-1 win against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.  Lincecum was so dominant that he struck out nine hitters for his first nine outs to pace his 13 strikeout performance.  However, he trailed 1-0 until the bottom of the 7th.  With runners on 1st and 2nd, Lincecum was pulled out for a pinch hitter, and that hitter was Pablo Sandoval.  And what do you know, Sandoval striked a hit to left field for an rbi single and tie the game at 1 a piece.  Sandoval never ceases to amaze as he comes through again to cap off his rookie season on a good note.  A couple batters later Nate Schierholtz hit a go-ahead RBI single off of reliever Joe Beimel to give the Giants a 2-1 lead and put Lincecum in line for the win.  In the 8th, Randy Winn hit an insurance RBI single to give the Giants a 3-1 lead and cap off his third straight season of batting atleast .300.  Winn finishes the year batting .306 with 10HR and 64 RBI’s and added 25 stolen bases to his resume.  Then All-Star closer Brian Wilson came into the ninth and shut the door and picked up his 41st save of the season and give Timmy his 18th win of the year.  This all-star duo of Lincecum and Wilson is what kept the Giants somewhat respectable in the National League.  Lincecum performed like the top of the notch ace and Wilson performed like the shut-down closer that the Giants have been missing for the past few seasons.  Giants finished the year 72-90, one more win than last season so this season was an improvement from last one in a sense that they developed many of their young guys and they got to see what kind of talent and development they had in their minor league system and what pieces they need for next year.  One thing I know is, Tim Lincecum will be the ace of the staff for many years to come and rookie sensation Pablo Sandoval has emerged to be a player with star-potential and be an everyday bat for this Giants lineup that has been missing for awhile now. I couldn’t say the same for Matt Cain, but I would only trade him if we got a big bat in return and a solid prospect or second-tier player on top of it.  And I would only trade Winn if we got something good in return, too. There is nothing wrong with being four-deep in the outfield. This just creates more flexibility for the coach to work with. 

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