To anyone who’s watched Tim pitch in MLB a few times (I don’t have MLB.tv, or else I’d verify this myself): does he appear to labor and/or lose velocity/break on his pitches once he reaches the 110-120 pitch mark? I’d be a lot more worried if he was throwing the last 10-20 pitches of a 130 pitch start while gassed, than if he were running up that high because he felt fine.

I remember, watching his first MLB start, that he got gassed around the 90 pitch mark and lost a ton of velocity, but it was also his first start and nerves were certainly a factor. When I watched him pitch at UW, he was usually able to maintain his pace and velocity right up to the end of his outings (though he often didn’t finish those outings: 7 inning starts were common due to his erratic control).

Rest assured, Lincecum’s high pitch counts in college had a lot to do with his fall to SF in the draft. Knutson cost Tim a lot of money.

It appears Bochy is determined to do the same thing.

Of course, there’s always the chance that TL is the winner of the genetic lottery and is somehow able to handle all this just fine. The odds are stacked heavily against that though, and taking the risk is just foolish on SF’s part.

It’s a shame, too, because I love watching the kid pitch.

So I’m guessing Tim puts up with it because he doesn’t think or feel that it’s a big deal given his M.O. That doesn’t make it right, but that’s the perspective the Giants are dealing with.

I read that article in SI (I got a few issues for free, I’d never pay for it) and it made me queasy.

Either his manager is forcing it, Lincecum is over and unnecessarily confident or he’s gunning for a Cy Young.

I doubt Tim is going to think he can’t handle it, with his dad telling him and everyone else that he could easily throw 160+ every outing.

Lincecum was pulled in a previous start at 120 pitches with the lead and had it immediately coughed up by their crappy bullpen. One of the radio personalities from KNBR, their flag station, was so enraged that he called and ranted for 5 minutes about how Lincecum isn’t made of china and should have been left in.

Lincecum’s last start, he tried to complete the game, but got pulled after one batter in the ninth. The score was much closer in that game, though. This game, he batted in the 8th, up 3 nothing, and the Giants added 3 runs. Surely they thought their bullpen, even their horrible gas-tossing closer, could hold a 6 run lead–it was about the CG. They let him get two men on, then he managed to pump out a 95 MPH fastball for the strike out. OUCH!

They, and I get the impression he, are really gunning for the Cy Young. It’s all they talk about on their radio station. There was a vague comment during today’s game that the 138 pitches was the most by any pitcher this year, but there’s been no criticism of the decision, and this isn’t’ a homer station.

They feel as though he needs at least one complete game to compete with Brandon Webb, because he’s at 17 wins, while Webb is at 20. But I completely expect him to last only three innings his next start, he won’t get the Cy Young, and it’ll all be for nothing.

The truly bizarre part of this attitude is, the Giants have lost plenty of pitchers to the falling off arm. They managed to let Jason Schmidt go before his fell off, or there would have been another one.

The abuse is criminal. Of course Timmy is going to say he feels fine. He’s already got to fight the ‘under 6’4″ and right-handed’ label. Get a hint, Bochy.