Tim would never pitch for me!

quote:

Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
Believe it or not, my son had a pitching coach tell him that Tim Lincecum would have never pitched for him.

I'm sure Tim would agree, and be very happy with his decision.

I think there are a lot of people would say things along the line of he is too small, has a funny pitching motion, he is going to break down, etc, etc.

Several teams passed him up on the draft.

But the bottom line, he is the "freak" and has done fairly well for himself.

Despite what every expert says about his pitching mechanics, it works for him. Boy, did he pitch a gem last night against a very good hitting team. His change up was filthy.

I'm not crazy about the hair style either. My wife had some other choice words to describe the hair. However, when you get two "W"s in the World Series and pitch like that, I'll cut you a lot of slack.

My neck is sore just from watching him.

These are the same "pitching" experts that claimed Mark Prior had "perfect" mechanics. Are these the same epxerts that passed up on Lincicome when he came out of high school. If I did my job as poorly as most expert scouts I would be dead or fired!

These are the same experts that keep Marshall mechanics out of the game and the man blackballed.
Being a subjective sport for any advancement it is going to take a real man at the HS level to let it proceed.

Yardbird

Have you been brainwashed?

For those that are not too new to this site...our good friend bbscout was 100%, absolutely certain about Lincecum's future.

And he was spot on.

I had some very fun conversations with Doug at Sunken Diamond and it was clear he figured out what others did not.

Here is a link to a story (February, 2009) about Doug McMillan (bbscout) and his thoughts on Lincecum. The title of the story might throw you off...but read.

bbscout on pitching

Nice article justbaseball, thank you.

Yep.

justbaseball,
thank you for the link.
Bruce Jenkins writing about our friend, bbscout..two of the very best.
Boy does that sound like Doug..."I don't give a shat if he is 2 foot 3."

Interesting that Lincecum was drafted two rounds higher than Posey when both came out of high school. Posey was a 50th round pick. Both became early first round picks out of college.

The Giants sure have drafted well in recent years. They also have done very well with waivers, free agent signings and trades. Those in scouting and the front office have done a great job.

I'm sure there are and have been a lot of coaches who wouldn't have let Lincecum pitch for them because of the long hair, the interfering dad, etc.

Those things wouldn't have bothered me, although if I'd had knowledge of the drug issues let's say at the HS level it certainly would have been a potential show stopper. On the other hand I'm not going to say that the coaches who would have taken a stand against some of the other behaviors would have necessarily been wrong despite Lincecum's success.

Obviously, the coaches who wouldn't have had him due to size or mechanics were just plain wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Interesting that Lincecum was drafted two rounds higher than Posey when both came out of high school. Posey was a 50th round pick. Both became early first round picks out of college.

The Giants sure have drafted well in recent years. They also have done very well with waivers, free agent signings and trades. Those in scouting and the front office have done a great job.

Rather than spend 30 million on a guy like A-Rod, some of these teams have figured out that it is better to invest the 30 million into their scouting and development organizations. I would put Tampa in the same category as the Giants although I think the Giants have more free agent possibilities than Tampa. Either way, San Fran has demonstrated that good/outstanding drafting can turn a decades-long loser quickly into a winner.

justbaseball,

Thanks for that link. Great article about a great scout and baseball man.

PG...you must have lost a bet to a Badger fan?

quote:

San Fran has demonstrated that good/outstanding drafting can turn a decades-long loser quickly into a winner.

Kind of an interesting observation. For years, the Giants were heavily criticized locally for not drafting hitters in the early parts of the draft.

I'm going off memory a little bit, but I believe some of the local media were very frustrated when the Giants took Madison Bumgarner in the 1st round (2007) ahead of, among others, Jason Heyward and other hitters who haven't made it yet.

Doubt they're feeling that way anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:

quote:

San Fran has demonstrated that good/outstanding drafting can turn a decades-long loser quickly into a winner.

Kind of an interesting observation. For years, the Giants were heavily criticized locally for not draft hitters in the early parts of the draft.

I'm going off memory a little bit, but I believe some of the local media were very frustrated when the Giants took Madison Bumgarner in the 1st round (2007) ahead of, among others, Jason Heyward and other hitters who haven't made it yet.

Doubt they're feeling that way anymore.

I think you would have found many thinking that way a month before the end of the regular season.

Justbaseball,

Yes, Let a big cheesehead get the best of me.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:

quote:

San Fran has demonstrated that good/outstanding drafting can turn a decades-long loser quickly into a winner.

Kind of an interesting observation. For years, the Giants were heavily criticized locally for not drafting hitters in the early parts of the draft.

I'm going off memory a little bit, but I believe some of the local media were very frustrated when the Giants took Madison Bumgarner in the 1st round (2007) ahead of, among others, Jason Heyward and other hitters who haven't made it yet.

Doubt they're feeling that way anymore.

That kind of proves my point. I love Jason Heyward BUT are the Giants world champions today if they didn't take Bumgarner with that pick? I guess one could argue we will never know but I think at least the Giants know the answer to that question.

quote:

Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
Believe it or not, my son had a pitching coach tell him that Tim Lincecum would have never pitched for him. Unbelievable!

I absolutely believe it because Tim's father, Chris, is the only pitching coach that has had any real influence his whole life. Chris Lincecum was a pretty good JC pitcher in his day and still works with Tim on his pitching. Sometimes a player's "interfering" dad really does know best. Tim's college coach at Washington, Ken Knutson (current Arizona State pitching coach), did not feel the need to "correct" what Chris taught. Even the Giants pitching coach, Dave Righetti, does not tinker with it.

justbaseball:
Once again, another "Gem" from bbscout.
My son's former PC (he transferred) is a mechanics nut and seemed not to be too interested in athleticism, son is very athletic with a high front arm raise motion, a loose arm and a lot of leg drive. He could not adjust to the PC's demands; therefore, he stayed in the proverbial dog house and was branded a nonconformist.
Update: This fall at JC, son pitched (LHP)at 90-93 commanding 4 pitches (1 to 7 bb/k ratio) and has been recruited very heavily by D1 programs and MLB scouts that value his ability. Thank goodness there are successful people like bbscout still in the game. Thank you so much for sharing the article.

Clint.. unfortunately, BBScout died a few years ago. We all miss him.

quote:

Believe it or not, my son had a pitching coach tell him that Tim Lincecum would have never pitched for him.

That's OK. I'm sure the Giants don't need your son's pitching coach anyway. They have a real one named Dave Righetti.

06catcherdad, you are correct!
I think this only heightens the discussion that it may be best for some kids to go pro early, where it may be less restrictive(development);whereas, others may be better suited for college. Tim Lincecum seems to have been fortunate to have a college coach that allowed him more latitude with his mechanics than most college coaches of today.

quote:

Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
06catcherdad, you are correct!
I think this only heightens the discussion that it may be best for some kids to go pro early, where it may be less restrictive(development);whereas, others may be better suited for college. Tim Lincecum seems to have been fortunate to have a college coach that allowed him more latitude with his mechanics than most college coaches of today.

Being able to throw strikes at 100 mph has a way of making coaches leave you alone!