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Linceblog: SF Giants home opener, Zito’s Cy Young Anonymous, and the drama of pre-game ceremonies

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When you’re a fallen, award-winning pitcher, a tad off from greatness, it’s not like you can work things out by going to a Cy Young  Anonymous.

So it’s a good thing Tim Lincecum can savor teammate Barry Zito’s miraculous comeback from the massive albatross known as the $126 million contract.

Zito was a master of craft and timing in leading the Giants to a 1-0 victory in the AT&T 2013 home opener.

 

He  kept  the Cardinal hitters off-balance  in such a way that just when you thought the Cardinals were getting to him, they weren’t — as in Yadier Molina’s towering drive to left that was just west of the foul pole in the fourth inning.  Zito would simply make Molina put the ball in play, and then timely defense saved the day,  in this case, an inning ending 5-4-3 double play courtesy of the reigning heavyweight third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

Once again, it’s the way modern Giants victories are made.

Good pitching, with timely good defense, and timely good bases-on-balls.

That was the Giants’ offense. The team walked all over the Cardinals.

The Giants’ fourth inning was like a Little League special. A Blanco walk, a single from Crawford, a bunt by Zito to load the bases, and then an RBI walk from Pagan.

But Zito, with bullpen help from Affeldt and Romo made it stand.

When it was over, I realized Giants fans have seen Zito do this time and again over the last year, and not just in the post-season when he faced the Cards and shut them down.

Perhaps it was the perception after the big contract, but Zito was considered a pariah for the longest time as he searched for a way to be great again.

But then, in a slow, almost uneventful way, he has built a new resume that is more spectacular than it may have appeared.

Going into the home opener, the Giants have won all of Zito’s last 14 starts, where the lefty went 9-0 with a 3.46 ERA. Make that 15 starts, 10-0. Who knew?  And it all adds up.

It may not have looked like much while it was all happening. But the Cardinals know.

They were Zitoed. Again.

Soon to be 35, Zito is still a young guy compared to Jamie Moyer, who in 2012 was the oldest at age 50 to win an MLB game. Zito has said he’s modeled himself after Moyer, and so maybe Zito is just coming into his real prime.

With baseball, it’s always helpful to go back to kid terms, when the game was really fun. Zito is six years older than Lincecum. That’s  like a junior high kid watching the high-school varsity senior. It’s hard not to imagine Lincecum taking notes as he watches the evolution of Zito.

Like I said,  it’s not like you can get support from a Cy Young Anonymous.

 

Lincecum back in the dugout as Opening Day game begins

 

That was the home opener, but the circumstances of the game were preceded by massive pomp, too.

In this case, the Giants were bringing home the World Series trophy, and raising a championship flag again.

 

Bochy and team blessed by gleam of the World Series trophy

 

 

Sabre me with all the stats and numbers and make it a science all you want, but the game is really about heart and corn.

So while it’s become somewhat fashionable to pooh-pooh a game day celebration (they can’t all have the drama of a Lou Gehrig farewell), I say the Giants do corn as well as anyone.

With the stadium filled with the kind of orchestral music used to spur emotion in bad films, the ceremony began. (Later, Bochy would say the pre-game indeed elicited a few “tears” among  some players).

When the flag came into McCovey Cove on fire boat, I wondered who would raise the flag? Captain Hook? (Or Captain Morgan? Thankfully, no one thought of product placement).

Some  pre-game rumor had it that maybe the flag raiser would be a past player, perhaps a Bonds return?

But the flag raiser(s) would be six veteran members of the team, Lincecum among them.

Lincecum seemed to beam with genuine pride as he jogged to and from centerfield to raise the flag.

That’s why it’s hard to imagine him not being a Giant forever.

 

Giant forever?

 

 

Oddly, two players who were not in the group of flag-raisers were the battery of the day. Zito looked like he was meditating or something on the bull-pen mound as coach Dave Righetti stood by.

 

Celebration? “I’m Barry Z. , and I am a Cy Young winner.”

 

And there was the new face of the team, Buster Posey, putting on the so-called “tools of ignorance” watching but focused on the opener.

 

Posey in pre-game warm up watches the flag-raisers

 

 

Posey gets his due with the MVP ceremony in game two of the series.

See my tweets @emilamok

 

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Linceblog: Tim Lincecum says it’s not a make or break year for him

OK, this is no April Fool’s joke.  Our half-Filipino/true Asian American Major League Baseball superstar, a winner of two Cy Young awards, and two World Series rings, takes the mound against the  Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in his season opener. But he’s no longer the San Francisco Giants best player.  Not even the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best player.

What has happened to Tim Lincecum?

Here was the guy they called the “Franchise,” and for a time he was the “Face,” as he adorned everything from soda cups to ducats. And it was all due to being the improbable athlete with the unusual delivery and the unhittable pitches. Those were also the main reasons he was called the “Freak,” though there were likely other recreational activities that could have earned him that moniker.

But now, the freakishness has normalized for Lincecum, and while still a fan favorite–especially among Filipino Americans–he  is neither “Franchise” nor “Face.” He’s gone from high-test to regular, just like his fast-ball.  And now the question is whether he’s lost the chance to get one of those long-term lockups recently awarded teammates Buster Posey, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner  that essentially make them forever Giants in their prime.

And after all he’s done for the Giants?  I mean, we’re not talking Aubrey Huff here.

After following the Giants as a fan all these years, I’m writing this blog more regularly this season (Call it the Linceblog on Amok.com) because of what Lincecum has meant for the Giants and to the Filipino American community. When there’s a dearth of high-profile Filipino Americans in anything, a star baseball player does more than you think to a community’s self-esteem. His troubles on the mound make this a critical year for Lincecum watchers. It’s hard to imagine him not being a Giant for life.

In the clubhouse after his last pre-season start against Oakland at AT&T Park, I got a chance to ask him about the start of the season.

What you notice about Lincecum is that while he’s often referred to as “short” at 5-feet-11 inches, he’s tall for a half-Filipino guy, though still fairly slight. He’s also more pensive and thoughtful in his answers than most jocks.

I didn’t want to ask him if he regrets not taking the big payday when it was in front of him (reportedly a five-year $100 million dollar deal after 2011).  Instead,  he signed a two-year $40.5 million deal (that still puts him in the top ten among all baseball stars), and makes him a free agent at the end of this year.

But he may not be in position to command $15 million, let alone $20 million a year, unless his performance dramatically improves.

So I asked him as the season begins,  if this was a “make or break year” for him:

“Not really, that concern is the last worry, the last emotion on my mind, it’s more excitement and obviously ..ah.. conviction. This year is going to be a big, big year for me, but I don’t look at it as a make or break year, I look at it as an opportunity to make myself better and come out at the end of the season on top.

“You never want to take a negative approach to anything in baseball or anything in this profession, so just to be able to stay positive after coming off a rough year last year is good for me. I’m carrying all the positives I can into this year.”

The positives are the relief performances in the post-season last year. And maybe even the flashes he showed last week against the A’s. Forget about having an ERA that was the highest in the Majors for any active starter. Forget about a Spring training shortened by blister and an ERA over 10. The guy’s  staying optimistic, and he’s certainly not thinking about things like the deal that goat away.

This week in Los Angeles, CSN Bay Area Andrew Baggarly asked him more directly about why he turned down the big deal contract. Once again, Lincecum showed he’s slightly different than your basic capitalistic jock.

“It was a time where I was in my life, I wasn’t exactly ready to commit that kind of time over something that I was still learning about, by that meaning just being in this business of baseball,” Lincecum told Baggarly, then expounded further. “It’s hard for me personally to just commit years of my life ahead of time. What I’m focusing on is what I want to do now. I just don’t want to get ahead of myself.

“I’ve never been a guy who thinks too far ahead with my future. I think I’ve made that clear with my contracts. I’m still that same guy. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a Giant any less or anything like that. I just like to see where I am at the end of the year.”

So Lincecum is positive and he’s motivated.  It’s the kind of thing that helps star performers elevate their game. We’ll see if that happens this year. But if Lincecum performs like he did early on in that game against the A’s last week, the Giants could win the rubber match in this opening series against the Dodger.

Lincecum looked sharp the first three innings of that Bay Bridge Series exhibition game. He started with a nine-pitch first inning that ended with slugger Yoenis Cespedes striking out swinging on three pitches.

It was kind of the ideal Lincecum inning: A flyout, a  single, a great defensive play by Crawford to get a second out, and the big K.  If all his innings this year are like that, it would definitely mark a return to form.

The next two innings were almost as good with a nine- pitch duel against Josh Donaldson that ended with a strikeout in the second. And there was another defensive gem by Crawford.

At one point Lincecum was 20 strikes for his first 24 pitches with his fastball working the best.  He said he was just throwing what catcher Buster Posey was calling for. But then admitted afterwards he was getting a little “change-up happy.”

In the fourth inning , the second time through the line-up, the A’s caught up with Lincecum including Cespedes who homered a 2-1 pitch. Lincecum fought back and struck out the next hitter (BrandonMoss), and got the tough  Donaldson out on a fly. But his elusiveness was gone, and control became an issue. By the time Lincecum was around 70 pitches in the fifth, he was done for the night.

That has been the typical arc of a Lincecum game (with or without a pitch limit). It‘s also the reason why he’s gone from “The Franchise,” to “The Concern.”

We won’t talk yet whether the future for Lincecum is as a middle reliever. That for sure would be a shock to his bank account. 

But if Lincecum wants to remain in people’s eyes as an effective, if not dominating starter, he needs more strong innings like that first one against the A’s.

That will go a long way to end a sense that at the start of this new season he’s one of  the Giants’ biggest question marks in 2013.

 

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Matt Cain was great, but my dad and I had our own perfect SF Giants game just before Father’s Day, 1978

I had tickets for Wednesday night, but my cousin and nephew used them. Just my luck to miss history.

I was always planning to go today, Thursday, June 14th. It’s a day game and matched the circumstances of a game  I attended with my dad in 1978.

That day was far from perfect.

But the baseball, and all that baseball can do for a father and son was perfect.

On top of that, the Giants won. What more could I ask for?  

And then life ended. No need for extra innings.

My dad went out a winner.

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It is now 9-12. Back to the diversions…the NFL, the dying SF Giants, and coming to the aid of a real charity– “Kate plus 8”

Yesterday was appropriately somber.

Let’s see if we can keep up the memory of 9-11 long enough to let the spirit of unity seep into all the things that polarize us and keep us a part…at least politically.

http://aaldef.org/blog/taking-the-leap-the-horror-and-the-love-of-911.html

Yesterday, the diversions came back. Football was an escape—from baseball. My SF Giants won, but they’re on an egg-timer running out of sand.  Attention turns to the gridiron.  Hey what about that Cam Newton? People doubted his smarts. The guy is the real deal.  The 49ers win, but not because of Alex Smith. Ted Ginn Jr., take a bow. The Jets come to life on a Reavis INT. Hey what about that Cam Newton?

The morning news tries to revive American Jobs Act in the news cycle. I think Obama should have added reality TV stars to the list right after teacher layoffs.

Did you see poor Kate Gosselin on “The Today Show”?  Her shows being cancelled tonight and she’s out of a job. Boo-hoo.

Pathetic.  It may as well be a job interview.

The gal had the gall to dis her ex- who said it’s good that the kids could have a normal life. Instead of seconding the thought, Kate rails on about how John wants a “mediocre” life for his kids, and how going back to “normal” is cruel and unusual for the now reality TV addicted Kate and family.

I felt sad for the hapa kids who now have a media mother who has been sucked into the consumer culture big time. Reality is no longer good enough. Only the fake world  satisfies. 

Maybe we can find her a half-way house, a show on local cable. Or maybe a YOUTUBE channel.

The best idea to avoid John’s idea of “mediocre,” is to pimp herself and the kids out to a “mediocre” reality show. Since interracial forays are her thing, maybe she can hook-up with FlavaFlav and his big clock on BET? Or maybe Erik Estrada or George Lopez would like to do something with her on Telemundo. Or maybe she can have celebrity babysitters. The Kardashians? All of them.

But I think it’s sad for the half-Asian kids.

Their lives could use a different kind of Tiger Mom.