Atomic RoadRunners

Tim Lincecum admitted Saturday that he has felt a bit out of rhythm this spring. Lincecum got in some work on the mound in a minor-league warmup against the Angels on Saturday. The NL Cy Young winner, trying to improve his mechanics, allowed one run on five hits and struck out six in five innings. Although Lincecum has a 3.78 ERA in five regular spring training appearances, he said he still felt a little uncomfortable in his windup. “I can’t emphasize it enough, the rhythm thing,” Lincecum said. “I just haven’t found a consistent track to keep holding onto that rhythm. It’s a little frustrating, but I’m glad I got a little bit more time before the season starts.” Pitching coach Dave Righetti monitored Lincecum’s outing. “When he is in the stretch, he’s a little more comfortable than when he is in the windup,” Righetti said. “It’s something pitchers go through every spring.” San Francisco held Lincecum out of the team’s Cactus League game against San Diego on Saturday because he could face the Padres twice in the first three weeks of the regular season. Lincecum is scheduled to start the first game of the Bay Area series against Oakland on Thursday before facing Milwaukee in the Giants’ regular-season opener April 7 at AT&T Park. Inconsistency is usual for pitchers during spring training, even the best, so don’t worry about Lincecum finding his form. He was a monster last season, leading all of baseball in strikeouts, so consider him one of the elite pitchers in Fantasy, draftable as early as the second round. While a 3.78 spring ERA isn’t bad, it definitely isn’t of the norm for Lincecum. “I can’t emphasize the rhythm thing enough,” he said. “I can’t find a consistent track of finding my rhythm. It’s frustrating, but I feel like I have more time before the season starts.” Lincecum has one minor league game left to figure things out. He might also fit in a few side sessions. (CBS Sports, Rotowire)

Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson are done with Cactus League action this year. There’s simply nothing left to prove. Lincecum will finish with a 3.78 ERA in 16 2/3 innings and the Big Unit will wind up with a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Both starters may pitch in a minor league game before the season starts, but want to avoid major league hitters. “They’re healthy. They’re fine,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. (Rotoworld)

Giants SP Tim Lincecum, the 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner, gave up three doubles and a single while allowing three runs in six innings of work Monday against the Mariners. He issued one walk and recorded one strikeout. “I was in a good rhythm. Not too quick, like I was last time,” said Lincecum, who had been pushed back from a previous start because of the flu. He has a 3.78 ERA this spring. Lincecum led all of baseball in strikeouts last season, so a one-strikeout performance seems unlike him. No need to worry, though. The 24-year-old is a clear Fantasy ace and a top-three starting pitcher. Expect him to go within the first three rounds of any Fantasy draft. (CBS Sports)

Tim Lincecum gave up a first-pitch homer to Alfonso Soriano and it didn’t get much better after that. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner allowed four runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings before the San Francisco Giants recovered for an 8-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in front of a HoHoKam Park spring training-record crowd of 13,024. “It wasn’t a good effort. I’d say that was pretty sub-par for me,” said Lincecum, pitching with a touch of the bronchitis that forced him to be pushed back from a scheduled start Monday. “It was more of an energy issue. It’s hard to get back to 100 percent and get a rhythm.” The Giants ace struggled but was dealing with bronchitis so you can give him a bit of a break. Coming off a Cy Young season in which he led all of baseball in strikeouts, he remains an obvious stud and one of the top three pitchers in Fantasy. (CBS Sports)

Tim Lincecum was scratched from his scheduled start Monday due to the flu. He’s likely to throw in a minor league game on Tuesday in order to stay on schedule. Lincecum may simply pitch a side session instead. “Tomorrow may be a bullpen day,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy after Sunday’s game. “We’ll see where we’re at with Timmy tomorrow.” The 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner has given up just two hits in 9 1/3 scoreless innings this spring. (Rotoworld)

Tim Lincecum got to start against Team Japan on Wednesday and worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Lincecum struck out five and walked three, so his pitch count was rather elevated and he didn’t get to go three full innings. Still, he allowed just one hit. He’s given up two hits in 9 1/3 scoreless innings for the spring. (Rotoworld)

Tim Lincecum cruised through another spring outing Friday, pitching three hitless against the Angels. Lincecum walked one, but he still faced the minimum in the contract. He’s allowed one hit and struck out six in seven scoreless innings this spring. (Rotoworld)

Tim Lincecum threw three perfect innings Sunday in San Francisco’s 5-2 defeat of Milwaukee. Lincecum probably would have been limited to two innings today had he stumbled at all, but as is, he was able to get in three and stay under his pitch count of 35. He struck out two in the contest. (Rotoworld)

“I’m just doing the same thing, going out there trying to be in a better rhythm more and more as I go out there. Rhythm is my key, and I build off that,” said Lincecum. “The plan was for him to go two innings but he was pitching so efficiently he went out for a third,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s throwing great, locating the fastball. Everything is working. He is right on schedule.” (CBS Sports)

Giants SP Tim Lincecum, who went 18-5 last season and led the majors with 265 strikeouts, was pleased with his first spring outing Wednesday at the Indians. He allowed one hit and recorded one strikeout in one inning of work. With Randy Johnson joining the Giants’ staff and Barry Zito already in the rotation, San Francisco has three Cy Young winners. Lincecum said he has already learned under Johnson, who said he didn’t feel he had a great season until he won his fifth Cy Young. “He wants to get better and he showed that,” Lincecum said. “I always want to get better. I’m not just sitting on my butt, hoping everything would be all right. I’m going to do my work and get better, that’s what it takes to be a great player.” Lincecum led the league in strikeouts last year with 265 and defied his 5-foot-11 frame with overpowering stuff. His short stature and 227 innings pitched last year create some cause for concern, but he hasn’t shown any signs of breaking down yet. Consider him a top three Fantasy SP on Draft Day, ranking right alongside CC Sabathia and Johan Santana. (CBS Sports)

According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, Tim Lincecum’s agent is at the Giants’ camp and has already had preliminary discussions about a long-term deal for his client. Lincecum is likely to be a Super Two player, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible four times instead of the standard three. Cole Hamels’ deal could be a model.

Even though Lincecum’s value would go through the roof if he can duplicate his Cy Young season — my guess is he’d command as much as $10 million as a first-year arb guy — Thurman reiterated that he’s definitely interested in negotiating a multiyear contract.

“There’s no doubt a player would like to have an appropriate long-term deal in place,” Thurman said. “In this case it’s a little different because … he’s hard to compare to anybody, really. You have to forecast what the player will do over the next three to six years and look at the salaries that would be appropriate on an annual basis.”

Evans told Thurman he wanted to “look at the landscape” before getting back to him. That might present few clues, though, since Lincecum already owns out-of-this-world accomplishments in relatively little service time.

As for Lincecum’s state of mind, Thurman said, “He’s just interested in playing baseball.”

Protected lists have been submitted, and we’re locked in for the 2009 WBRL Draft.  Here’s who we’re bringing:

• C – Chris Iannetta  (2 / $1)
• 2B – Brandon Phillips  (1 / $16)
• SS – Ryan Theriot  (1 /$1)
• 3B – Chipper Jones  (1 / $23)
• MI – Blake DeWitt  (2 / $5)
• OF – Chase Headley  (2 / $5)
• OF – Jody Gerut  (2 / $5)
• P – Tim Lincecum (1 / $7)
• P – Josh Johnson (2 / $5)
• P – Todd Wellemeyer (2 / $5)
• P – Matt Lindstrom (2 / $10)
• P – Brian Wilson (1 / $10)
• P – Mike Gonzalez (2 / $5)
• 3B – Mat Gamel (3 /$5) (Minors)

Here are the figures:

• Players Protected: 14
• Payroll: $98
• Players Needed: 11
• Available: $162
• Available per Player: $14.73

Also note that the Atomic Roadrunners will have the final selection in the 2nd Round of the Minor League Draft (the 11th pick overall)

With protected rosters due in six days, it’s time to review the options for the 2009 Roadrunners. As I did last season, I’ve broken the list into five groups:

• The No Doubters
• The Almost Automatics
• The Probables
• The Fringe
• Not So Much

These should be self-explanatory. First up, the No Doubters:

Tim Lincecum
1 Year – $7
18 Wins, 2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 265 K’s
Seabiscuit was ridden hard by Manager Bruce Bochy, wrapping up a Cy Young award and an All-Star appearance. He was first in strikeouts, K/9, hits/9, shutouts, and wild pitches. He was 2nd in ERA, Wins, and won-loss percentage. For $7.

Ryan Theriot
1 Year – $1
.307 Average, 85 Runs, 1 HR, 38 RBI, and 22 steals
Theriot again earned his salary with the high average and runs, and 22 steals were nice as well, though he was caught 13 times. Gained 50 points of average to offset 6 fewer steals and 2 fewer homers.

Brandon Phillips
1 Year – $16
.261 Average, 80 Runs, 21 HR, 78 RBI and 23 steals
Considered a “down” year for Phillips, he didn’t match his 2007 30/30 totals, but still was possibly the second-best 2B after Chase Utley. 20/20 is still very nice, but the drop in AVG and batting cleanup are both concerns.

Chris Iannetta
2 Years – $1
.264 Average, 50 Runs, 18 HR, 65 RBI, 0 Steals
Iannetta finally broke-out in his second season, stealing playing time away from the presumptive starter Yorvit Torrealba to start in 104 games. With additional playing time, counting stats should improve, but the average is a problem. Still, for $1, he’s the 4th or 5th-best catcher in the NL.

Josh Johnson
2 Years – $5
7 Wins, 3.61 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 77 K’s
Picked up mid-season as he came back from Tommy John surgery, Johnson went 7-1 in 14 starts, with 77K’s in 87 innings. Better yet, reports indicate that he gained 2-3 mph on his fastball. Very good for $5.

Here’s the latest on the Roadrunners heading into Monday’s Winter Meetings:

• The Cubs are trying to dangle 6th-starter Jason Marquis to whomever is interested. Marquis is nearly expendable, and will be so if the much-rumored Jake Peavy trade ever happens. Of course this could be like the much-rumored Brian Roberts trade from last season, which never happened, either.
• Newly-minted NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum has now changed his tune (or his agent has) and would welcome long-term contract discussions.
• The Rockies are still trying to trade catcher Yorvit Torrealba, now that Chris Iannetta has emerged as the everyday starter. However, Torrealba isn’t slated to have a huge salary in 2009, and is good insurance. Moving Garrett Atkins and Willy Taveras are much higher on the Rockies’ agenda.
• With the Indians seemingly out of the race, the Twins and Dodgers are the front-runners for Casey Blake’s services. It looks as though whomever will offer former Roadrunner a third guaranteed year will get him, and if it’s the Dodgers, that locks Blake DeWitt in at second base.
• Most reports and preliminary depth charts have both Mike Gonzalez in Atlanta and Matt Lindstrom in Florida as the presumptive closers entering 2009. Neither the Braves (focused on rotation and left field) nor the Marlins (focused on cutting costs) seem to be in the market for a closer, so that bodes well for the Roadrunners’ saves totals in 2009.
• If the Padres move 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, Chase Headley will move from left field to 3B.
• The activity of the Reds in the market for outfielders suggests that Chris Dickerson might not be a safe play as a starting OF in 2009.
• Gregor Blanco is being viewed strictly as a 4th OF who can play left and center, as the Braves look for a bopping left fielder. Possible targets that have been mentioned: Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel, Corey Hart or Jeremy Hermida.

Although comments in the past suggested otherwise, agent Rick Thurman said Tim Lincecum hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a long-term deal with the Giants. “I never draw a line in the sand,” he said. “If it’s something they’re interested in pursuing, an appropriate proposal, it’s something we’ll consider. And if not, that’s great, too.” Lincecum believes he can make considerably more going year to year with the Giants. However, if the team’s plan is to continue have him contend for the major league lead in pitches thrown every year, Lincecum might be smart to take the money while he can get it. (Rotoworld)

Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award by a comfortable margin Tuesday, taking home pitching’s highest honor in his second major league season. The slender kid with the whirling windup joined Mike McCormick (1967) as the only San Francisco Giants pitchers to win a Cy Young. Lincecum received 23 of 32 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks got four first-place votes and finished second with 73 points. “I was definitely surprised. I thought it was going to be a lot closer,” Lincecum said on a conference call. Lincecum led the NL in winning percentage (.783), ranked second in ERA and was third with 227 innings.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, tiny by today’s standards for a big league pitcher, Lincecum defied detractors — and the laws of physics — by firing 97 mph fastballs past one hulking slugger after another. The 24-year-old right-hander was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and a major league-best 265 strikeouts, remarkable numbers for a fourth-place team that finished 72-90. “People have been doubting me my whole life,” he said. “I don’t let them bring me down.” Consider him arguably the No. 1 pitcher to target in Fantasy on Draft Day. We keep Johan Santana No. 1 still, because of the top contender with a great offense he pitches for, but Lincecum has a ton of upside and far more strikeout potential.

Webb, the NL winner in 2006, was runner-up for the second consecutive season after going 22-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 226 2/3 innings. Consider him one of the top five Fantasy starting pitchers to target on Draft Day. (CBS Sports)

Here are the results:

Pitcher, Club      1st  2nd  3rd  Points
Tim Lincecum, SF    23   7    1    137
Brandon Webb, AZ     4  15    8     73
Johan Santana, NYM   4   8   11     55
Brad Lidge, PHIL         1    7     10
CC Sabathia, MIL     1   1    1      9
Ryan Dempster, CHI            4      4

Here’s ESPN’s take, featuring a dismissive Peter Gammons, who may be past his prime:

And here’s ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian:

As Jim McLennan over at the AZ Snakepit wrote:

I can’t really argue with the top three, though it seems somebody can – one writer opted to leave Lincecum off his ballot entirely. Mind you, five chose to dump Webb too. I suspect it may have been the same idiot who voted for Sabathia as number one, and likely also for someone who threw less than seventy innings, in Brad Lidge. Lidge threw more innings, with a better ERA and an OBA twenty-four points lower, in 2004, and got only a single third-place vote, because he didn’t have the gaudy saves to show for it.

[Edit. I was wrong. It was actually a former Giants season-ticket holder, Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, whose ballot apparently went Webb, Santana, Lidge. His reasoning was: "I thought Webb's victories (22) stood out to me more than anything, and Lincecum didn't have the victories. Twenty victories was a big deal. We had a stretch there where no one was hitting 20." A mob with pitchforks and torches is leaving San Francisco for Chicago as we speak]

Webb’s second-place could theoretically end up costing the team more money down the road, as the buyout for the team option year (2010) goes up by half a million dollars, each time Webb finishes in the top five for Cy Young voting. With three consecutive top two finishes, the buyout now sits at two million, though it would currently seem like insanity for any team to use that, rather than paying Webb $8.5m to pitch in 2010.