ST. LOUIS?The last time Tim Lincecum pitched at Busch Stadium, he was in the middle of the first real slump of his young career.
The alarmists (yes, yours truly) were sounding the worry whistles as Lincecum's ERA soared all the way to 3.72 after he allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 21.
While a 3.72 ERA would mean a career year for many starters, this was Lincecum. He is the Freak, the back-to-back Cy Young winner. But his velocity had dropped to a career-low at around 91 mph and in five of seven starts, he had allowed more hits than innings pitched. Even the San Francisco Giants admitted some concern.
"Anybody that struggles, one way or another, it's going to affect them confidence-wise," Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said then. "Especially in his case because he really hasn't struggled before. Now he's doing it in front of everybody and with all the expectations."
All of the concern about Lincecum, of course, ended long before he won the World Series clincher by three-hitting the Texas Rangers over eight innings. That was his fourth win during a brilliant postseason (one that should have resulted in the World Series MVP).
Including the postseason, Lincecum leads the majors with a 2.20 ERA since last September, and his 14 wins in that span are tied for the major league lead.
"He's like anybody else. In a long season, you go through things like that," Righetti reflected Tuesday, a day before Lincecum's next start at Busch Stadium. "Because he had won the previous two Cy Youngs, the expectations were different. He was just a little bit off.
"He was great down the stretch in the postseason obviously, and it's carried over."
Lincecum has worked at average of seven innings in his first 11 starts, with a 2.22 ERA and a 5-4 record. He has averaged more than a strikeout per inning.
The next time he slumps, there will be at least one fewer whistle-blower.
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