Just a heads up on a stud rookie pitcher making his MLB debut tommorow. (biggest bet)

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Tim Lincecum making his MLB debut in place of the injured Russ Ortiz tommorow.

This guy is going to be the next great stud in baseball.
He has a 101 MPH fastball, with a 4-0 .29 ERA in 4 starts in the minors this season.

Also has a no-hitter to his credit. His stuff is simply unbelievable.

I predict great things for this guy.

Multi Cy Youngs. Maybe even the HOF.

This guy is going to commend -250 status on the moneyline very soon.

Get him right now while he is cheap and unknown.

I will be making my largest wager of the season tommorow with him on the mound.

The guy is polished and ready to go.

This is a big reason why I picked the Giants to go to the world series this season.

Zito
Cain
Lowery
Lincecum

This has the makings of one hell of a pitching staff.

:money8:
 

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How did Lincecum wind up this good?

By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter


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JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Despite being just 6 feet and 170 pounds, Washington's Tim Lincecum has become the Pac-10's top pitcher and one of the nation's top prospects.


JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Tim Lincecum is described by teammates as a "goofy little guy" with unbelievable stuff. His father taught him to use every part of his body when pitching.

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Tim Lincecum lit up a radar gun at 101 mph a couple weeks ago at the University of Washington. He's 6 feet and weighs around 170 pounds. This is not supposed to happen.
Guys who hit 100 are generally overgrown, intimidating, mustachioed beasts. Pitchers around the 6-foot mark dabble around 90 — 95 if they're lucky. And if they're named Tim, it's usually prefaced by Tiny.
Of course, the fact that Lincecum did crack triple digits for UW and that he does have the best breaking ball in college baseball and that he has thrust himself high into the first round of June's draft — the Kansas City Royals are considering him for No. 1 overall — isn't exactly a shock.
Everyone who knows Lincecum long ago stopped trying to explain the unexplainable. As a junior at Liberty High School of Issaquah, Lincecum tried out for the golf team. He had played 27 holes during his entire life. He needed to shoot 40 or under for nine holes to make the team. He shot a 39.
"He's got a little Rain Man in him," says Ken Knutson, his UW baseball coach.
Lincecum knows no limits. He recites lyrics to hundreds of songs from memory. He serenaded sports-radio listeners with a Bobby Brown jam. He cartwheels into a forward flip and does standing back flips, along with dead-on impersonations of characters from "The Lord of the Rings" and "Muppet Babies."
"He's the goofiest kid I know," says Richie Lentz, his teammate.
<!--begin text box-->Friday
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<!--end text box-->The only reason any of this is relevant is Lincecum's right arm, the most dominant in the Pac-10 and maybe all of college baseball. It lacks muscle, packs the power of a shotgun and attracts speculation from scouts, executives and onlookers who wonder how something like this happens.
"I don't know what to tell you," Knutson says. "I've been coaching for almost 25 years, and he's got the best stuff I've ever seen."
"This little guy" dominates
Knutson and Craig Parthemer go all the way back to their days as teammates at Washington in the early 1980s. So when Parthemer suggested Knutson look at the ace pitcher on his summer baseball team, they set up a meeting at the ballpark.
In walked Lincecum, all of 5-8 and 120 pounds as a junior in high school.
"I thought he must have been kidding," Knutson says.
That's the typical reaction, the reason teammates nicknamed Lincecum "freak" and "biscuit" — "always the little horse that could type of deal," Lincecum says.
Same as when future UW teammate Kyle Parker watched Lincecum pitch in the Class 3A semifinals their senior year (Liberty beat Parker's West Valley Yakima team for the state championship). Parker introduced himself before the game. He had heard about the "unreal" breaking ball and the radar-gun-popping fastball, and he saw ...
"This little guy," Parker says. "Kind of goofy. Then he goes out there against O'Dea and carries a no-hitter into the last inning. These days he punches out 15, 16 guys. And that's what's expected now; that's average for him."
That size (or lack thereof) and skill has been a boon for Lincecum and the Huskies. Lincecum got three years of the college experience — he's not planning to return to school next season — and UW got a pitcher that stacks up against the best in conference history, strictly because size matters to big-league scouts.
"If he would have been 6-5, he never would have made it onto campus," Knutson says.
When he did, Lincecum was named Pac-10 pitcher of the year as a freshman, struck out 13 in a win over No. 1 Stanford and earned rave reviews from teammates.
"I've never seen anybody with that stature have that stuff," Lentz says. "I don't think there's been a better pitcher to come through here."
Nor has there been a better season. Lincecum allowed two runs at USC last Friday, the first runs he had allowed in 37-1/3 innings. He won three straight Pac-10 pitcher-of-the-week awards, becoming the first such feted pitcher since Mark Prior of USC in 2001.
Lincecum also shattered the UW strikeout record earlier this season and will break the Pac-10 strikeout record sometime in his final five starts. USC's Rik Currier holds the record of 449, set in four seasons, while Lincecum has 432 in three.
"It's just not an issue for me as far as pro baseball, his size or whatever," Knutson says. "I don't expect him to break down, because of the way he takes care of his body. To think there's some reason he won't have success at the next level, you're just being guarded. If you project out, he's going to be an All-Star, a dominant major-league pitcher."
Born to pitch
When Tim Lincecum says he was "born into baseball," he means so literally. The Lincecum boys were sure to play. And the Lincecum boys were sure to pitch.
Just like Dad. The same guy who hit 88 mph on a radar gun at age 55 a few years back. The kind of guy who doesn't look at pitching as a hobby.
"I learned," father Chris says, "and I turned it into art."
Chris Lincecum learned how to throw a curveball from his uncle and spent the rest of his life perfecting pitches with his father, Leo. When his father died, he longed for the time they spent together on the diamond. That's why he decided to have kids.
Consider son Tim his Sistine Chapel. The boy listened and observed and picked everything up so quickly that his size never mattered. Because that's not where his power comes from.
Most major-league pitchers are strong in the upper body and rely on their shoulders, arms and muscle. Not Lincecum. His mechanics are old school, like Bob Feller or Satchel Paige. He uses a longer windup, a longer stride and leverage to compensate for good, old-fashioned arm strength.
"Everything from my toe to my ear," Lincecum says. "I use it all."
Feet, ankles, knees, hips, chest, shoulders, elbow and then wrist. Each body part in the throwing motion as important as the one before. The key is rhythm and centering the body to the core in the lower back. The idea is to make the body into a whip, relying on the motion and not the arm.
"His arm is kind of along for the ride," his father says. "Nobody goes out there and tries to throw that hard. He's just so fluid. He doesn't force it. He's confident. I don't know what to say. He's freaking scary out there right now."
Lincecum worked with his father since the day he picked up a baseball, and the motion is their creation, evidenced by videotape of nearly every game he ever pitched, hundreds of them stacked inside the family home.
The result is a wide variety of pitches — two different two-seam fastballs; a four-seam fastball that hits 94-98 mph consistently, a 12-to-6 curveball Knutson says is Lincecum's best pitch, another curveball, a slider and a changeup.
Some scouts worry that Lincecum's size and the speed at which he throws make his arm more likely to break down. One said last week that Lincecum goes against everything scouts are taught to look for.
Tim and his father don't agree. Tim works on the small muscles in his body — wrists, elbow, shoulder, lower back, groin, knees and ankles. He stretches like a gymnast for flexibility and doesn't ice unless he's injured.
"I haven't really had any arm problems because of the work we do," Lincecum says. "So I'm not really worried about developing any."
On the first day of fall practice in their freshman year, Lincecum, Lentz and Parker — now known as The Trifecta — were walking to practice. Lentz remembers Lincecum cracking a joke — a big, goofy grin on his face. Lincecum looked backward — and went headfirst into a stop sign.
"About knocked himself out," Lentz said.
After all of it — after learning the art of pitching from his father, after the best season and maybe the best pitching career in UW history, after moving high into the first round of the upcoming draft — those are the stories Lincecum will remember and the reasons he went to school.
Well, that and a cannon of a right arm attached to the body of a math geek. Baseball will always marvel at how Lincecum circumvents the laws of physics, while one professional baseball team will draft him and hope Lincecum can keep circumventing conventional wisdom as well.
"They just don't understand how people that small can do that well," his father says.
The same week Lincecum hit 101 mph on a radar gun, he struck out the first six batters he faced and 14 total in a win over Brigham Young. The Huskies played the game in the pouring rain, and long after it ended, a scout sat in the stands with Chris Lincecum, talking in the downpour.
Maybe then it all made sense.
 

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It's Timmy time.
Giants mega-prospect Tim Lincecum will make his much-anticipated major league debut Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, replacing ailing right-hander Russ Ortiz.
The Giants placed Ortiz on the disabled list Thursday because of an irritated nerve in his right elbow and recalled infielder Kevin Frandsen from Triple-A Fresno. The club will make another roster move to bring up Lincecum, 22, its first-round draft pick last June who is tearing up the Pacific Coast League.
"We're expecting him to make that start (Sunday)," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said.
Sunday's game will be nationally televised on ESPN. It's a perfect showcase for Lincecum, who is 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA and has allowed just 12 hits in 31 innings. In his last start Sunday against Colorado Springs, he struck out 14 in six shutout innings. The outing before that, he was taken out after throwing 6 1/3 hitless innings.
"He's got decent to maybe just above decent stuff," joked Frandsen, who traveled from Fresno on Thursday morning. "I know the hype will be around him. He just has to stay within himself and do his thing. If he does that, I think San Francisco is going to be in for a treat."
Ortiz appears destined for the bullpen if the rest of the rotation remains healthy and Lincecum performs as expected. The veteran said he wasn't concerned about getting his old job back. "I feel I've been throwing the ball well," said Ortiz, who is eligible to
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return May 17. "I have a lot of comfort and security in that."

Ortiz said he felt a burning sensation in his fourth and final inning Tuesday, when he allowed eight earned runs. He wasn't sure if he could have pitched through the discomfort, saying he has never dealt with an arm injury.
"We don't expect him to be out long, but it's important we knock this out right away," Bochy said.
Instead of making his start for Fresno today, Lincecum will work on two extra days of rest. The right-hander threw a side session Thursday, pitching coach Dave Righetti said.
"When he gets here, we'll talk," Righetti said. "He'll be in a whirlwind as it is. I'll just try to make him feel as at home as possible so he can relax. He'll be pumped up. We can't avoid it."
Lincecum, generously listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, gains leverage with an unorthodox delivery that includes a huge stride off the mound. His motion is deceptive to hitters because he keeps the ball hidden and throws with tremendous arm speed.
Lincecum's fastball is consistently in the upper 90s, but his best pitch is a hard curveball. He will oppose young Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who is among the league leaders in strikeouts.
Lincecum was honored as the country's top collegiate player last year at the University of Washington, winning the Golden Spikes award.
As expected, Bochy dropped Omar Vizquel from second to eighth in the lineup. Vizquel didn't balk at the demotion and said his problems are mechanical in nature.
"It has to be technical, no doubt about it," Vizquel said. "I don't feel like I'm swinging the right way."
Bochy hinted that Frandsen would have an extended stay with the club this time, saying it was important that he give more starts to the young infielder. Bochy plans to start Frandsen at second base today.
 

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He has a 100 MPH fastball, but his fastball is only his 2nd best pitch.

He has a deadly curveball that many scouts think has the chance of being the best curve in baseball.

He also has a very strange delievery that hides the ball, which makes his fastball even faster.

MLB teams will need to see him pitch 5 or 6 times just to have a decent chance at him.
 

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He has a 100 MPH fastball, but his fastball is only his 2nd best pitch.

He has a deadly curveball that many scouts think has the chance of being the best curve in baseball.

He also has a very strange delievery that hides the ball, which makes his fastball even faster.

MLB teams will need to see him pitch 5 or 6 times just to have a decent chance at him.



Will this be like Tim Wakefield with his nuckle ball for the Pirates in the early 90's? :pope:
 

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The 12-6 curveball is the sickest. I saw him pitch against USC and people were just in awe.
 

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Biggest wager on a rookie first start on ESPN vs Hamels? wow
 

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Do you own a piece of him, like a racehorse?
 

RX Phenom
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think he's talking about fantasy baseball, to pick him up.....

chop, what happens though in 3 weeks when ortiz comes off the dl? do they ship him back
 

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..

..maybe under is the real bet..??

jmho

gl

:money8:
 

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Everyones heard of him. You think the books would hang a +114. That is basically a stud pitcher already. I'm passing on this game but it is his Major League debut. Giants offense is a joke...Bonds could get the tomorrow night off facing Hamels this line is very very aware of Lincecum.
 

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Everyones heard of him. You think the books would hang a +114. That is basically a stud pitcher already. I'm passing on this game but it is his Major League debut. Giants offense is a joke...Bonds could get the tomorrow night off facing Hamels this line is very very aware of Lincecum.

True. He's only been picked up by about 10,000 people at Yahoo Fantasy baseball and 5 Star picked him up in ours.



<table id="buzzindextable" class="simpletable" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><thead><tr class="headerRow1" valign="bottom"><th class="playersimple first">Player
</th><th class="actiongroup" colspan="2">Action
</th> <th class="stat">Buzz
</th><th class="buzzgraph">
</th><th class="owner last">Owner
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="odd first"><td class="playersimple first">Anibal Sánchez (Fla - SP)</td> <td class="action"> </td> <td class="watch"> </td> <td class="stat">15789 Drops</td> <td class="buzzgraph">
1x1clear.gif

</td> <td class="owner last">FA</td> </tr><tr class="even"><td class="playersimple first">Tim Lincecum (SF - SP)</td> <td class="action"> </td> <td class="watch"> </td> <td class="stat">10064 Adds</td> <td class="buzzgraph">
1x1clear.gif

</td> <td class="owner last">5 Star Bomb®</td> </tr><tr class="odd"><td class="playersimple first">Jason Marquis (ChC - SP)</td> <td class="action"> </td> <td class="watch"> </td> <td class="stat">7933 Adds</td> <td class="buzzgraph">
1x1clear.gif

</td> <td class="owner last">FA</td> </tr><tr class="even"><td class="playersimple first">Mark Hendrickson (LAD - SP,RP)</td> <td class="action"> </td> <td class="watch"> </td> <td class="stat">6340 Adds</td> <td class="buzzgraph">
1x1clear.gif

</td> <td class="owner last">FA</td> </tr><tr class="odd last"><td class="playersimple first">Joe Blanton (Oak - SP)</td> <td class="action"> </td> <td class="watch"> </td> <td class="stat">6016 Adds</td> <td class="buzzgraph">
1x1clear.gif

</td> <td class="owner last">Lloyd Dobler</td></tr></tbody></table>
 

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I know most people have heard of him.

He is still way undervalued. If this game where 3 months from now, the Giants would be at least -160.
 

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The kid has 4 AAA starts, ZERO Major League starts and you are already crowning him -250?

I am not saying that is impossible, but let him prove himself in a major league game, before you crown him with the Cy Young.
 

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The kid has 4 AAA starts, ZERO Major League starts and you are already crowning him -250?

I am not saying that is impossible, but let him prove himself in a major league game, before you crown him with the Cy Young.

I will crown who I want to crown.
 

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