Sickels: Not a Rookie: Tim Lincecum

Or as Mad Dog Russo once said…“But the Giants got this kid Linkcrum in the minors, Mikey!”  Good job by me.

First off, his size. Some people worry that he’s not a huge guy, being just 5-11 and 170 pounds officially. Personally I don’t really care about that. I’m more impressed by the fact that he’s incredibly athletic. I’ve always felt the whole short right-hander thing was overemphasized by some people, and in the case of guys like Pedro Martinez or Greg Maddux or Roy Oswalt, the premium athleticism and wiry strength is much more important than the lack of height. In this regard Lincecum reminds me of someone like Bob Feller, who wasn’t a big guy at all in terms of height, but was so athletic and strong that it didn’t matter. Note that “strong” in this sense is not the same thing as just bulk muscle. It’s the combination of strength and flexibility that I’m talking about. I think Lincecum has that.

Best Case Scenario: Hall of Fame type talent (Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens)
Medium Case Scenario: Very good at times but perhaps erratic or injury prone (Kerry Wood, Tom Gordon, Steve Blass)
Worst Case Scenario: Gets hurt and/or immediate control collapse (Paul Moskau, Balor Moore, etc.)