Rosenthal: Lincecum searching for Freak of old

Jeez…this makes it sound as if Tim is almost at a replacement’s level.

That’s what he did Monday, but it was, in Lincecum’s own words, “the definition of battling.” Oh, Lincecum struck out eight, four swinging, on 89-90 mph fastballs. He actually threw 66 percent fastballs, the most he could remember throwing in a game.

As for his lower velocities, Lincecum said he is fine pitching that way as long as he gets results, reasoning, “The hitters will tell you. Some guys throw 88 and it looks like 95. Some guys throw 95 and it doesn’t look as hard.”

True enough, but can you imagine the old Tim Lincecum saying that?

The old Tim Lincecum averaged 94 mph with his fastball in 2008, according to Fangraphs.com, declined to 92.4 and 91.2 in ’09 and ’10, then rebounded to 92.2 last season.

The current Tim Lincecum still possesses excellent breaking stuff, but one rival executive said the pitcher’s changeup and curveball lose effectiveness when they are thrown at speeds closer to his fastball.

“The secondary pitches, he still has ’em,” the executive said. “But they’re not as good now because he doesn’t have 95. There was a big gap between his fastball and changeup. Now, there is not much separation. It all kind of looks the same.”