Timmy The Kid
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by user Moritz Wollert
No need to worry Giants fans, Sheriff Pat Garrett is now dead for almost a hundred years (may he rest in peace). He was the man who shot the legendary Billy The Kid from behind in 1881 and later made him famous with his sensastionalistic biography.
Today, there is no Sheriff Garrett who could wind up shooting San Francisco Giants rookie Tim "Timmy The Kid" Lincecum... Lincecum (23) is a legend himself already. Not for his 3-2 record or his 4.64 ERA in his first major league season. No, it's all the stories surrounding him, that he never ices his arm (even though many pitchers don't do that, according to Lincecum himself), people rave about his upper-90s fastball that has the velocity of an old western rifle, his hard breaking curveball, they talk about his herky jerky delivery and about the fact that at 5-11 and 170 pounds he looks more like a high school kid than a big league power pitcher. The young guy from Bellevue, Washington, has also been confronted with all kinds of controversy since many so called experts figured it's only a matter of time when Lincecum's all out delivery will take it's toe to the smallish body. But the one thing that truly amazes me about Tim Lincecum is his mentality and the character of his game. He is the prototypical strikeout pitcher with the mentality of an old western gunslinger... like Billy The Kid...
I just can't help myself, when I see the former University of Washington star, but he just would fit right in with a lot of those classic old western movies. His career already is stuffed with myths and sayings about how dangerous this new outlaw is. Fittingly, Lincecum actually is a big movie fan: "Yeah, I'm a movie guy. I remember a lot of stuff from movies like quotes, lyrics of the soundtrack and all that." He even made a movie remark in propably one of the most terrifying moments a pitcher can have in his life. In 2005, in the Cape Cod League, Lincecum got struck by a line drive in the back of the head. As he was checked out and brought away on a stretcher, he said: "Be careful, I'm worth a million dollars."
Ok, which movie?!?
Right, "Any Given Sunday" with Al Pacino and the quoted Lawrence Taylor...
Yeah, I guess you could say that this Lincecum kid is a little different. If you look up his wikipedia article, it says that he does backflips and walks around on his hands. Ohh k...
But let's rather call him special or unique. It matches his game more than anything else...
Back to our thought of the Western stars. Wouldn't he fit right in next to, let's say, John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. "Look, there comes Timmy The Kid, the guy who's fastball blows by you quicker than you can watch from his toes to his cap." Or for our younger readers, he could also be a hero in a Lucky Luke comic, like "He pitches quicker than his shadow."
Even though Lincecum looks a bit more like Joe Dalton because of his size...
However you wanna call him or whatever legend about Timmy The Kid you might believe or tell your son, Lincecum to me would be primed for the role of a Hollywood outlaw. He is already thriving in the never ending duel between batter and pitcher. His starts are highly entertaining and fun to watch. He is a presence on the mound unlike many guys out there. As a matter of fact, he could have already starred in a few classic western movies. Here's a little list of films Tim could have participated in...
The Magnificent Seven: Last night Lincecum had arguably his best performance in the big leagues so far. He went seven magnificent innings in a 13-0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowed only 3 hits and struck out 12. His dominant performance earned him high praise from teammates and opponents. Barry Bonds, somehow a historic figure himself, congratulated No.55: "It's something that's expected. He has the talent and the ability." D'backs outfielder Eric Byrnes chimed in with Barry: "Man, he's got good stuff. His fastball moves like crazy, then he has the good curve and a change. He was just lights out today." And Lincecum didn't even need the help of Steve McQueen, James Coburn or Charles Bronson for it. Yul Brunner should take a page out of Timmy's book...
High Noon: Mabye the San Francisco Giants should consider to reschedule his starts on the weekend at noon. Ahh we don't care what the MLB says, it's entertainment. Imagine the picture of let's say the gang of Cubs slugging outlaws, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Cliff Floyd waiting at the train station for Derrek Lee... and then they head to AT&T Park to the music of Dimitri Tiomkin... just awesome.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Well, Tim Lincecum is obviously pretty good. So he takes the role of Clint Eastwood in this incredible western classic. The bad... well, Timmy The Kid can make opposing batters look pretty bad at the plate. Just ask the teams he has faced. The Ugly? What do you call swings that look helpless and awful against a jawdropping curve or a 98 mph fastball? Exactly... ugly.
Hang Em' High: Not exactly a classic but can't you imagine opposing hitters sometimes thinking that they would like to hang the pitcher who just struck them out... Lincecum will cause a few nightmares and bad wishes from opponents in his career.
For A Few Dollars More: Of course this is a far look in the future but I guess it is safe to say that one day Lincecum will face a big payday. He already got the highest ever signing bonus (over 2 million) for an amateur player ever in the Giants organization prior to Angel Villalona. I guess it is safe to say that when his contract is up, the Giants or any other team will have to lay a bit more on the table than "A Fistful Of Dollars"...
Alright, maybe this whole movie idea is a little bit crazy. But still fun...
Maybe we just give Tim Lincecum a baseball, a cap and let him go to work. He still has ways to go as a pitcher but at 23 years of age, he has the time to develop. Expectations are certainly high for him as manager Bruce Bochy explains: "I don't want to jinx him but I think that kid has the stuff to not only throw a no hitter but more than one. He just has the stuff you don't see very often."
We should just continue to watch this kid and see him grow in front of our eyes. He may soon become on of the premier strikeout gunslingers in the majors. This kid, no matter how you turn it and barrying injuries, has a great future.
In 50 years we may look back on these days like we look back at great western movies from the past and remember how Tim Lincecum's career started and how we witnessed it... in San Francisco...
..."Once Upon A Time In The (NL) West"...
