The Giants make an odd move
The Giants have called up pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner. Is this evidence that (a) Brad Penny really wasn’t the answer; (b) evidence that Brian Sabean thinks he has his own David Price v.2008 on his hand; (c) evidence that the Giants are throwing in the towel in an effort to get the future some innings; or (d) something else I’m simply not aware of because I don’t follow the Giants too closely and have been out of town and away from the Internet for a few days? It just strikes me that he doesn’t have a slot, and given how young he is, it may be best to rest his arm.
Competing theories appreciated.
Boost attendance for a few nights in September?
Well, for one thing, Madison Bumgarner is really good. For another, you can say what you will about the Giants, but drafting and developing pitchers is clearly one of their strengths as an organization. Whatever their specific motives are, they must think he’s ready. I don’t really question that, and I expect Bumgarner to pitch well.
Craig, they called him up to start tonight because Lincecum has a sore back.
So theory D is the correct answer. Not because you’ve been gone though, this came up just this evening.
e. It is safe to bring him up now and avoid any major service time issues. That said, the guy is a future stud and it is obvious that the future is now. Over at http://www.mlbfantasyprospects.com, we’re counting down our Top 25 for 2010. You’ll be seeing his name there soon.
I hope Lincecum is okay and doesn’t have an achy, breaky…..back
Or, maybe the dude just has a bit of a sore back and he’ll be fine in a few days.
I get them myself from time to time, and I can assure you it has nothing to do with my motion.
MJ – Yes, I love his motion, and I think it will be a huge asset to him and other pitchers in the long haul. However, if there was one thing that worried me about his motion, it’s the back.
Not saying I’m worried about it, just that it’s the most troubling spot.
Hilarie – Exactly. The back is really, really tricky.
Bumgarner’s already a top-flight prospect, and while he appears to have more or less maintained his performance from last year, his peripherals have dropped considerably.
He’s 12-2 with a 1.85 ERA in A+ and AA this year, after going 15-3, 1.46 in the Sally League last year, but his walk rate has essentially doubled and his strikeout rate is about 60% of what it was last year. You expect some drop-off as a guy levels up, and Bumgarner is still plenty good and plenty young, but he’s not nearly as dominant as he was, despite the gaudy W-L and ERA numbers.
Giants play tonight and tomorrow vs. SD, then a day off, then LA/COL/LA nine games in the next ten days. Me thinks they’re just saving Lincecum for those games, and that he starts Friday night against the Dodgers.
But why did they bring up Posey so he can collect ML-dust on the pine? Because Molina is such a piscute of health (and speed)? Becuase Whiteside is auditioning for the next 5 years of “Backstop Journeyman”? This franchise confuses the hell out of me.
Piscute? Uh, picture.
Maybe Brian Sabean just couldn’t pass up the Amish awesomeness of the name “Madison Bumgarner”. I want that guy in the majors for the next 25 years PLEASE!
Madison Bumgarner is a fantastic baseball name.
Start tongues wagging on Lincecum’s motion and/or pitch counts. Nonsense. But a couple days rest seems good considering that an extra day before his last start saw Ks and velocity up again after a small dip previous two.
Hilarie – typically, I agree with you. However, the way he appears to use his back in the windup makes it the one part of his body that I worry about soreness or injury, for him.
I’ve got some pretty radical Koufax backwards-bending photos around here somewhere. Yet arthritis in the elbow brought him down, not back pain.
Of course, it’s true, with backs you never know. Maybe Tim helped move a table and kinda twisted the wrong way. Maybe on the flight back cold air funneled down his back. I personally know both those kinds of thing can make you wake up with weird crippling stiff pain, and no doctor can tell you how to make it go away faster than it decides to.
The best description of Lincecum’s motion is efficient as opposed to super-duper bendy. So I am doubtful that the motion he’s used since high school is a likely culprit. I forget where I recently read an interview with the 5’7” 155 lb Blue Jays pitcher where he defended his approach. Probably THT. But I was surprised not to see the word “Lincecum” anywhere in the post. Martial arts people can prove that body mass isn’t everything when it comes to power flying out of a fist or hand, and you don’t risk your discs learning how.
Lincecum’s motion is fine, pitch count maybe another story. Here’s a phenomenal bit about his mechanics with a lot of technical info from Rick Peterson and Co.