Talkin' Baseball: Chris Lincecum, Trade Deadline, & Joe Maddon Uber Love

49er16: Remember last week how we talked about how we haven't heard much from Chris Lincecum lately? Well we were a few days ahead of ourselves. Chris Lincecum unloaded on everyone for Timmy's problems.

The Colonel: I saw that and laughed. I like how Chris Lincecum blamed the fans. In my opinion the fans have gave Tim more leash than they would give to anyone else who's played in San Francisco.

49er16: Oh the fans have been more than patient with Tim, but I think it's because we're all still in shock over how bad he's been playing.

The Colonel: Oh it's definitely been shocking. I was more shocked that Chris Lincecum didn't say Tim wouldn't be having problems right now if he was still hovering over Tim.

49er16: I give Timmy credit there. He's cut the cord from Chris and is willing to listen to Rags and the Giants coaching staff. He wouldn't do this a few years ago.

The Colonel: After a disastrous first inning, Lincecum settled down on Friday night and looked like the old Timmy again. So once again he was done in by one bad inning. That's been the theme with him this year. Everything goes downhill for him in one inning like an avalanche and then he's fine. It would be great to see some consistency.

49er16: I hope he finds it fast because ugly Zito has showed up.

The Colonel: The way Zito is pitching right now is why I never grabbed a hold of the bandwagon. He started the 2010 season great and by the end of the year he wasn't even on the postseason roster. He's another one who is way too inconsistent.

49er16: Thank goodness for Vogelsong continuing to pitch well, right?


The Colonel: The trade deadline is still a month away and people are talking trade rumors. This is insane right? Most trades never take place until right until the deadline. Hell most teams don't know if they're buyers or sellers yet because we still have a lot of teams treading water between division contender and basement dweller.

49er16: Remember last year when the Pirates thought they were buyers and still finished the year with a losing record? Yeah trade rumors right now are dumb. We're not even to the All-Star break yet and like you said there are too many teams who don't know yet if they're buyers or sellers.

The Colonel: Who are the sellers right now? The Cubs, Padres, Rockies, and Twins for sure. Then you have possible sellers like Boston and Philadelphia? And I don't buy the Red Sox or Phillies are buyers. The Red Sox aren't that many games out of first and the Phillies are in that weird spot the Giants were in when they had Bonds. They can't be sellers because they have too many guys who are at the the middle or end of their careers so they can't go into full on rebuild mode.

49er16: Yeah the Phillies are in a weird spot. Can't rebuild because they still have great pitching and can't sell because they have too many guys with bad contracts that are injured. They're going to have to write off this year because I just don't see them winning the division or wild card this year.


The Colonel: Too many teams in front of them, too much inconsistency from their players, too much age. But do they deal Hamels?

49er16: I think they'll only deal Hamels if they can get a Godfather offer for him. That's the only way they'll trade him and even then maybe they won't deal him.

The Colonel: Everyone is saying Hamels will go to Los Angeles in free agency. WHY CAN'T THE MCCOURTS OWN THE DODGERS FOREVER????

49er16: That would be great if the McCourts owned the Dodgers forever but God hates us.

The Colonel: Are you still on the Pirates bandwagon? They're a game out and took 2 out of 3 from Detroit this weekend!

49er16: Of course I am. If there's a perennial bad team having a good year I'm jumping on that bandwagon. I don't understand how the Pirates are playing this well, but that's probably a bad indicator for them the rest of the season. If you look at the stats only McCutchen and Alvarez are giving the Pirates real production while more of their pitchers have BABIP on their side.

The Colonel: The Pirates are basically having the same season as last year. Surprising beginning, most likely outcome at the end. My guess is they'll have one bad series (maybe this one upcoming with Philly) and then they'll slip down the standings and finish behind Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

49er16: I'm not jumping off that bandwagon though until they go into a 10-game losing streak!

The Colonel: May the Tekulve be with you.

49er16: Did you see the AL won the Interleague matchup again? I'm looking forward to the NL vs. AL year around now.

The Colonel: Yeah the Giants weren't exactly stellar in Interleague. I know we've pounded this topic hard but if there's one thing I cannot stand about Interleague is how freaking long the games take.

49er16: Both leagues play to their strengths and the American League's strength is hitting. I noticed AL hitters take more pitches and generally make the opposing pitcher work harder. This makes the game longer because then you have pitching changes.

The Colonel: I'm personally looking forward to 5 hour NL games in the future when Selig makes the DH legal in the National League in a couple of years. And you know it's coming.

49er16: Oh I know. Whatever Selig can do to distract people from the fact the league needs to expand instant replay he'll do it. I'm sure there will be also a contingent of NL fans who'll love the move because that takes a lot of decisions out of the managers hands. I personally don't want to see it. NL baseball is real life chess while AL baseball is real life Hungry Hungry Hippos.

The Colonel: Joe Maddon of course is playing some super complex game that's even harder than chess according to Sabermetrics writers.

49er16: The sabermetrics writers love for Maddon can only be equaled to the Peter King-mainstream media love for the Hoodie. Maddon batted Matsui in the cleanup spot in the first game of the doubleheader yesterday. I'm sure there was some Sabermetrics writer screaming, "BOY THAT MADDON SURE IS A GENIUS!"

The Colonel: I honestly believe the love that Maddon receives is the reason he's shooting off his mouth lately. Hell I would be a condescending jerk as well if I had my rear end kissed as much as him.

49er16: The love he receives and his condescension are reasons why I've went the other way on him. Couple of years ago I loved him myself, but not anymore.

The Colonel: Well as you said, he's getting his butt kissed just like the Hoodie. Myself I always respected that fact he's not afraid to take chances and to think outside of the box, but I was always dubious to the dumb outfits he has the players wear or what color he dyes his hair. If you need to dress in all plaid to get motivated then maybe you shouldn't play professional sports.

49er16: Well said. See you at the Cantina for Dodgers-Giants.