THE LINCECUM FAN STRUGGLE

Wow!  There is a lot of opinion on that Tim Lincecum story I put out yesterday.  I'm not getting heat, but I am getting really good dialog.  Look, people have mixed feelings about Tim Lincecum, but I just don't see what the others see.  You know what I see? I see the Yankees with 2 starters, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova and then... a big hole. I also see Tim Lincecum being available.  We all know that the days of the "Phil Hughes experiment" are over and the Yankees are about to dump big money into Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.  But then what? Do we see if Michael Pineda has the "stuff" and throw in David Phelps for good measure? Yes, it could prove to be a genius situation, this is true... but what if it's a disaster?  The Yankees won't take chances after a 4th place season.  They are terrified of losing their fan base and they will now go out and what "big names", much like they did in 2009.

I posted HEY YANKS... GO GET LINCECUM! and it all started.  "Why? What would you do that for? The guy's a loser, a pothead. He's half the man that Mike Mussina is... what's wrong with you?"  Well, I don't mind the criticism. What I do mind is if you're gonna criticize and not bring anything to the table, then you need to be quiet.  I hate that. Now, luckily, this is Bleeding Yankee Blue and we have some of the smartest, "in tune" readers out there.  I had some good dialog over the past 24 hours and I wanted to share just a few of the other options. Some is very entertaining. This comes from our readers, but I wanted you to check it out. Oh, and no matter what, we're family here... don't go ripping on these opinions. All opinions matter when it comes to our 4th place Yankees. Check it out:

"My issue with Timmy, is I think he is sort of a mutant version of Mike Mussina. But you are right about him being a good upgrade over Hughes." 

--Johnny S

Good comment. Not harsh and not only that, I see the point. But wait... didn't Yankeeland love Mike Mussina? Suddenly now we don't? I don't get it.   But there's more. This exchange comes from a guy named John. This dialog between me and him is very good.  I wanted you to read it:

John: "No! Tokin' Timmy is in decline, and would look like the return of Phil Hughes in Homer Happy Yankee Stadium. No, No, NO!"

Casey: "Decline? Negative. Change of scenery. Yankeeland should embrace him. Hughes never learned how to pitch. Tim knows how."

John: "Decline. Too big a headcase-slash- flake. It would be like AJ Burnett all over again in the NYC pressure cooker. Just fewer tattoos and smashed in windows."

Casey: "I'd happily take my chances. I guess you know for a fact that he's (Lincecum) a headcase and flake...or do you just like to openly damage a person's integrity and reputation?  Don't name call unless you know. That's a bad habit. My opinion."

John: "Would you agree AJ could not handle the pressures of being part of the Yankees? (And FYI, I live in The Bay Area, and have followed Mr. Lincecum's activities and actions quite closely.) I speak of his abilities and maturity to handle failures. He has, maybe had, raw talent. It is in decline. He's not handling it professionally. He would NOT meld with the Yanks."

Casey: "There is 1 problem with your argument. Burnett was never an ace before he came to NYC. In fact, he only had 1 real good season and was hurt when he was a Marlin in the WS. LINCECUM was an ace and will be an ace again. Oh yeah and he's young. There's no comparison. Same with Hughes. The Yankees jerked this guy around and never learned to pitch like a starter properly in the farm system. They ruined him. Google Bill Masse and Bleeding Yankee Blue. Again... if AJ, Hughes and Lincecum are in a lineup... I go with "The Freak" hands down."

Then... it stopped.  That was followed up by Johnny S. who came back and went further from his earlier comment. Check it out:

Johnny S: "The Astros would trade with the Yankees in a heartbeat."

Casey: "Make a match up. Hit me."

(In Photo: Brett Oberholtzer)

Johnny S: "Jose Altuve, Brett Oberholtzer for Joba and one of the B's."

Casey: "Don't we need some battle tested pitching? Right now we have 2 starters."

Johnny S: "No what the Yankees need is a good ol' fashion gamble for the next Strasburg."

Casey: "I like rolling the dice like anyone, but not after a fourth place season. Yankee brass won't be embarrassed two years in a row and they're not thinking like you... but I like the balls you have."

Johnny S: "I was taking a page from Moneyball heh, but thanks though."

Casey: "I hate Moneyball. But I appreciate that."

I liked this dialog a lot.  There's 1 problem. In my scenario of "getting pitching", I was offered a second baseman in Altuve and a 1 year pitcher for Joba and perhaps Dellin Betances.  Doesn't seem to fair to me. Anyway...here's another one, who agrees with me..thank God:

"HAS to be someplace for him in their rotation."

That comes from yet, ANOTHER John, my buddy.  We often agree, and I'm glad he was on my side.

So what's my point? Dialog. There's a ton of name calling out there and no solutions.  Tim Lincecum is a good pitcher.  He's 29 years old.  Sure, since 2011, he can't get past 10 wins, but clearly that's a mechanical thing and it can be corrected because he's young.  Furthermore, all I'm saying is, the Yankees don't have much right now, but could, if they threw Lincecum in the mix. I love the critics that already know Lincecum's fate in the Bronx, without actually knowing.  It makes no sense.

I learned my lesson from that when I criticized Hiroki Kuroda before the Yankees signed him. Kuroda became a big fish in the Bronx and it was one of the smartest, most underrated signings of the past 2 years for the Bombers.  Luckily for us, Johnny S. engaged me... he peaked my interest, but I respectfully disagreed with him, but at least he's thinking outside of the box. You have to respect that.

So what have you learned here?  I like solutions, not criticism, followed by you vanishing after calling someone a pothead.  That dialog doesn't rise and it surely doesn't offer a good dialog.  If BYB puts a scenario out... spar with us, but don't name call... it gets us nowhere.  We're a Yankee family... we're brainstorming... we want a good starting rotation. I believe Timmy is a great fit... that's all!

I appreciate all our readers, you're the best!  I just wanted to get that off my chest. 

Enjoy your Saturday. 

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