who would you say came in with the larger legend?

Cole Hamels had a cooler website, but Lincecum is spoken of in reverential terms and is spoken of in Koufaxian terms.

Go Cole! is all I can say.

i'd probably give hamels the nod because of the website... "tim the enchanter" is a catchy nickname though.

on principle though, giants shouldn't be allowed to be compared to the immortal sandy k.

I liked the Saint Timothy suggestion on minorleagueball.com

What manner of man are you that you can summon up fire without flint or tinder?

Lincecum reminds me of Jonathon Broxton, but he is 140 pounds less heavy.

Chuck Norris once played 18 holes of golf and shot a 17. He lost to Cole Hamels, who shot a -4.

www.ColeHamelsFacts.com

I don't care what Lincecum does, Joey Hamilton is the prospect story of the 21st century. If he takes out a light tower I wouldnt' be shocked.

After scouring The Google, I'm prepared to guess you mean Josh Hamilton.

Bottom line: John Kruk was not meant to wear a suit

I'm excited. Am I destined for a letdown?

Barry Bonds isn't even starting. Why all this hullabaloo?

Was it Kruk that said Adam Ethier? (And also suggested that he and Pierre were responsible for a porous defense?)

Wow Lincecum looks like a little leaguer.

Cole Hamels is so inspiring, that on days he pitches Pat Burrell only strikes out twice.

97?

It's the SF gun, but he's 96-97-96-95 in the first AB. Not too shabby.

lincecum has a career WHIP of infinity :)

Yes his windup definitely looks like Kevin Brown to me, except maybe 5 inches and 50 pounds smaller...

ERA, too.

And Shane-O trying to hit one to Hawaii, good start Phils!

Yeah, Joe Morgan. It was the wind. The wind is probably what made the ball go directly down the middle, belt high, too.

Utley strikes out 1 out of 6 times at bat.

23 Hey, he said he thought it was just going over the outfielder's head, he just did not say that he thought it was going over the wall.

Bhsportsguy is a soothsayer.

Howard strikes out 2 out of 5 times at bat.

I'm torn. I have Lincecum, Hamels, and Victorino on my fantasy team...

I think it will be sometime before he throws an off-speed pitch with two strikes on the batter.

2007 Ryan Howard seems like he strikes out about 4 of every 5 times at bat...the bum...

Burrell strikes out 1 out of 4 times at bat.

[30] yeah, maybe they can trade him to the yankees for nothing too :P

30 38 times in 92 at bats (120 plate appearances with his 28 walks)

It looks like his fastball has a bit of two seam movement.

Lincecum should be a dodger!

Do the Giants just have a full set of scoreboard letters for when they change the name of the ballpark every other year?

Here comes COLE!!

Rowand was also a 1 out of 6 at bat strike out guy.

35 Instead of Kershaw?

Is there any chance Kershaw will be better than Lincecum? I guess it's hard to say?

Cole Hamels loves freedom and democracy so much that he gets offended when people call him King Cole.

38

i dont know, im torn. what i do know is that the giants should had no chance to even sniff lincecum at 10.

I didn't realize Hamels only throws upper 80's.

39 There's a pretty good chance he won't give up a homer to the second batter he faces, other than that, you'll have to check in 2009 (maybe late 2008, if Kershaw somehow makes AA this year)

42

Hamels is like a better Randy Wolf and instead of a curve its a change up.

This is so hard to root for Lincecum since he is a Giant.

Cole Hamels' fastball actually goes 4,102 MPH, but the radar gun can only hold the last three digits.

[42] his FB is low 90s i thought.

[46] i thought his fastball is so fast that it actually gets there before hamels even lets go.

Hamels last pitch was 92.

except for the head tilt, i really like lincecum's delivery.

joe morgan can barely speak in a complete sentence anymore. he's so bad.

Was Bochy's goatee that grey before he took the job managing the San Francisco BarryBondses?

49

you mean, 4,092 mph

Oh yeah, he's been hitting 92 on the gun. Hamels looks like a sterotypical bro from San Diego. I don't mind rooting for Lincecum because I don't think the Giants are going to be competition in a couple of months.

49
You mean Hamels'. Or Hamels's.

On to HELMS DEEP!

41 Although Baseball America had Lincecum as their second rated college player, their mock drafts had him going after 10.

Jim Callis did say after the Giants took Lincecum that they kept their analysis close to the vest so it was not surprising they took him although the players that he projected for them were also available.

Kershaw was projected to go to either the Dodgers at 7 or the Tigers at 6 and he was the first high school player expected to be picked.

Bochy didn't wear a goatee in San Diego I believe. Just a mustache and he shaved that off at times.

Quick, trade Sabean a veteran for Lincecum while his ERA is 18.

56 Dude, they just met up with the Rohirrim. Helms Deep isn't for another two hours.

Yes, I'm watching ESPN and TBS at the same time.

54 - Jesus has a t-shirt that says, "Cole Hamels is my homeboy."

58 Does a goatee make your head look smaller?

Cole Hamels kinda reminds me of Von Hayes

everyone watch out, Jon Miller just did the math...

I find the preponderance of erectile dysfunction commercials disturbing and sexist. I'm just saying.

Cole is prone to the occasional back spasm..............but only when Atlas is on a coffee break.

Lincecum bats LH...? Bad idea.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side Lincecum bats from.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side Lincecum bats from

I'm just thinking about his right arm being exposed to the pitcher.

There's No Such Thing As A Pitching Phenom

Cole Hamels does not throw a change up or a curve; he simply throws his fastball and alters spacetime accordingly.

did you know that? according to joe morgan, "a left-hander has a higher leg kick".

[65] sexist? the content of the ads or the idea of them?

BOOM!

Only about, what, 680 behind Mr. Bonds now...that one was definitely a pretty sight to see though!

Lincecum's next start should be at Coors Field, so he better be careful.

sickels blog has been bombared with lincecum threads.

bombarded!

his curveball hasnt been as advertised.

Joe Morgan just said that Barry Bonds himself conducted the poll they're talking about. Brilliant.

73 The idea. I feel like there's a lot of pressure put on aging men to maintain some sort of Hugh Hefner level of virility; if they don't they're cast as defective when obviously it's biologically natural for the sex drive to wane. Granted, I'm only 21 so maybe I'm misunderstanding the issue.

Why is Joe Morgan on TV? That poll was interesting, though.. I would imagine the OJ case had similarly racially skewed poll results.

By the third inning, Lincecum had already lost velocity, pitching at 93-94 MPH instead of 96-97, like he was in the first inning. Nothing wrong with 93-94, mind you, but the tiny body does have a consequence. And Lincecum's secondary stuff is not what it was made out to be. Lincecum is about a month older than Billingsley, and I know that if both pitchers were free agents, I would take Billingsley over Lincecum any day of the week.

Not sure who I'm listening to over MLB radio, but they just said that Jimmy Rollins was the second-best hitter in the National League this year, after Bonds.

82

those 92-94 fbs are 2 seamers though with wicked movement to them.

[80] i think they aren't putting pressure so much as capitalizing on a segment of men who want to have more sex but whose bodies are holding them back. perhaps you could argue that when the equipment stops working you should just accept it and not worry about sex anymore, but depending on how old you are when it happens, it may not be that easy to accept.

My six-year-old daughter, playing with her Legos in our TV room, just said, "How come they're talking so much during this game? Talk, talk, talk, and they're not even talking about the game."

86
At least she hasn't asked you what "ED" stands for.

But I would have something made up to use just in case.

Earnest Dinosaur is my choice.

I did not locate a similar poll about Aaron and Ruth done in 1973 or 1974 in the New York Times or LA Times.

From my recollection, there were a lot of people who didn't want Aaron to break Ruth's record, but they were almost all portrayed as racists. The Bonds/Aaron dispute is a little different, although Aaron probably finds all of this respect shown him by the media to be somewhat unusual.

87 Try again. If she can call BS on Joe Morgan's blathering, she can certainly see through "Earnest Dinosaur".

dinosaurs would seemingly pique the interest of a six year old, no?

Hmm that's a good point. I guess I just feel like the "ED" commercials should be more subtle. Or limited to late at night.

i suggest something bland like "extended difficulty".

Embarrassing disorder?

Eygptian Diety!

Eric Davis?

I wonder if Lincecum knows how to slide. He didn't seem to eager to run down to second.

lincecum's fastball is down to 90-91 now

Am I the only person bothered by the fact that "McCovey Cove" is not a cove? It's not even remotely like a cove.

Damn and that is why they call him the Flyin' Hawaiian!

Chalk up an error for Vizquel. I think that should be a CS 1-3-E6. But it's going to make the official scorer work a bit.

hahahahahah that was great.

The umps sure screwed up that call beyond belief.

Can't we score that one E-ump? That was a ridiculously bad call.

100 The Yahoo scorer took the easy way out: "S. Victorino to second"

104
That was Gameday's scoring as well. They don't have an error up for Vizquel, but he has to get one.

104 Well, at least they didn't say it was Chase Utley.

[98] it's remotely like one... just with a water channel cut out the back.

Grrr when did Pat Burrell turn into Bobby Abreu???

I think Bob should add another topic to his list of windmills to tilt at: undeserved errors. You can start with Vizquel and, yesterday, Andruw Jones.

89 If she is already using the term BS, then hearing ED is probably the least of your worries.

Here is a 2006 First Round update, tell me who should have picked Lincecum.

1. KC Luke Hochevar rhp $3,500,000 (Bonus)
2. CO Greg Reynolds rhp $3,250,000
3. TB Evan Longoria 3b $3,000,000
4. PI Brad Lincoln rhp $2,750,000
5. SE Brandon Morrow rhp $2,450,000
6. DT Andrew Miller lhp $3,550,000
7. LA Clayton Kershaw lhp $2,300,000
8. CIN Drew Stubbs of $2,000,000
9. BA Bill Rowell 3b $2,100,000
10. SF Tim Lincecum rhp $2,025,000

Hochevar, Reynolds, Longoria are in AA, Lincoln had "Tommy John" surgery in April 2007(note that Pittsburgh GM said this may mean that for the Pirates, they may not draft pitchers in the first round anymore).

Morrow is in Seattle, Miller is in High A ball, Kershaw and Stubbs are both in Low A in the Midwest League and Rowell is in extended spring training waiting for the short season Rookie Leagues to start in June.

Miller did get a taste of the Big club last fall and Lincecum joins Morrow as being part of their big league parent.

Hochevar, Longoria, Miller and Kershaw are picks that I don't think anyone would argue against their teams making before Lincecum but the others, hmmm.

Nate and anyone other draft guys, what do you think?

If the draft were held today I'm guessing it would go:
1. Lincecum
2. Longoria
3. Kershaw
4. ?
5. ?
6. Hochevar

Oh, oh, here comes Joe Morgan's analysis of how to be a successful pitcher, his qualifications are ????

Alright Charlie, will you PLEASE swap Shane and ArRow in CF and RF now??

Tiny Tim steadily lost velocity throughout the game, and I never once saw a secondary offering that impressed me. For all the hype we have been hearing about Lincecum, I was wondering why nine teams, including the Dodgers, passed on him in the draft, but now it is pretty clear why. He might even be better suited to be a reliever than a starter, given how much velocity he loses, and that body is not going to get bigger. In last year's draft some teams took some players they shouldn't have over Lincecum (Drew Stubbs, by the Reds, for crying out loud), but no way would I have wanted Lincecum over Kershaw. Logan White was not remiss.

I'd rather have Lincecum then Hochevar, Reynolds, Lincoln, Morrow, and Stubbs.

Nate is right, the Giants never should have sniffed him. I think it would have been awesome if Hochevar had ended up a Giant so he could fire up the dying rivalry.

Victorino is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Those who thought he was only 4th outfielder material might be having 2nd thoughts this week.

116 When exactly did the Dodgers-Giants rivalry start dying?

115
How can you make comments like that when Billingsley struck out as many as he walked last year over 90 innings and yet you still think he has a great future. This was his 1st start, I think I'd watch a few more games before making declarations like that.

Think of Hughes's first start for the Yankees.

Now think of his second one.

117
When Willie Mays was traded to the Mets and Juan Marichal pitched for the Dodgers.

Lincecum dominated the PCL way more than Billingsley did.

Its way to early on either pitcher, but if you're going by their past performance: Its Lincecum easily.

Does it bother anybody else to see somebody wearing Robb Nen's 31 who is not a grizzled and one-armed Robb Nen?

So Vinnie Chulk should be tapping his foot before he throws home?

11 ARI Max Scherzer rhp
12 TEX Kasey Kiker lhp
13 CHC Tyler Colvin of
14 TOR Travis Snider of
15 WAS Chris Marrero 3b
16 MIL Jeremy Jeffress rhp
17 SD Matt Antonelli 3b
18 PHI Kyle Drabek rhp/ss
19 FLA Brett Sinkbeil rhp
20 MIN Chris Parmelee of/1b
21 NYY Ian Kennedy rhp
22 WAS Colton Willems rhp
23 HOU Max Sapp c
24 ATL Cody Johnson 1b
25 LAA Hank Conger c
26 LAD Bryan Morris rhp
27 BOS Jason Place of
28 BOS Daniel Bard rhp
29 CWS Kyle McCulloch rhp
30 STL Adam Ottavino rhp

Max Scherzer remains unsigned and Boras thinks that he will be available in the 2007 draft. Morris had TJ surgery and Bard just got put on the DL.

120 Did you get my email?

Sure, and he needs the badass goatee too, especially if it will keep people like Jimmy Rollins from tripling off of him like that!

Did anybody else hear them mention that aircraft carrier across the bay in Alameda and immediately think of Star Trek IV?

126
I saw Star Trek IV and I have no idea what you're referring to.

127 Starfleet Headquarters was in San Francisco and they had that scene when the Klingon Bird of Prey flew under the Golden Gate Bridge before splashing into the bay.

BTW, my impression has always been that the bay is very cold but I guess not cold enough to bother the crew of the Enterprise.

118 -- I don't think the earliest MLB numbers are important, for any prospect. Most players get off to rough starts in the majors, and Billingsley debuted in his age 21 season while Lincecum is in his age 23 season. I don't hold the runs Lincecum gave up tonight against him, because it is not about the line in the boxscore at this stage. I am talking about scouting, future projection, and that means looking at tools and physicality. Billingsley has the pitching frame of a horse, Lincecum that of a pre-pubescent girl (a bit of hyperbole, but you get my drift). Billingsley has two plus breaking pitches, while Lincecum's curve does nothing for me. The velocity I saw from Billingsley on friday and today is better than what he ever showed in the majors last year, and you may say that is because he is in the bullpen, but as a starter in the minors Billingsley was always in the 92-96 range. Everybody makes a big deal about Billingsley's K:BB ratio last year in the majors, but I didn't care about that nearly as much as I did the fact that his fastball velocity was more like 89-93 than 92-96. This spring Billingsley said he had a "dead arm" in the majors last year, so with that explanation the only thing I was worried about is removed.

And Chekov spends several minutes asking around to find the "nuclear wessels" that turn out to be where...?

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Alameda

121 -- Billingsley has never pitched in the PCL at as old an age as Lincecum. I know you have said you don't care about age differences, but they make all the difference in comparing stats, and sabermetricians acknowledge that. And what was Linceum's home park in Fresno is very pitcher-friendly compared to Vegas.

Ahhh Mike Bourn, the poor man's Juan Pierre?

I remember being really intrigued by Michael Bourn when he was in the minors. He doesn't have much power, but has outstanding plate discipline. I'd love to see what we could do with 500 major league at bats. I'd definitely take him over Pierre (though defensively he profiles better in left field).

132

hes probably better then pier one.

and that, my friends, is why we <3 Cole Hamels!

the Phillies need Brett Tomko. how about a tomko and pierre for Rowand swap?

Um...how about a Tomko and [Betemit] for ArRow swap Nate? ;)

[132] unfortunately, juan pierre is the rich man's juan pierre.

111

teams picking 1-9 should have all picked lincecum :)

111 Belated reaction but after staring at that list more, the one team that really stands out to me as having made a mistake not drafting Lincecum (or Miller or Kershaw, or the other pitchers picked after) is Tampa Bay. Not a knock on Longoria, who I think is going to be great, but for a team so rich with young position players/prospects and so pitching poor it seems unfathomable they wouldn't have looked for a pitcher. That's just my opinion, and it's hard to feel bad about having Longoria in your system, but I really think not taking one of those superb pitchers was a mistake.