Tim Lincecum Eats It While Winding Up to Pitch Against the Rockies

Dan Carson — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:04:59 -0400

SNIPER!

Someone took out Tim Lincecum’s ankle, and unfortunately for him, that someone was either himself or the Colorado Rockies’ pitching mound.

The Giants pitcher was attempting the Herculean task that is his standard pitching motion Saturday against the Rockies when things went sideways, resulting in a tango down situation on the mound, as spotted by SportsGrid.

Lincecum’s right ankle shifted underneath him during his motion and he tumbled to the mound. Either the ground or something in his ankle hadn’t held up as planned, and the result was a long embarrassing kneel for the former Cy Young winner.

The fall was counted as a balk by officials, and Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood would end up knocking a single to bring in home a run from third base.

Judging by the fall and his bashful body language afterwards, it’s hard to tell if Lincecum is furious with the mound or himself. He’s had issues out at Coor’s Field before, and of course there were those who called this seemingly inexplicable tumble a metaphor for Lincecum’s game these days.

Did anyone else see Tim Lincecum fall while pitching??
— Sammy™ (@buffnerdz) May 20, 2013

hehehe..."Tim Lincecum acts out career trajectory on Coors Field mound" mlb.si.com/2013/05/18/tim…
— Rob (@JCDropout) May 20, 2013

As bad as it was, at least Lincecum didn’t end up releasing the ball into the dirt like John Bledsoe, the insurance executive who slung out one of the worst first pitches ever earlier this month.

So it could be worse, although Lincecum is, you know, paid to do this stuff. Unfortunately for him, Lt. Topper Harley was sitting in the bushes sniping ankles. Or he just slipped off the rubber. Whatever sounds more plausible to you.

Either way, Lincecum finished the day giving up a total of six runs in five innings in a 10-2 loss to the Rockies. Yeah, this will be a hard one to walk off.

Read more Tim Lincecum news on BleacherReport.com

5 Big-Name Starting Pitchers in Danger of Losing Their Jobs

Nathan Palatsky — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:48:01 -0400

Most teams pay their big-name starting pitchers a fortune to provide 200 innings this season. But for a few of those pitchers, their performance is crippling teams that hope to contend, and that brings their job security into question.

Some of these pitchers have long track records that afford them a longer leash. They may not lose their jobs based on a bad first month, but if the struggles continue into June, teams may begin looking for alternatives.

Some of these pitchers will turn it around and finish just fine, but others will either be demoted, traded or pushed to the bullpen.

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Bleacher Report - Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum Eats It While Winding Up to Pitch Against the Rockies

5 Big-Name Starting Pitchers in Danger of Losing Their Jobs