San Francisco Giants: What's Wrong with Tim Lincecum?

If you were to see the following stat line: 0-1, 12.91 ERA and 10 strikeouts through two starts, you probably wouldn't associate that with a 27-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner. 

Well, now you have no choice. Those aforementioned numbers are the exact stat line of the San Francisco Giant ace, Tim Lincecum. In his five previous years in the big leagues, Lincecum has never started a season off this bad. What's worse than the stats he's posting, and more worrisome for Giants fans, are the numbers he's posting on the radar gun. 

In tonight's game against the Rockies, he only cracked 92 four times, all occurrences coming in the first inning. His average fastball for last year was 93.1 miles per hour, so though it's not much of a decrease, it is still noticeable.

If you don't think it has some sort of effect, then just take a look at the results of the game. Given that it is only the second start of the season and it was in Colorado, Lincecum got rocked for six ER on eight hits in only 2.3 IP. It was the shortest outing of his entire career. 

Some may blame it on him altering his pitching style by cutting out his slider. That is a valid argument because if you look back to 2010, the last time he decided to switch things up, his numbers sky rocketed.

In the five starts he made trying his new style, he went 0-5 and sported a 7.82 ERA over that time. Upside to that is, he decided to go back to the old Tim in time for the playoffs and won the team a World Series. 

Others might blame it on his the haircut he just got, there have been rumors of it holding magical powers. My guess is that's probably not it, though.  

There are numerous explanations people could find to describe what's got him in this slump, but in all honesty, none of it matters. 

As long as Lincecum can stay healthy, he is guaranteed to snap out of this. His strikeouts numbers in the first game (seven) were normal and his walks for the season (three) are low, so though he's leaving some of his pitches up, he's not completely losing his command.

He is just having a rough start to a season, it happens. Ask Josh Johnson. As far as the slight drop in velocity goes, that also happens.

Felix Hernandez, a Cy Young Award winner, is going through the same thing right now. Hernandez, of course, is still pitching to his usual level of dominance, but if anything, that's a good sign that Lincecum can persevere through this struggle. 

So if you are a Giants fan worrying over this abysmal start, stop. Likewise, if you're a fan of an opposing team rejoicing in the "fall" of a superstar, stop. Because more than likely, he'll be facing your team very soon, and it won't be pretty for you when it happens. 

*Stats are from ESPN.com and baseball-reference.com .