Tim Lincecum and 5 MLB Players Who Need to Have a Big Week

While you're at your last barbecue of the Memorial Day weekend, talking baseball with your friends, someone in the group will undoubtedly utter the phrase, "Yeah, but it's still early."

But really, it's not that early. Teams will be playing in their 50th games of the season this week—that's nearly a third of the regular season already behind us.

Around the league, some players have been hot, like Josh Hamilton, and are just riding the wave into the dog days of summer that lie ahead.

Others, like Tim Lincecum, have yet to perform up to expectations. For this group of players, it's getting late pretty early.

Let's take a look at "Big Time Timmy Jim" and five other players who are in dire need of a big week.

Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle Mariners

Since going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI against the Cleveland Indians on May 16, bringing his average up to .262, Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley has been awful at the plate.

Over his past 10 games, Ackley is hitting .171/.244/.220 with four RBI, four walks and 13 strikeouts.

To add insult to injury, Mariners skipper Eric Wedge sat Ackley against the Los Angeles Angels this past Friday—the night that the giveaway at Safeco Field was none other than a Dustin Ackley bobblehead.

Wedge was completely unaware of the promotion, as he said when Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times asked him why he'd sit Ackley on Dustin Ackley Bobblehead Night:

"

Oh, geez, is it? I didn't get that memo. Well, it shows you how much I pay attention to that, I guess. Well, he can revel in his own bobblehead without having to worry about playing. ... I'm surprised I didn't get a phone call on that one.

"

The Mariners hit the road this week, playing three games against the Texas Rangers and three against the Chicago White Sox.

For the season, Ackley is hitting .136 with two RBI in six games against the Rangers and .167 with an RBI in three games against the White Sox.

Ike Davis, 1B, New York Mets

It's no secret that Ike Davis has been struggling all season, but sooner or later, something's got to give.

Only last week, Mets manager Terry Collins didn't dispel the notion that Davis could find himself back in the minors, as he told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork:

"

There is nothing etched in stone. We will never, never say something is not going to happen. What we're trying to do is make sure is we wring the rag dry. And that's why, coming into this road trip, we said, "Look, here's some pretty good opportunities." This is a pretty good hitting park. Pittsburgh is a pretty good hitting park. We've got right-handers, right-handers, right-handers coming up. Let's just see if we can get him going.

"

Since Collins made those comments, Davis has been better, but only slightly. Over his last 22 at-bats, Davis has five hits, a .227 average with six RBI, one walk and seven strikeouts.

He's simply not getting on base or driving the ball with any conviction, a major problem for a player who is supposed to be a prototypical slugging first baseman.

The Mets play three games each against the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field this week.

Davis has yet to play the Cardinals in 2012, but he's faced the Phillies six times already, posting a .261/.320/.565 batting line with two home runs and five RBI.

Gavin Floyd, SP, Chicago White Sox

Since scattering five hits over 7.2 innings of work against the Kansas City Royals on May 11, lowering his ERA to 2.53, Gavin Floyd has been throwing batting practice to the opposition.

Over his past three starts, consisting of 14.2 innings pitched, Floyd has allowed 21 earned runs and 28 hits—a 12.89 ERA. Amazingly, Floyd took the win in his last start against the Cleveland Indians, where he hit three batters and allowed five earned runs and 10 hits over five innings.

His next start comes Saturday at home against Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners.

For his career, Floyd is 4-4 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 14 games against Seattle.

Ian Kennedy, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Any chance that Ian Kennedy had of replicating his incredible 2011 season flew out the window with his last start, when Kennedy took his fifth consecutive loss on the season—one more than he had in all of 2011.

When asked what the problem is by reporters following his latest loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Kennedy sounded unsure:

"

I have mixed some good ones in there and mixed some bad ones. I am trying to figure out what it is every single time. I have been working hard in between starts. Whether it is mechanical or other things I have to keep the same approach and throw every pitch with conviction.

"

Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson told reporters that it's all about command and locating his pitches:

"

He is not being able to locate the ball. I don’t think he is locating the ball down like he used to. He is not able to throw secondary pitches for strikes like he did. He is close. It is just too much elevation with his pitches.

"

Kennedy's next start comes Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants and their struggling ace, Tim Lincecum.

The two met on Opening Day, with the Diamondbacks winning 5-4 behind a decent Kennedy outing where he allowed three earned runs and nine hits over 6.2 innings of work, walking two and striking out three to get the win.

Tim Lincecum, SP, San Francisco Giants

Are Tim Lincecum's struggles so far in 2012 a matter of losing focus, as the two-time Cy Young Award winner told reporters following his most recent outing, or is the 27-year-old right-hander injured and not telling anyone?

His penchant for issuing walks and allowing one big inning to the opposition has become a major concern in San Francisco, and rightfully so—Barry Zito has given the Giants five quality starts to Lincecum's one.

If it really is a matter of focus, then Lincecum is going to have to be locked in on Wednesday when the Giants take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park. Wednesday's start is a rematch of the season opener for both teams, with Ian Kennedy, another player who needs a big week, toeing the rubber for Arizona.

Their previous matchup ended in a 5-4 Diamondbacks victory. Lincecum took the loss, allowing five earned runs and six hits over 5.1 innings pitched, walking one and striking out seven.

Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore Orioles

Matt Wieters has needed a big week for, well, weeks.

After posting a very productive .279/.364/.574 batting line with six home runs and 15 RBI in April, Wieters has completely lost his way in May, where he's hitting .195/.290/.345 with two home runs and seven RBI.

Over his last 38 at-bats, Wieters has four hits—good for a .105 average.

The Orioles find themselves tied for the AL East lead with the Tampa Bay Rays, and they need Wieters to be productive at the plate if they have any chance at continuing their unlikely run at the top of the division.

With six games on the road this week against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rays, things don't figure to get any easier for the struggling catcher.

His numbers against both teams this season are virtually identical, and neither set of numbers is any good:

Against Toronto (five games): .176/.263/.353, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Against Tampa (three games): .182/.250/.545, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Like I said, it's not going to get any easier for Wieters this week.