Why the San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum Has Been Amazing in 2011

We all know the Giants score few runs and give up few runs. It's the way things work in San Francisco. And Tim Lincecum is not happy with it.

Lincecum is pitching well for San Francisco. He has a 2.46 ERA and 189 strikeouts, and has allowed just 49 earned runs in 179 innings pitched.

But his record? Just 12–10.

How can someone that good have a losing record? Lincecum has lost games by the score of 1–0, 2–1, 3–0, you name it. He has pitched well in all but a handful of starts. Yet he has just 12 wins to show for it.

On Wednesday night, Lincecum allowed just one run in eight innings, and he only got two runs of support. Yes, he got win number 12, but hardly any support.

The only time this season that Timmy has been lucky to come away with a win was in May, after giving up three runs in seven innings and winning thanks to a Brandon Crawford grand slam. He has been the unlucky loser many more times.

Forget the win-loss record, and Tim Lincecum is among the best in baseball. He still is, as his ERA has dropped lower then Ryan Vogelsong's. Lincecum and Vogelsong rank second and fourth, respectively, on the National League ERA chart.

Lincecum has dropped his ERA from 3.14 to 2.46 during his streak of nine quality starts, starting July 9 against the Mets and still going through Wednesday.

His record is a respectable 6–3, but it would've been 5–3 without his own game-winning RBI single in a 2–1 victory on Wednesday night. It was the Giants' first one-run win since July 27. Carlos Beltran helped him in his third at bat since returning to the disabled list, hitting a home run into the right field bleachers.

While Lincecum hasn't thrown a complete game (he has struggled to keep his pitch count down in early innings), he has completed seven innings six times in his last seven starts, including each August start.

Just like Giants' closer Brian Wilson, Lincecum has wiggled in and out of jams, often using the strikeout to bear down. In some games, he fans 12, while in others, he strikes out just 1.

Whatever his strategy, whatever he's throwing, however he gets you, nobody wants to face the Freak. And if you draw the short straw and strike out (like so many others), just remember; this kid is good.