Lincecum To Start All-Star Game
Last year he was in the hospital. This year he starts.
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Tim Lincecum will put his double nickels on the dime as the starting pitcher for the 80th All-Star Game.
The last four days have been like the Golden Age for the San Francisco Giants' pitching staff. In the warm, glowing aftermath of Jonathan Sanchez' no-hitter Friday night, this morning Tim Linceum was officially named the starting pitcher for the National League All-Star Team.
The Toronto Blue Jays' Roy Halladay will start for the American League in Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic. That is, unless he gets traded in the next 15 or 20 minutes.
Linny earns the distinction leading National League pitchers in strikeouts (149) and coming off a Cy Young Award in 2008. "This is obviously a great accomplishment for me," Lincecum told MLB.com. "I'm just excited to be a member of this team again."
Yes, "again." Lincecum was named to the All-Star team last season, but was a last-minute scratch from the game because of "flu-like symptoms". More than a few bloggers speculated that these may have been more "hangover-like symptoms."
Lincecum acknowledged his absence last year with a laugh, indicating perhaps he had spent a little time outside his assigned room while enjoying various New York City establishments. After he was announced as the starter for this year's All-Star Game, Lincecum told the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'm going to have Matt Cain put a leash around my neck and keep me in my room."
Fortunately for Giants fans, Lincecum's distinction salves our soreness at Pablo Sandoval's exclusion from the All-Star team. Fortunately for Lincecum, the All-Star Game he's starting is being a played in a city with substantially less nightlife than New York.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who thinks a drunk and hung over Tim Lincecum would still be a better All-Star pitcher than a stone cold sober Shawn Estes.
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Posted Friday, Jul 17, 2009 - 11:12 AM PST
