Tim Lincecum Gets Beat Again as Giants' Search for Answers Continues

SAN FRANCISCO – Well, it clearly wasn't the socks.

Tim Lincecum, mired in a mystifying slump that has the Giants and their fans in a state of panic, trotted on to the mound on Friday night wearing black-and-orange striped stirrups. He also inscribed a message -- rhymes with "duck 'em" -- on each of his cleats, demonstrating what he hoped would be a tough-minded attitude on the mound.

The wardrobe changes did nothing to change his results.

Lincecum lost for the fifth consecutive time, an ongoing career-worst streak. He lost five games in each of his first two big league seasons, and he lost only seven in his third.

It has gotten so bad for Lincecum that mediocrity creates optimism. After Lincecum gave up four runs in six innings in a 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks, there was a general consensus in the Giants clubhouse that Lincecum had made progress.

"I think it's getting better and better," catcher Buster Posey said. "He made some good pitches. Definitely made a lot of good pitches late in the game. Early in the game he was missing on the plate a little bit, but I would say it's encouraging compared to a few weeks ago."

Lincecum is now 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA in August, a mind-boggling streak for the two-time defending Cy Young winner. Lincecum was supposed to be the anchor of the rotation, but in this case he's the anchor pulling the leaky vessel underwater. The Giants rotation as a unit has the worst ERA in the league this month.

"He's obviously not himself right now," said Diamondbacks first baseman Adam LaRoche. "He's been around long enough that he'll get it back. We took advantage of a couple spots there."

LaRoche belted a hanging changeup from Lincecum into the Bay for a three-run, first-inning homer. It was like sticking a needle in the balloon for the anxious Giants fans, who every five days cross their fingers, hoping that Lincecum will find himself.

The panic throughout Giants Nation has spawned numerous theories about Lincecum's struggles.

The latest came in a San Jose Mercury News story published on Friday morning. Manager Bruce Bochy said that Lincecum – and struggling infielder Pablo Sandoval – had let their conditioning lapse.

Lincecum's father, Chris, said that his son hasn't been playing long-toss enough.

Either of those could account for Lincecum's reduced velocity. His fastball was 94-96 in his rookie year, and it had been dropping a little in each of the past two years. It was no big deal, because of his devastating changeup, and he still managed to win two Cy Youngs. Lately, though, he's been hovering around 89-91.

"He's not throwing as hard, but it's a long season, and they rode him pretty hard," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said.

That brings up another theory for the lost velocity, voiced by one scout who has seen Lincecum throughout his career. He said that Lincecum has simply fired too many bullets for a guy with his frame. Lincecum pitched more than 450 innings in his two previous seasons, and it's possible that was too great of a workload for him to maintain his velocity.

LaRoche, though, said he doesn't think Lincecum's problem is velocity, but command.

"He's getting in some hitters counts he normally doesn't get into and he's forced to throw something over the plate," LaRoche said.

There was also some discussion during Friday's game that Lincecum may have been tipping his pitches. The Giants changed the way Lincecum held his hands in his delivery to prevent pitch-tipping. LaRoche didn't admit to being tipped to the pitch that he hit out, but he added: "If I was, I would never say."

Whatever has been happening to Lincecum, solving it will be issue No. 1 for the Giants as they come down the stretch in the pennant race. Obviously, the Giants chances are not good with a subpar Lincecum.

"This is just one of those things you have to take, to roll with the punches," Lincecum said. "It's not fun to go through, but it's part of the game. You just fight through it. That's what I'm trying to do right now. Just keep pitching. The last thing I want to do is give up."

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FanHouse TV's Jeff Fletcher talks about Tim Lincecum's struggles. Click to watch: