Six weeks in, and the Giants' season already has a few kinks in it. The exile of Lance Niekro to Fresno was no big surprise, but last night's news that Todd Linden is following suit -- if he clears waivers -- was shocking. Mouth-breathing tendencies aside, Linden seemed deserving of at least a week of starting assignments to see if he could snap out of his whiffenpoofery: 23 Ks in 55 ABs as noted.
In today's papers, Bruce Bochy said Linden's Wednesday fielding miscue had nothing to do with his dismissal. The Giants were simply tired of waiting for Linden to make adjustments. National League pitchers were certainly making them, tossing Linden lots of soft stuff then freezing him with fastballs on the corners.
His last few weeks at the plate looked eerily like his first extended call-up in 2005, with 54 Ks in 171 ABs, when he looked totally lost at-bat after at-bat. Do we blame the Giants for not recognizing Linden's stubborn, persistent flaws? Do we herald them for not giving up on him sooner? Do we castigate the player for not progressing despite multiple chances?
Whatever the answer, the Giants decided to make Fred Lewis the beneficiary of Dave Roberts' absence. Dan Ortmeier is up, too, but Lewis has much more upside and in my estimation should get the majority of the at-bats. Fred started last night in RF and will reportedly do so again tonight. This is his audition.
Will it last the entire expected length of Roberts' recovery? The estimated four to six weeks puts us into mid-June, at which point there's plenty of time to make a deal if the team is still hanging tight in the division. But if Lewis flails to the tune of a .450 OPS a la Linden, the team would be in danger of slipping quickly away, with games like the last two losses becoming the frustrating norm: good starting pitching, wobbly offense, and a bullpen not dominating enough to survive a miscue or blown call. With a couple more bats, those 5-3 losses could've been 6-5 victories (especially in a place like Coors Field).
Question of the day: How much slack should the Giants give Fred Lewis if he starts out slowly?
Graffito of the week, from Bloomington, Indiana: "Rob the casbah!"
And just above it: "It's 'Rock the casbah,' dumb shit!"
SMALL PRINT UPDATE: Roberts on the DL, Lewis and Ortmeier up, Linden down.
PM UPDATE: In all the excitement and travel, I forgot to post the winner of the Lincecum Debut contest. Alas, there wasn't one, but here are the closest guesses:
Barton: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 ER
Frank: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 85 pitches
Actual line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, 100 pitches
Note: Barton also predicted Timmah will take a no hitter past the fifth inning tonight.
