In a not-so-unexpected move, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy has moved pitcher Tim Lincecum from the starting rotation into the bullpen effective Tuesday night. MLB.com's Ryan Hood reports that Bochy has decided to have Lincecum skip his scheduled Tuesday night start against the Colorado Rockies and start Yusmeiro Petit in his place. Lincecem will be available to pitch out of the bullpen. Hood said that there is no indication yet as to how long Lincecum would stay in the bullpen. He stated, "it is unknown when or if Lincecum will return to the rotation."
The move comes after some speculation of its occurrence just a few days ago. Lincecum has had trouble since the All-Star break, compiling a 1-4 record with an 8.07 ERA and 1.98 WHIP. He was 9-5 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, including his second career no-hitter, before the break. He averaged six innings per start before the break but less than 4.2 innings afterward.
This is not the first time that Lincecum has worked out his struggles by moving to the bullpen. Recall that in 2012, after starting 33 games, he had a record of 10-15 with a 5.18 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. His WAR dropped to -1.7 after he posted a 4.2 WAR the year before. However, rather than leaving him off the postseason roster, Bochy put him in the bullpen. Lincecum responded to the change quite well by allowing only one earned run in 13 innings out of the pen. His only postseason loss and poor performance (4 ER in 4.2 innings) came as a starter. The Giants went on to win the World Series, during which Lincecum pitched 4.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Hood quoted Bochy saying that Lincecum has accepted the move with dignity. Said Bochy,
"He's all for this; he knows it's probably a good time for this, to back him off a little bit."
According to Hood, Lincecum will most likely work the seventh and eighth innings to help get the ball to closer Sergio Romo. He will also give Bochy the option of a long reliever when needed since he is used to pitching multiple innings at a time. The challenge is making sure he can pitch on consecutive days even after shorter outings. A longer outing would likely squelch his availability for the next day, but at this point in the season, Bochy must play for today -- every day.
Working from the bullpen will allow Lincecum to "back off" more than a bit. He can pitch with all-out effort for one or two innings and not have to save anything for later in the game. He no longer throws in the mid--to-upper 90s, but he can change speeds between the 70's and 80's. In addition, as a reliever, he can concentrate on throwing fewer types of pitches because he will most likely face any given hitter only one time. Still, he will have all his pitches available, including a very good breaking ball, when situations call for them.
The Giants enter play on August 26 in second place in the National League West standings, five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers do not appear as if they will fade any time soon, so the next best scenario the Giants can hope for is a wild card berth. They hold a half-game lead over Atlanta for the second wild card position. Therefore, now is the time to make the decision to get the most out of Lincecum, who has not shown much on the mound as a starter in recent weeks. However, his brief -- but proven -- track record as a reliever in the highest-pressure situations in 2012 indicates that he will handle the job well.