What can Tim Lincecum do as an encore to last year's Cy Young campaign?
He'll have to overachieve to exceed last season's accomplishments. As all Giants fans know, Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award, electrifying the baseball world with his charismatic combination of style (a big leaguer resembling a member of a teenage garage band) and substance (a 5-foot-11, 170-pound pixie throwing with the force of a behemoth).
No less an expert than Randy Johnson, the 295-game winner who joined the Giants in the offseason as a free agent, believes that Lincecum can thrive again.
"It could be very exciting this year to watch him pitch," said Johnson, himself a five-time Cy Young winner. "He could be a pitcher that only comes around once every so often. What I mean by that is just dominating. Only time will tell. It sounds like he wants to be that type of pitcher."
History delivers mostly encouraging signs that Lincecum will return strong. His bid to do exactly that begins Tuesday when the Giants open the season at AT&T Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The right-hander became the fourth pitcher to win the Cy Young in his first full Major League season. Two of the previous three, Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers and Dwight Gooden of the Mets, performed capably. Valenzuela followed his Cy Young year by finishing 19-13 with a 2.87 ERA in 1982 and Gooden compiled a 17-6 record with a 2.84 ERA in 1986. Lincecum will try to avoid the pitfalls endured by Bret Saberhagen of the Royals, whose Cy Young followup was a dismal 7-12, 4.15 performance in '86.
Lincecum knows that opponents will be especially motivated to face him. He welcomes the challenge.
"I'd rather be in this spot than not," he said. "It just makes the game more competitive. You get pumped up for big names and big situations."
Just as Lincecum is capable of ignoring the extra attention and pressure of being a Cy Young winner, he's adept at sidestepping the hype and hoopla of Opening Day. He recently said, "It's great that it's Opening Day. It's definitely an honor. When it was announced, obviously, that's cool, you get to be the Opening Day starter. Everyone wants to hear that."
Yet in the next breath, Lincecum added, "I'm going to take it like another game. ... I'm just trying to get ready for that day as opposed to what it holds for me."
Lincecum didn't deny that pitching before an adoring AT&T Park sellout crowd will be special.
"You feel the energy from the crowd sometimes," he said. "Our fans are awesome out there. They're out there day-in and day-out. Just to pitch in front of them is awesome because you do feel like there is a slight advantage when you're at home. It's your yard."
