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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v GIANTSOctober 26, 2010Tim LincecumSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Workout Day Q. Texas' style of offense is to let the rabbits get on base, kind of create havoc and force the pitcher to maybe make a mistake to one of their big boys. How do you as a pitcher strike that balance between keeping track of their runners and making sure that you make the best pitch? TIM LINCECUM: You know, I think it's just if you're worrying about the runners, any kind of running threat gets on, making sure you do the necessary picks over there, vary your times kind of thing. So we know we're going to have to do that. They're going to be aggressive on the bases. Yeah, I just figure be aggressive in the zone, throw a lot of strikes down in the zone. If anything, try to induce the groundball double play kind of thing, not always going for the strikeout. But hopefully getting in a situation to where I can get one out of there. Q. How much of a chance have you had to see Cliff Lee pitch? And what about the way he does what he does impresses you? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I mean, he works in and out on both sides of the plate, which allows him a lot of freeze strike threes, guys looking. He paints his slider-cutter kind of thing that he throws about 87 really well. You know, when you're able to throw strikes on both sides of the plate like that he's going to have a lot of good success. So just hopefully we can pick out a pitch and do something with it. Q. I was talking to Buster a little bit about the arc of your relationship and his relationship with other pitchers. He said you and he were -- he felt like were the last to come, and I know you were sort of reinventing yourself along the way. Could you describe how you got to a place where you could allow yourself to trust his game calling? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I mean, you get stuck into patterns or routines or kind of comfortable things where I had Bengie back there every game, or just about every game kind of calling the pitches, taking care of the stuff that I didn't have to or didn't need to. You know, and it's kind of tough to get on the same page with a new guy coming up. But he did it quickly. I mean, he helped me get out of my ruts, just gave me a lot of feedback on my pitches, telling me still be confident, I'm here for a reason. It came around a little bit later than we hoped, but we figured it out. Q. Bengie obviously knows you as well as anybody. Does having him over there, knowing that he's talking to all their hitters, affect any of the way you're going to approach them? TIM LINCECUM: No, I mean, we'll just kind of read the at-bats as they come about, and hopefully he's not giving away too much. Like I said, just be aggressive whichever pitch. In the playoffs you see a lot of tripling up on pitches. I know I have. Getting away from fastballs so much. Hopefully just mixing it up, changing batters' eyes. I don't know how I'm going to approach it just yet, but whatever we go with, just, like I said, be aggressive. Q. As well as you've pitched in your first post-season, there's been so much hype, Roy Halladay, what he did, and now Cliff Lee. Cody Ross was saying that you guys just like it that way, not having all the attention. Would you say that's the case? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I mean, we've still got a pretty good group of guys, though, that throw the ball pretty well. We don't worry about that. That stuff just kind of takes care of itself between the lines. You just go out there and regardless of people thinking us are the underdogs or not, just give them what we've got, not letting back. Q. Cliff Lee mentioned that he doesn't like to change his spikes, his cap, his glove throughout the entire season. Do you have any superstitions when you go out there on the mound? TIM LINCECUM: I try to stick with this cap as much as possible. I've had it since my rookie year, so any chance I get a chance to wear a black hat, this is the one I go with. But outside of that, no, I've switched up my gloves here and there and maybe just cleaning my spikes before the game. That might be my only superstition. Q. Between the wigs that you see in the stands and those funny T-shirts that you see people walking around the streets with, you're kind of a folk hero around here. What do you think about that? TIM LINCECUM: It's a really good atmosphere, a lot of people -- as far as the shirts go, kind of like I said, talking about before, kind of embracing me, kind of -- it is what it is kind of thing. I'm having fun with it. You see all the Pablo hats or the Panda hats and the Brian Wilson "fear the beard" shirts and things. Just something for them to play on and have fun with, and it's good. I think it gets them involved, and I feel like they're part of the team. Q. When Cliff Lee was in here he said one of the things he likes about watching you is you succeed doing things in kind of an unorthodox way. Do you think you do things in an unorthodox way? TIM LINCECUM: Maybe as of late, just kind of picking my spots to make good pitches, like I've gotten myself into some pretty troublesome situations and kind of pitched my way out of it, an that's kind of been the way it's gone ever since my first start. I don't know if that's unorthodox and I stick with it, as long as I'm getting outs. Q. How old were you when you developed this style of your motion? And how did you come to develop that motion? And why do you think it works for you and very few people pitch like that? TIM LINCECUM: Just because it was -- my dad obviously just kind of taught me it as I was growing up, kind of mimicking him. But outside of that, it kind of just developed through my seven to probably late-in-high-school years. It took a lot of time. That's why it kind of just works for myself. A lot of practice, a lot of repetition to get that secondary feel, in other words, just second nature. It doesn't feel like you have to think about it. Obviously I went through those bumps this year a little bit, kind of tweaking with things go over it in my head and such. But getting back to what I did and looking at some film, just simplifying things, that's kind of where I got back. Q. Did any teammate ever ask you to try to teach them to throw like that? TIM LINCECUM: No. Q. Can you just talk about we've been asking lots of players who are in the Series for the first time, which is a lot, what it means to you, and was this something you recall when you were growing up, even like a little Walter Mitty, imagining being in a situation like that? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I think every kid does. You get a chance to play whiffle ball baseball in your backyard and everyone wants to hit that game-winning home run. Obviously I don't think I'm going to be doing any of that. So just try to pitch well, and just great to get this opportunity. It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. Prior to this year I didn't know if we'd ever get here or what was going to happen or how far we'd get, but we got the right tools and brought the right people in at the right time, and we're here now. Q. You mentioned Brian Wilson, him making a connection with the fans like you. Two-part question: Have you ever met anyone like him on a baseball team? And just what kind of connection does he have to you guys? TIM LINCECUM: No, not quite. I don't think there is anybody out there like Brian Wilson. He's just very matter of fact and blunt. You just take it with what it is and you accept him as a person. He's very colorful, very outgoing, and he's always just kind of been that way ever since I met him. I don't think it's an act or anything, it's just -- that's just his bright personality. Q. Coming out of the bullpen in Game 6, did you like it? Did it change anything that you're going to do approaching Game 1? Throw you off any kind of schedule? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I don't think it threw me off anything approaching the start. I'm still ready to go. It's nothing. But as far as getting in there, for me it was -- yeah, it was pretty exciting. I rarely get into the games out of the bullpen with the exception of that one first season start against LA. Just trying to make the right pitches and got into a jam, but obviously Brian got in there and saved my butt. Yeah, it was fun and nerve-wracking, but like I said, we got out of it. Q. Obviously you were very small when you were growing up, what was it like overcoming the perceptions that people had and the expectations that people had? And also what does your success say about body size in baseball? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I have dealt with the lack-of-size issue. Just being the slight frame, people not really thinking I'm going to hold up kind of thing. It just pushed me to work a little bit harder. Obviously I had my dad helping me along the way, and I was part of a pretty good program at UW getting me in pretty good shape for my professional career. So that kicking it off and just trying to sustain a pretty good work ethic, to be able to hold up throughout these years. You know, you don't really realize how taxing it is on a body after you throw 200 innings and you have to do it again, and you start to get the feel for it. My body doesn't feel like it's breaking down at all. I feel like it's just getting the hang of it. Q. Bengie said today he is pretty sure he will retire after this. What did he mean to you in your first few years? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I mean, I've said it before and here I'm going to say it again, he's been half of the reason why I got there outside of my dad and my family and my other teammates. He's the one calling the pitches. He always seemed to hit that game-leading home run to put us ahead when I was pitching. We had a pretty good connection there, and we still keep in touch away from ball. Yeah, he's meant a lot to me, and he's meant a lot to this team. He's a part of the reason why we're here and obviously part of the reason why they're there, too. Q. You guys are part of the first home-grown rotation of the World Series since the '86 Red Sox. What does it say to you guys that, first of all, that's the case? And secondly, that management believed in you and didn't go the easy way and trade a young pitcher for a hitter like so many teams do? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, everyone knows we kind of built around pitching and just more pitching on top of that. We brought in some good arms this year. We built the starting rotation around guys that just kind of like myself and Cain who came up through the system and just understood it. Guys like Bumgarner, a 20 year old out there, throwing in a National League Championship Series like he's done it before. That just speaks with specificity right there how mature he is and how he can handle himself, and given the opportunity guys can flourish and do great things. Q. Bengie said today when you were struggling he reached out to you and sent you and text and said a few specific things. Do you recall that and can you share what he said to you? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, he's just reaffirming in me that I should just be confident, don't forget what I've done, and just keep remembering that because I'm still the same pitcher. He is just a very emotional person, so I'll just leave that aside. But like I said, just telling me again, "Don't worry about it. You're going to be fine." Just always pulling for me regardless of what was going on, whether I was doing well. Q. That was in August? TIM LINCECUM: Yeah. End of FastScripts |
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