Lincecum gets the Call Up, Chulk Out with Groin

Then again a RHP is needed on the major league club right now with Chulk a big innings eater going down with the groin injury so who are the other options?

I don't know if anyone on this site would share my opinion but instead of Lincecum I would rather have seen either:

Matt Palmer
Billy Sadler

Im a big fan of paying ones dues and I think both of these guys (Palmer more so) have done it and with success.

Of course the downside to these two guys are that Sadler walks too many people and Palmer while he has done well both starting and relieving the last few years was only a 31st round pick, is getting on the old side, has only just tasted AAA and doesnt have blazing stuff (Which I am just assuming given some of his numbers)

Funny, I was headed home from the game, listening to the radio, and I heard Damon Bruce mention a couple times he'd have an update on Chulk's injury and what it means/who could get called up as a result. I got home before he made it to that segment, but the thought of Lincecum getting called up never even crossed my mind. Ugh.

I know that this is an emergency situation, but I just hope that the Giants don't decide to move him to the bullpen permanently if he's lights out the next few weeks.

Arrrrgh... calling him up to pitch high leverage innings was not what I wanted for him this year. Why, Chulk, why!?

While it would be exciting to have The Enchanter up, I don't think this is necessarily a good plan.

I hope they only put him in games in non-stressful situations, at least until he shows that he's capable of handling big league hitters.  There's a huge difference between dominating in San Jose and being able to compete in the Majors.

Of course if gets called up and helps the Giants win the division I'll be very glad that we had his help.

Felipe Alou didn't kill postgame suspicion that No. 1 draft pick Tim Lincecum could be taken off Class A San Jose's playoff roster and promoted to the big leagues.

``A couple names have come up,'' the manager said.

Who knows what they'll do at this point.  Hopefully Chulk's injury is not serious.

Sad for Chulk and his groin but goddamn it, can't we get someone else? Anyone else? If Lincecum's arm falls off I'm gonna murder Sabean with my bare hands.

Probably everything happened as merkin and others have laid out.  The newspapers rush to publish right after the game ends so it is no surprise they don't have anything concrete to confirm or deny.

However, given the KNBR no news this morning plus the Giants website has nothing, they probably went back to the Giants for confirmation and the Giants would not do it.  It could be Felipe played a joke on Bruce or it could be that they hadn't made the decision yet and Felipe jumped the gun, misunderstanding what was said, or it could be they had a change of mind afterward.  We probably won't find out what's really happening until around game time, so our stomachs will churn until then.

Presuming this is true, I'm with everyone:  excited but worried.  However, I don't worry about how failure would affect him.  It shows how strong a person he is that he recognized the faults that people said he had (control, lack of other pitches) after 2005 season, openly acknowledge these faults, and went out and worked on fixing these faults for the 2006 season and succeeding.  

I'm also not worried about his arm either.  Using PAP, it looks like 100,000 is the extreme for most pitchers and he had, like, 400,000 PAP (oh, Pitcher Abuse Points) in 2006 and 200-something in 2005 if I remember right, so according to that his arm should have fallen off by now since he is 4 times beyond even the extreme, and yet he is still pitching and the Giants doctors have OKed him pitching.  In addition, Giants management have voiced a concern about this and still they are pitching him.  So either you believe or you shout "LA LA LA" continuously and loudly until Lincecum shows what he can do at the major league level.

I'm more worried that the vast majority of pitchers who were in the study I read about DID NOT SUCCEED when they came up without a full year of pitching at AAA.  And obviously Lincecum hasn't pitched above high-A yet.  The only saving grace is there were still 16% who "performed well", hopefully he will fall in that 16%.  Which is possible, he has totally dominated A-ball, even more than Cain did when he pitched down there, if I remember right.

But if he comes up, how he does will be a "sign" to me of how this season will end up for the Giants.  

I'm not a fan of Damon.  Bring back LK.

Timmy Lince?

T-Lin?

Actually, the more I think about it the more I kinda like T-CUM.

According to Jim Moorehead, he says Damon Bruce reported it 'accurately' to how the situation was.

It would appear that those who heard it from Bruce and reported it as an actual report were misunderstanding it.

Matt Palmer

or

Billy Sadler

So everyone can breathe easier for now.