SUNDAY PM ROUND-UP...
Another softie by Ben Fong-Torres
Even when he tries to write something now that is slightly critical, he comes up short. BFT tries to get Dennis Constantine of KFOG to explain the current morning crap, but in the end, naturally, it's another coffee table press release.
And take a look at the commenter's. Seems as if they smell the rat too. I must say I wish he had a better MO--maybe the Chronicle likes these puff pastries. Certainly, the readers don't and say so.
*LINCECUM IS A BUM MANIA HITS SF
SF, we have a Timmeh problem.
The young gun is suddenly a liability. Maybe he should cut the hair? Is the body, (or lack thereof) an issue? OK, you wanna bet the weed subject makes it onto the domain. And, oh, by the way, when does a 2-7 pitcher with a 6 ERA become a "Tim" as opposed to a "Timmy?"
Anyway, El Timbo was all over the map on Sunday Night.
First, a good take from Andy Baggarly of CSN
And Marty Lurie, of course, on Knibber.
(Marty may one day do about 84 hours alone, solo. I think that may be a record.)
Even Lowell Cohn tried to provide support, early on. No such luck.
**MONDAY TEASES:
Trouble at KPIX.
Why does the News Director have such contempt for a popular weather woman?
KEEP IT AT 415 MEDIA.
*Follow me on Twitter
*Tips/EMail: Rich.Lieberman@Gmail.com
Tammy, is done. She just doesn't throw the fastball like she used to.
ReplyDeleteThank Rich ..for the opening of my posting on Lowell's blog that (after Lowell asked how Lincecum would do pre game) that I said Lincecum would be roughed up if he was still on his "dieting". The Rangers and the fact it would be warm at ATT?..Lincecum was roughed up by the Rangers and it was warm at ATT as it turned out.
ReplyDeleteI've posted for a couple of years Tim has a eating disorder that robs him of his strength and stamina.and even though Rich,I have called Lincecums efforts to the very inning..I get derision. People wont accept that their hero has a mental issue with a eating disorder.
Why the org.and public will blast Pablo for being over weight in public only tells me that Lincecum has much more fragile ego.
But after being 100% right I was made out to be like some kind of "ringer"..by local sports blogs!. I can't win with them-lol.
Stan.
They don't like the truth?..
I enjoy Stan's posts for the most part. What evidence do you have Stan that Timothy has an eating disorder? My understanding is he has been thin and small from a young age. Is his eating disorder a vanity thing? Is he into skinny jeans? Please provide more detail
DeleteWell,Anon925..Its like getting a conviction without the body being found..
DeleteFirst of all,Tim has admitted to gaining and losing large amounts of weight.Yo-Yoing from his near skeletonal 150 or so in early 2010 to his 197 just this winter. And=I should mention that he did miss an ALL STAR game..because of "dehydration" At the time the biggest game of his life..and had to be hospitalized from simply not taking in liquids? The Giants know more to that then they have ever said.
After getting clobbered in early 2010..he put on weight..then he had a terrific late season. Now,wouldn't you think he would see that he can't pitch with his 5' 11" body at the low end? Even with his recent history of better success at 170-197,He dropped 20 pounds during the winter..and a month into this season said he had lost an additional 10 more pounds
That's an eating disorder..that he ignores his proper weight..and would still not eat no matter how much he loses.
Stan
Can't testify to the Disorder part, but certain types of power pitchers, who primarily drive with legs from waist down (Seaver, Ryan, Koufax, Lincecum) have "optimum" pitching weights. Some are super critical numbers too. I had one instance a college pitcher whose Optimum weight (6 foot even) was 190 - 195. Anything below or above that had a precipitous negative effect on velocity and command. Regardless of conditioning.
DeleteHis 4 seam fb, despite 2 rotator cuff surgeries in a 5 year span at his optimum weight sat at 87 mph. Even 2 pounds over 195 his fb started dropping off and by 200lbs it was down to 83-84mph.
Obviously conditioning is a part of this; both mental and physical.
Lincecum looks more peaked than ever, his uniform pants visibly sag to the point of him looking emaciated and almost disoriented at times.
The sad part is, the Beat media who are loathe to utter anything controversial involving the front office have sought to blame Lincecum's somewhat alternative lifestyle and let it go at that.
I scribbled out a few things for fans to chew on who were interested in the different pitching styles and being able to discern for themselves some of the nuances they would be able to see afterwards when watching a ballgame. Power Pitching.
Hope you don't mind the link Rich; but I know you're as flummoxed about Lincecum's season as any Giants follower
was the ben fong torres article in the pink section? unfortunately no one buys the paper so we have to seek the article. on another note, ran into catherin heenan at tommys joynt last week. class act. and i am not in the business at all.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to the Monday Tease: Because the weather woman is everything the news director isn't. Jealousy is evil, people! That's why we have sCumulus, home shootings, political mudslinging, religious intolerance, and so many other volatile events in society. The ND's jealousy toward the weather woman is just an unfortunate tip of the iceberg.
ReplyDeleteJohn Dickey, COO of Cumulus is coming to visit the San Francisco properties this week. Anyone want to guess what that will be like?
ReplyDeleteI have to get this off my chest. The comedian from NY is back and she is basically doing the same show she did yesterday filling in for the other hack Montemayor. Soooooo bad!!!! Let's be fair, she is staying with friends in the Bay Area, she must really have Jared pics! How is she in anyway better than Craft, Taylor or Collins? Time to switch to the UFO show...
ReplyDeleteShe gives me a serious case of hives. Her show is more than an insult to the listeners, it's unadulterated torture. KGO gives us Karel and then follows up with this blithering creature. Folks, this is downright cruel and unusual punishment and they have gone out of their way to inflict her on us.
Delete90 percent of Tim Lincecum's current problems lie between his ears.
ReplyDeleteYes, he doesn't have the velocity he once had, but if you remember,
he did add the devastating change up that became his 'ultimate weapon,' not that long ago.
At this time, he has trouble finding the plate, not because of an injury, but probably because he has tried tinkering with the nuances of his mechanics. And when you start tinkering, and thinking too much, you end up getting distracted, and your pitches begin to lose their target.
In the first inning of yesterday's game against the Rangers, he threw 40 pitches, and escaped from a bases loaded situation by retiring Josh Hamilton, the best hitter on the planet at the moment, and Adrian Beltre, a notorious Giant killer over the years. But Buster Posey blocked at least three of those 30 pitches from going to the backstop because he was all over the place. You had a bad feeling he was going to run into later difficulties, and of course, he did.
Dave Righetti, Mark Gardner, his teammates on the pitching staff, his teammates in the every day eight on the field are all probably speculating, and perhaps even convinced of what he needs to do.
What Lincecum needs to do is find a person who is not involved in his world, not a baseball person, but rather someone who can help bring him back to being focused and confident again. You do that through exercises that allow you to lift the doubts and return to what you did that made you dominant.
Lincecum set himself up for failure by winning 2 Cy Young awards in his second and third full seasons, then going 4-1 in the 2010 post season to help the Giants win their first west coast title.
He isn't hurt, and he hasn't lost his abilities. Major league players are smart, but they don't even have to look at videotape to see what's wrong with this young man's approach. He's falling behind in the count, he's losing his focus, he's losing some confidence, and hitters are making mincemeat out of his fastball. It's really pretty simple. Everyone wants to speculate, but many pitchers before him have gone through this kind of thing. Ultimately, this struggle should actually help him to be come an
even better pitcher. Remember this word however: SHOULD.
The great game of baseball is all about making djustments. Even the greatest players have to fight through some difficult and challenging times. Remember what this young man has accomplished in such a short period of time, and remember his body of work.
Let's not just live in the moment, but realize what he has done and what's he's most capable of doing again.
Perhaps he'll never reclaim that dominance he enjoyed for a few years, but I'd be shocked if at the very least, he isn't serviceable and fairly reliable in the future.
Lincecum is having to become a true pitcher, and as smart and as gifted as he is, he should be able to figure it out, or he'll get someone to help him figure it out. The great ones don't suddenly just lose it unless they have some serious physical problem...and again...with Lincecum...it isn't physical...
it's upstairs in his noodle!
thanks, Mike. I know it's you because you often use the word "noodle." :-) Just use your name next time.
DeleteGood analysis of Lincecum.
DeleteKPIX should never have gotten rid of Samantha Mohr. She was a professional and knew what she was talking about.
ReplyDeleteGonzales's overly cutesy, peppy act is old.
I heard from a reliable source...a friend of Timmy's girlfriend, that Timmy does not work hard. He doesn't work out during the off season and doesn't like to push his limits. He is a super pot head, not just occasional recreational use. All those things add up to me that is days are short in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the observations about Timmy, and my name isn't Mike..
ReplyDeletebut I'll let you speculate further as to who I might be!
Ben Fong Torres writes the same story, only the station call letters change.
ReplyDeleteBen the year is 2012. 1971 ended many years ago, accept that time moves on and radio programing styles change.
Torres is still waiting for KSAN to relive its heyday of the early seventies. Free form rock is over.
There was nothing in BFT's "story" that wasn't posted on the KFOG website. I hope he's paying the Chron to publish his self-promoting crapo. Ben Fong-Torres? We always called him "Ben Wrong Stories."
ReplyDeleteBen Fong Torres used to be a fine observer and afficionado of FM radio in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. But he really doesn't have anything to write about as stations are getting rid of their established personalities, and bringing in mostly underpaid, relatively unknown medium and small market level talent.
ReplyDeleteThe same is true for talk radio and sports talk radio. There are fewer and fewer really 'professional sounding' announcers out there anymore, who actually sound as if they had proper training.
Now heard on most stations is a mish-mash of 20 and 30 year old somethings who are mostly smarmy,
sarcastic, bloviating, semi-dysfunctional nincompoops getting paid chump change.
No wonder people are turning off their car radios and listening to their own music. Why should they waste the time trying to find anything remotely worth listening to on the radio, outside of KQED, and perhaps KCBS.
If Major League baseball had fallen off in quality the way radio has in the last 10-15 years, you would be watching double a and triple a quality games being played today at big league ballparks across America. Americans wouldn't stand for that, but they don't say a peep (outside of this blog and a few others like it) about the outrages perpetrated against our radio industry!
Ben Fong Torres needs to hang it up. Tom Donahue and Dusty Rhodes are long gone. Those days are over. Enough with hanging onto to the 70's and 80's. And by the way.... I think the Fonger secretly wants to get a job on the air and that's why he isn't too harsh with his stories. Please Fong, go in the direction of Irish Greg and leave the public eye.
ReplyDelete