[troutman]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

How in the hell does Tim Lincecum snag a 2 year $35 million deal from the Giants? Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw have gotta be laughing their asses off right now at how much money is about to be thrown at them.

Doesn't make much sense to me. He seems washed-up. I thought they should let him go, and bring in two other starters. Trading Wheeler for Beltran was a bad move.

Giants' brain trust bets Lincecum will evolve
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/shea/ar...ve-4918322.php

They were convinced Tim Lincecum will return to real-deal status, that his fastball, despite dipping to the low 90s, will be effective enough, accompanied by his usual assortment of sliders, changeups and curves, to upgrade his performance in 2014 and 2015 over 2012 and 2013.

The Giants were so convinced of this that they agreed on a $35 million contract over two years (pending a physical) to keep Lincecum in the rotation along with Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner and two pitchers to be named.
One won't be Barry Zito. One might not be Ryan Vogelsong. Or Chad Gaudin or Yusmeiro Petit.

So the Giants were working from a position of desperation to some extent. Desperate to fill rotation spots, desperate to benefit if/when Lincecum returns to elite form, desperate to keep their two-time Cy Young Award winner from the Dodgers.

Don't discount the Dodger angle. After losing the National League Championship Series with Brian Wilson as their setup man, the Dodgers could have targeted another colorful Giants pitcher, among a cast of thousands, in their pay-at-all-costs bid to win it all.

It's the Dodgers' price of doing business, just like the Giants' price of doing business was to throw $35 million at Lincecum despite his 29 losses the past two seasons. Fact is, Lincecum's stats show he's on the road to recovery, considering his 2013 ERA and WHIP dropped, along with his walks-to-inning ratio. Let's not forget the 148-pitch no-hitter.

The Giants wouldn't have cut this deal if the decision-makers weren't convinced Lincecum will deliver.

Some fans knock the deal because the Giants overpaid, but these are the facts: The list of free-agent pitchers is thin. Nobody at Triple-A Fresno is ready for the rotation. Lincecum doesn't get hurt. He was willing to take a short-term deal. The Dodgers were a phone call away. His 2013 record was worse than it could have been because of support issues on multiple levels. He actually has an upside.