Is Tim Lincecum Finished?

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Yeah, his decline has been predicted for some time now.

Guys with wacky motions are rarely effective long term. Either they injure themselves with poor mechanics or the league just begins to figure them out.

The smallest issue can knock them out of whack. I think Lincecum will have to change his approach and learn to pitch a different way if he is ever to become effective again.

I wonder if anybody can think of any other pitchers with crazy wind-ups, outside of perhaps Luis Tiant, who had long productive careers.

Tiant hit a similar wall after five years in the league - he was 9-20 in 1969 and 1-7 in 1971, and some thought he was done. Then he turned it around with an awesome run from '72-'76 that now has people talking about him as a potential HOFer.

So it is possible for someone with an unorthodox delivery to turn it around as Tiant did, but it is certainly not an everyday thing.