Dazed And Hilarious

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state of Oregon. When I heard of this I was almost giddy with joy. For those of you who remember my post a few months back (Thursday, July 09, 2009 - The Underrated All Star) on how good Lincecum is and his unbelievable likeness to the actor who played Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) from Dazed and Confused. This cult movie favorite is a classic and has had some classic quotes and scenes. The fact that the movie had such a connection with the use of marijuana makes this storey even better.

Wooderson: "Say, man, you got a joint?"

Mitch: "Uhhh, no not on me man."

Wooderson: "It’d be a lot cooler if you did."

An officer approached Lincecum’s 2006 Mercedes and smelled marijuana as the pitcher rolled down his window. The police spokesman said. Lincecum immediately complied with a request to hand over the drug and a marijuana pipe from the car’s center console. The amount measured was 3.3 grams which was deemed it in the range for personal use, well below the maximum of 40 grams before possession is classified differently and carries a more severe penalty. The police said "It’s not really out of the ordinary. It happens every day," in regards to the amount that was seized "It was about the size of a thumb, the whole thumb."

I am not here to pass judgement, as a professional athlete maybe he should have known better then to be driving around and smoking the stuff in a high priced car but in the grand scheme of things not a huge deal. Other players are surely doing a lot worse more often. All I am saying is there is a time and a place so you avoid this bad pub...HOWEVER of all the star athletes to have this happen to Thank You Mitch...errrrr...Tim you have made my day!!

Lincecum is currently scheduled to appear before a judge on Dec. 22

The Underrated All Star

I know what you are thinking, but no this is not about Roy Halladay, this is about the National League's representative to have this title. Tim Lincecum. This is one special pitcher and one to watch for many years to come. I don't know if this helps or hurts him but he is a dead ringer for 2 other young up-and-coming-stars - Mitch Kramer (from Dazed and Confused) and Kelly Leak (from The Bad News Bears)



One of the best pitchers in baseball is also one of the most unknown. The fact that he plays in San Francisco does not help his overall exposure on TV or in the media. Not unlike Halladay who is hurt by being in Toronto and not getting the coverage he deserves, Lincecum, playing on the West Coast doesn't get the same viewers or publicity that he probably deserves from those in the East. That actually is only 1 thing that connects him with Halladay...they were almost teammates at one time. There was a very good chance a season or 2 ago that the Jays may be willing to move a then very good young prospect in Alex Rios to San Fran in exchange for Lincecum. If I am not mistaken it was the Jays who were the ones who balked at the proposed deal (my how hindsight is 20/20). For San Francisco the best deal was the one never made.

Tim Lincecum has emerged as a great young throwback fireballer who is looking like the real deal. He has that old throwback style with his delivery with the full leg kick and arm motion. This is the type of delivery that allowed the old school guys like those from the 30's, 40's and 50's to be capable to throw complete games, in short rotations and win more games without breaking down and have long careers. In this age of specialization and limited pitch counts it is nice to see a pitcher that is taking an old school approach. His dad is the one who worked with him to throw in that style and is probably the best pitching coach he will have during his career. There is a reason why pitchers threw that way. Good mechanics are effective in a game and on a career (just look at the Jays who have started 12 different guys in the rotation this year and have probably more injuries to starting pitchers then any other team in baseball history).

Lincecum just picked up his 10th win Thursday, allowing three runs over 6.2 innings against the Padres. In addition he actually took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, when his 29-inning scoreless streak ended....29 innings, that is like over 3 full games without allowing a run. The 149 K's is nothing to sneeze at either! He has fast become the most dominant starter in baseball all at the tender age of 25. After this years All Star game there is a good chance that his time flying under the national radar will be over and fans will see just how good he really is.

Now if we can just get him to trim up the mop top he will have the total package.