Tim Lincecum was cited by the state police in Washington for possession of marijuana this week. The pot was found in his car after he was pulled over for speeding near the Oregon border on Oct. 30. It was a small amount, and the police determined that Lincecum was not intoxicated while driving, so he's been cited for misdemeanor possession. After his hearing on Nov. 23, that will likely be the last we hear of this particular incident.
Andrew Baggarly, the San Jose Mercury writer who wrote the blog entry linked above, guesses that this incident won't be much more than an embarrassment for Lincecum and that it's unlikely to affect his potential arbitration hearing early next year. He's probably right that it'd be wrong for the Giants to accuse their superstar pitcher of being a dirty hippie for having a few grams of pot in his car, but that's a funny mental image I'm stuck with and now I hope you are, too.
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding Tim Lincecum. Do they sign the insanely talented righthander to a long-term contract extension to buy out his arbitration years or do they let him go to arbitration and continue going the one-year contract route to avoid being on the hook for big money if something untoward happens to Lincecum's arm?
You'd imagine they'd opt for the long-term deal, so his answer to a question about a willingness to sign an extension was likely met with some smiles.
Yes," Lincecum said Thursday. "I definitely like San Francisco. I've seen nothing but positive things as far as my personal experiences. It's where I see myself being for awhile."
So the deal's getting done, right? Sadly, it won't be quite that easy for the Giants.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
After Tim Lincecum missed a start, fantasy owners still in the championship race had to have been holding their collective breath. Now is not the time to lose your staff ace. His next start would be a test of his health. Last year's NL Cy Young winner took the hill Monday night against the wild card-leading Rockies, and he passed the test with flying colors. While the 4 free passes were a bit disappointing, Lincecum more than made up for that with a win, 11 strikeouts and just 1 earned run in 7 innings of work. He's back, and he'll be a force the rest of the way (now if only someone could convince him to get a freaking haircut).
Their mission, overcoming the Rockies in the final three weeks of the season to sneak into the wild-card spot, was a difficult one before the teams began a three-game showdown series. San Francisco's 9-1 victory in the opener makes it only slightly easier. The Giants are still 3 1/2 games out, three in the loss column, with 18 to play.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
As I look ahead to the MLB playoffs, I'm faced with the fact that my beloved Cubbies aren't going to be competing. Being a devout baseball fan, though, there's no way I'm not watching the postseason. Without a horse in the race, I'm forced to focus instead on individuals, and there are always plenty of reasons to watch certain players. Thus, I'm going to list 10 players I'm looking forward to watching and five players I wish I could come October.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Red Sox and Rangers weren't able continue what is the closest race for any playoff spot. Both teams were rained out, setting up Sunday to be a huge day in the race. Right now the Red Sox are two games ahead of Texas, and both teams will play doubleheaders on Sunday. Boston is playing Tampa Bay and Texas is playing Seattle.
The Red Sox might take a little advantage over the Rangers out of Friday's weather. Because Boston has an off day on Monday, the doubleheader on Sunday won't force them to dig up a spot starter later in the week. (Daisuke Matsuzaka will return to the Boston rotation on Tuesday, though, replacing Paul Byrd.) The Rangers are going to need a sixth starter for Wednesday's game against the A's, probably Dustin Nippert, Doug Mathis or Guillermo Moscoso.
PHILADELPHIA -- When Tim Lincecum was a little younger, he viewed Pedro Martinez as an inspiration, someone who could excel despite being relatively small in stature.
On Thursday, Tim Lincecum viewed Pedro Martinez with a bat in his hand.
"It's ridiculous how nasty his stuff is," Lincecum said after he and the Giants lost 2-1 to Martinez and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
"He's not just winging it up there. He's pitching with a purpose."
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Ryan Howard is trying to challenge Albert Pujols for National League MVP.
Howard homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs Friday in the Phillies' 4-2 defeat of the Braves. Philadelphia now has an eight-game lead in the NL East.
"It makes you feel good when he starts hitting," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's amazing. He'll take two swings and not look too good, then all of a sudden he stays on a pitch and smokes it out of the yard. He's a tremendous hitter."
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... All everyone could talk about earlier this week was the stunning manner in which the Rockies nearly closed the gap on the Dodgers in the NL West. Of course, they still only got within two games of the wire-to-wire Dodgers, and it's now back up to a 4-game deficit for the Rox after consecutive home losses to the boys in blue. Vicente Padilla followed up Randy Wolf's Wednesday gem with a nice outing of his own. It was his Dodgers debut, as he just signed Wednesday.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Heading into the season, the signs were there that the Rockies' 25-year-old right-handed starter Ubaldo Jimenez was ready for a breakout campaign. The only question was his occasional lack of command, which reared its ugly head in April (he started the season 1-3 with a 7.58 ERA and 2.11 WHIP). Since then, though, Jimenez has actually been one of the best hurlers in baseball and he's been even hotter for the past month.
Tim Lincecum was cited by the state police in Washington for possession of marijuana this week. The pot was found in his car after he was pulled over for speeding near the Oregon border on Oct. 30. It was a small amount, and the police determined that Lincecum was not intoxicated while driving, so he's been cited for misdemeanor possession. After his hearing on Nov. 23, that will likely be the last we hear of this particular incident. 
The Giants will have a pretty big decision to make this offseason regarding 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
SAN FRANCISCO -- A wise man -- either Confucius or Yogi Berra -- once said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Starting Five
PHILADELPHIA -- When 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
