Tim Lincecum was robbed of a win as he put together yet another brilliant start for the offensively inept Giants. Lincecum allowed 1 ER on just 3 H with 3 BB and 11 K and if he were on a team that could muster some sign off offensive life, he would absolutely be leading the majors in wins right now. Lincecum has an astounding 18 quality starts in 23 outings and has failed to go at least 6 innings just twice this year, one being his first start of the year in which he allowed just 1 ER in 4 IP. The young stud has a K/9 of 13.2 in his last 28 innings, and a mark of 10.0 for the season. Lincecum also lowered his ERA to a ridiculous 2.71. Move over Webb and Haren, you fellas have got some very stiff competition fro Cy Young in 2008.
I don't think there is a hotter bat in baseball than Shane Victorino's right now. After last night's 1-5 performance (a double early in the game), he has a 12 game hitting streak. Victorino amassed at least one hit in 20 of 25 July games, collected 12 multi-hit performances, and has raised his BA from .274 to .287. His July BA was .333 with 7 HR, 20 RBI, 20 R, 6 SB and 6 2B. That is one helluva month, particularly for a guy who had under-produced far under our expectations until this point. I would expect Victorino to cool down in the following months but not by a lot. He should be one of the better 5-tool OF in the second half of the season and if you need help across the board, it's now or never to try and go get him. Philly's offense is completely different with Victorino hitting well and let's not forget they are a second half team.
Cole Hamels tossed his second unimpressive outing in as many tries last night as he surrendered 5 ER on 8 H (2 HR) in 6 IP while walking 1 and striking out 5. His last two starts are really the first blips on the radar since May 31st as 8 of his previous 10 outings have been quality starts. Hamels season has been an interesting one statistically. I'm not worried that he's going to continue to slump like this, not at all, but he has had some odd stats for a young power ace. His K/9 dipped from 9.86 in 2006 to 8.69 in 2007 to 7.87 this season and he's given up 4% more line drives, but every other peripheral is on track. His FB% only increased by 2% while his HR/FB is almost identical, despite the fact that he has already given up 23 HR (as opposed to 25 last year). His strand rate is on target, his BHIP and BABIP are far lower than 2007, and opponents are batting 21 points lower. It's just odd to me that his K rate and HR allowed would show a correlation (albeit a very loose correlation) when everything else is one target or better than last season. I think Hamels is going to be fine but of course there is always the worry that his somewhat frail frame might be susceptible to another injury as the season winds down. I think he'll be fine but I'm putting offers out there for him right now to improve my offense and get back almost equal pitching. Combo deals are my thing and I need to get hot fast in one of my shallower leagues if I want to jump from 2nd to 1st.
Ubaldo Jimenez was lights out for Colorado last night as he tossed a 2-hitter in 7 IP with 3 BB and 10 K. The youngster has really come on strong since mid-June and now has 7 straight quality starts and 9 QS in his last 11 outings. Jimenez still needs to cut down on his walks as they have still been a problem even through his last 48.1 outstanding innings (3.37 BB/9). However, despite the inconsistencies in his control, he has still been awesome for the Rockies and is showing real promise to be an impact pitcher in 2009. Also note that his home ERA is almost 3 whole points better than on the road, which is a great sign for a pitcher who will spend a lot of time in Coors Field. The road performances will improve as he matures.
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