Maybe we caught Tim Lincecum at a rough time last year during Media Day. Or perhaps the increased post-World Series attention and questions about the follicles on his upper lip drove him batty. Whatever it was, last year he seemed like he would rather be anywhere else than the suite he was sitting in, answering questions with a scarf accenting his wispy moustache.
On Friday, Lincecum was in a great mood. Kind of like Pablo Sandoval, who also recently signed an extension that made him wealthier than 99.99% of the planet. I was really happy with everything I filmed today, but all the other Giants I spoke to were one-shot deals. Film a few minutes, and on to the next available hurler/hitter.
Lincecum? I kept coming back for more. I went in and out of his suite a few times, and every time he was friendly, engaging and — best of all for us legitimate and not-quite-mainstream media types — full of great quotes.
The video below is from the first time I checked in on him. He talked about how close pitchers’ duels help to keep him engaged during the game (and lead to more “f-bombs”). Then I asked a question about the four times he went against Clayton Kershaw, which I followed with a question about the Giants/Dodgers rivalry.
That led to Lincecum referencing the Bryan Stow incident.
Two things…
First, I’m starting to believe less and less that Lincecum spent his off-season crying on the phone to his agent about the Giants’ inability to score runs. If he’s unhappy in San Francisco, he’s one hell of an actor.
Second, the Stow incident still resonates to this day, and now I’m all the more curious as to how much the team thought about Stow’s fight to stay alive. Sounds like it was on their minds just as much, if not more, than the average Giants fan.
I’m probably analyzing this way too much, so I’ll get out of the way. After all, Timmy — like always — was the star of the show.
