No matter what happens today,
Tim Lincecum will be on the mound tomorrow for the Giants. He could be pitching the clinching game for the Giants to make it to the World Series.
He sat down with the media and had an interesting pre-game news conference. Lincecum talks about the wigs, Bengie Molina, and the fans.
Q. You always hear players this time of year saying everybody's got something, some nick or this or that, and I'm wondering physically how do you feel now compared to some of your other seasons at which juncture?
TIM LINCECUM: I feel fine right now. I don't know. In comparison to the rest of the year, I feel I've gotten stronger as the season has gone on, especially since August when I changed up everything. But, yeah, I feel good.
Q. You hear pitchers talk about sometimes high-stress innings, and I don't know if you subscribe to the idea that that can take something out of a pitcher or not, but the way this team has played all year, and particularly in the playoffs not scoring a lot of runs, is this something that you guys are used to by now as a staff?
TIM LINCECUM: As a team we're kind of used to it. We know we're going to play those close games and every run is going to matter and every 0 is going to matter, too. So, yeah, it's one of those things where I think we're more comfortable kind of in those close games, and sometimes you'll see those games where you get a big lead. They start to nick away at you and you get relaxed and it starts to hurt you. I'd say we play really well under those high-stress games, those really close ones.
Q. I'm sure you're very happy for your former battery mate who was doing rather well in this postseason too. Could you talk a little bit about what Bengie Molina meant to you and the other young pitchers for the guys to leave it open to what you guys are today?
TIM LINCECUM: Bengie has kind of been there since I've been there, obviously. So getting to work with him, helping me find a lot of my pitches, giving me feedback on how things are going throughout each game, throughout each pitch even. But, yeah, he's definitely molded me into a better pitcher. He's the one calling me the pitches and I'm the one agreeing, and obviously I get the last say and everything. But if it hadn't been for him reading all the batters, knowing how the batters swing, he's a seasoned vet that knows a lot about every single guy that comes up. So he takes care of the stuff that he doesn't want us to necessarily worry about.
Q. Going into this second a time, it was so hyped up a few days ago, Lincecum-Halladay. Now that there have been some other good pitching matchups in the series, is there a good feel going into the second one between the two of you?
TIM LINCECUM: As far as us, I think we're just approaching it like a regular game. Kind of worrying about today right now as a matter of fact. So we'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
But as far as I'm concerned, I'm just getting prepared for tomorrow regardless if we win or lose. Just approach it like any game. Like I've been here twice, I guess, just try to take it relaxed and poised and keep myself together.
Q. What's your impression the way Bumgarner has handled his season and his other postseason start?
TIM LINCECUM: He's done really well. I mean, I remember coming up as a rookie everything kind of overwhelmed me, got to be too much at times. But for him, in this heightened atmosphere, I think he's taking it as well as anybody else. It's like he's been here before.
He's pitching well. He's pitching within himself, not trying to do too much. And he's had good results and he's given us a chance to win.
Q. How conscious are you and your teammates of the Giants history here in San Francisco? A lot of good players but never winning the World Series. Is that something that you guys are all aware of and is it surprising when you think about all the great players through the years?
TIM LINCECUM: When you bring it up, it's surprising because we have had so many good teams, a lot of good pitching. A lot of good hitters. It's just about putting it together at the right time and maybe just right now is ours. So we're just taking it as it comes and trying to make the most of each day.
Q. Going back to your first matchup with Halladay, what do you take out of that game, and how much of a difference do you think the different ballpark will make?
TIM LINCECUM: Obviously people see this park as a pitcher-friendly park. So you try to pitch to the confines of it. It's obviously got a hard porch out there in right field that we can use. Balls have a hard time getting out there. So just pitching like you would anyway. Keep the ball down in the zone, quality strikes. And everything else will kind of take care of itself.
Q. Fewer whistles?
TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, I think so.
Q. Have you allowed yourself to consider that you might be pitching for a World Series berth tomorrow?
TIM LINCECUM: I mean, it's crept in the back of my mind, obviously, just because I've never been here before and those are the things that people dream of. I'm sure everybody in here has. Or as far as my teammates go. So at the same time not getting too ahead of ourselves and, like I said, worrying about today.
Q. Can you talk about how much it's meant to you the way you've been embraced by Giants fans in the city? And the second part, also, first time you saw the wig?
TIM LINCECUM: The wig?
Q. One of the fans wearing the wigs.
TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, this city is -- taken me in kind of like -- I wouldn't say a son, just because I'm not that young. But just as one of their own. Even in my mistakes and my faults and things that I've said wrong or done wrong, they've accepted me and still rooted us on and rooted myself on. So can't say enough about the city. It's been great to me, the opportunities I've had here, the way people have embraced me. It's been great. It's a lot different than home.
And the wig, I don't know. I've seen a lot of them and, I don't know, they asked me how close it was to resembling my hair and I gave them the okay, but I don't know how close it is.
Q. Any extra sense of pride that the four starters in this postseason rotation are all homegrown products, all four of you starting the postseason are homegrown, coming up through the organization?
TIM LINCECUM: Yeah, just goes to show the philosophy that this organization has gone by, being aggressive in the zone having the strike zone, building around pitching.
And it's shown. I mean, it's gotten us here and the games where we haven't scored a lot of big runs, pitchers are coming up big, and games where we have a rough outing or something like that, obviously the offense is picking us up. Like I said, we're built around defense and pitching. We've done both of that. So everything else has just been just extra and great.
Q. I know how focused you are on the Phillies tomorrow. But I'm just wondering if there's -- in some corner of your brain somewhere, in the last couple of days, you've thought how the heck would I pitch Bengie knowing he knows you and you know him?
TIM LINCECUM: Obviously I've seen him just save my butt a few times in games with home runs on low pitches and just funky pitches, pitches out of the zone. So I don't know. Maybe I'll just throw them right down the middle and maybe I'll get away with it. We'll see.
Q. For two of these three games here you've really been able to keep this Phillies lineup under wraps. Any surprise at that when you know how potent they can be or pride in that that you've been able to do that?
TIM LINCECUM: It's been great. We know what we're capable of. We're really relaxed at home. We have a lot of confidence here. And that goes back to how we played and the fans obviously make it a lot easier here, too. They're up every inning. Every other batter, even. So we feel at home. Like I said, we feel relaxed and I think it allows us to play better baseball. We know what it takes to win, and we play our West Coast type of baseball really well here.
Q. Back to the part where you're talking about how the city's embraced you after the last two wins, the games you pitched, has there been any reaction differently on the streets or here among the staff in the stadium?
TIM LINCECUM: No, I mean, it's just kind of been the regular thing. I've gotten used to just pulling out of the stadium and fans continue to stand there with their signs and rooting us on, win or loss. So you see how much they believe and how much confidence they have in us as a whole, and their hopes and beliefs are just in us. That's great. It's fun to be a part of and it's an exciting experience for all of us. And I get to share that with the city is a big thing.
Q. The Phillies have obviously gotten a lot of attention for their top-flight pitching and you guys are built on that philosophy, too. Did you as a staff take that as any kind of challenge to show that you guys are a pitching-oriented team, too?
TIM LINCECUM: We just worry about ourselves. When I was asked about the heightened -- the Halladay-Lincecum matchup, I was like I only get to face him two times in the game. He got one hit off me (laughter). It's not those kinds of things you worry about. Obviously, you get excited because obviously you're going to take each run as it comes and each run is more exciting because you're getting it off such a big-name pitcher like that. So I think it makes the series a little bit more exciting knowing that any potential night something crazy could happen between any of the pitchers, and we got exciting at-bats in the lineup as well. So it's fun and exciting to see what will happen.
