Giants Opening Day 2009

There is nothing, except maybe a playoff game or possibly a Dodgers vs. Giants game, that gets me more pumped than opening day. Yesterday I sat down at my computer, connected to a newly purchased widescreen external monitor and watched the Giants home opener through MLB.TV.

The expectations for Tim Lincecum in '09 couldn't be bigger. He's now a Cy Young Award Winner, on the cover of a video game and he even stars in a handful of commercials. For several reasons he really is the future of of the Giants franchise.

Veterans Randy Johnson and Barry Zito are looking to Tim Lincecum to lead the pitching rotation and Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain are hoping to soak up some of the early success that Lincecum has had. I personally believe that Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean's jobs are dependent on how this years pitching staff performs and develops. Although it's more likely Sabean would get fired before Bochy.

Tim Lincecum is only 24, but Giants managment and the entire fanbase is depending on him. It was frustrating for me yesterday to watch Tim struggle to throw fastballs for strikes and it was even harder to hear the frustration of the crowd. Surprisingly I found myself feeling for the guy in that moment. All this pressure on him. Fans and many in the sports world were waiting to rip him or praise him dependending on how he pitched. It even looked as though Tim was not the same Tim from last year. He was almost too focused, easily irritated when he through bad pitches. After 3 innings and 3 ER he was pulled.

Luckily the Giants scored 10 runs, which seems like a lot by Giants standards and won the game. But I couldn't help but worry about Lincecum and the rest of the Giants family after his tough outing. Then I read some things Lincecum said in an interview, "I don't think there's an excuse or a reason why I did the way I did, it's just part of the game and part of the day."

"I'll try to take it with a grain of rice and move on," he said.

Rice?

"Rice, salt, whatever. I'm half-Asian," Lincecum replied.

And just like that my worries were put to rest. This sounds like the Tim Lincecum I remember. Wait the Giants won yesterday, should there really be anything to complain about?