Major League Baseball

Fluke or bad trend for Lincecum?

Published Aug. 13, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Bob Klapisch

Maybe it’s having been spoiled by the other-worldly brilliance of his first two years. Maybe it’s the impossibility of matching back-to-back Cy Young awards. That probably explains why Giants fans are vaguely uncomfortable watching Tim Lincecum struggle with an 11-6 record, even though most pitchers would love to have his problems.

Lincecum is, after all, still averaging 91.4 mph on the radar, striking out 9.42 batters per nine innings. His ERA is solid — 3.42 — and he projects to win at least as many games as he did in 2009 (15) when he became the youngest pitcher to win consecutive Cy Youngs.

And on top of it all, the Giants are legitimate contenders in the NL West, just 2.5 games behind the first-place Padres and leading the wild-card race.

NEWS ITEM: Francisco Rodriguez’s meltdown (and the Mets’ tepid response).

It’s hard to know which development was more outrageous in the last 48 hours: K-Rod’s arrest for allegedly punching his girlfriend’s father in the face while at Citi Field, or the fact that not no one in the organization stood up to the thuggery.

The official response came from owner Jeff Wilpon, who instead of marching himself into the clubhouse to personally renounce Rodriguez, chose to release an 18-word statement through the team’s PR department. In it, Wilpon said he was “disappointed” in the closer’s actions, and that the Mets took the matter “very seriously.”

Having seen Wilpon shrink from his responsibility, the Mets themselves dared not to criticize K-Rod. Instead, several players spoke of standing by the closer, despite the fact that, according to police reports, he assaulted 53-year-old Carlos Pena outside the Citi Field family room, in full view of his teammates’ wives and children.

Insiders say Rodriguez has a violent temper; indeed, at his arraignment Thursday afternoon at Queens Criminal Court, prosecutors said Rodriguez displayed "a history of violence'' and his family was "very concerned'' about him returning home.

Rodriguez’s excesses were well known in the big leagues even before he joined the Mets. Before the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, Mariano Rivera ordered clubhouse attendants to keep K-Rod’s locker as far away from his as possible. No one needed to ask why.

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