I heard it during spring training from learned Giants fans, and I'm still hearing it from learned Giants fans ...
The Giants have to keep running Lincecum out there because they don't have anybody else.
Pshaw. No, they're not exactly stacked with MLB-ready starting pitchers. But how many teams are, once you get past the first four or five? What the Giants do have is a pretty good prospect down in Triple-A. Granted, Mike Kickham has started just one Triple-A game in his professional career, but Baseball America ranked him as the franchise's fifth-best prospect last winter, concluding, "If he puts everything together, he could be a No. 3 starter."
No, he hasn't put everything together yet. Not that we know about, anyway. But even if he's just a No. 5 starter, he might be able to out-pitch the guy with (as I write this) the 5.40 ERA and all those walks (including the pitcher Tuesday night, twice).