Verducci's article in SI on Lincecum is a must-read! | Trapped in Dirty Jerzee

The best written, most interesting, and certainly most important article of the 2008 MLB season stands before you today sports fans. If you have not read it yet, go out immediately and get your copy of the newest Sports Illustrated (July 7, 2008) and read Tom Verducci's article on San Fransisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, titled, "How Tiny Tim Became a Pitching Giant". No matter what team you are a fan of, there is something in this story for everyone, Giants fans to say the least.

I don't want to give too much away here, but basically Verducci's piece involves Lincecum's development as an athlete who is small in frame but physically gifted; how his own father - an parts inventory employee for Boeing - has developed him wisely over the years; the many organizations and GMs who made the mistake of passing Lincecum up in the 2005 draft, and most importantly for all of baseball how pitchers over the years how and why other pitchers are breaking down and spending time on the DL while Lincecum's mechanics (so far) will help to avoid that.

If you do read the story in the mag, you must also take notice of the small pictures of Lincecum's wind-up on each page and notice his stride and what his torso does. Amazing stuff. As a Padres fan, who will see San Diego host the Giants at Petco in a few weeks, I sure hope I get to see Lincecum (who will likely be facing a predominatly Triple-A batting order for the Padres at that point) in person.

By the way, a funny side note to this week's issue of S.I. as pertaining to the idiotic thought of many New York Yankee fans that Joba Chamberlain is on par or even better than Lincecum: Lincecum is the subject of an 8-page cover story while Chamberlain (a guy who I respect but wisely see is not in Lincecum's league) is the interview subject in First Person (half a page).

Anyway, a true, intelligent, well-read baseball fan (that eliminates all of the New York Post readers here in the New York City tri-state area where I am) would agree this is the greatest piece written on anything for the 2008 season so far. Enjoy it folks.