Just when you think he's reverted to the Zito the Giants had to put up with in recent years, he pulls off a gem like this one against, granted the punchless Dodgers, but still. Back to Let's Go Zito, buddy? I was listening to Vinny tonight and he was telling this story, told to him by Kruk. Don't know if you all heard this, but Lincecum supposedly put on 30 pounds last season. I knew he put on some weight, but not that much, and I thought it was all muscle. But he was supposedly eating fattening foods, not sticking to a diet regimen, thinking the extra weight might help maintain his velocity, being originally a power pitcher. His mechanics got screwed up, because of his wiry legs carrying the extra weight, so he went on a diet, but a crash diet and lost weight fast and uncontrolled, before this season. Now he's close to his original weight, but he still doesn't have consistency in his mechanics.You may have all heard all this before, but I hadn't. Thank God for Zito's performance tonight, because if we can get a good one from Vogie tomorrow, if Lincecum falters again, we can at least win the series. We can hope... sweep and a share of first place!

Anyway, the point I was making about Lincecum is: I wonder if he finally started listening to those, with that conventional baseball knowledge, that having more heft and bulk on his lightweight frame would be better for his power and pitching as he ages? The he's too small and lightweight to be durable naysayers he always proved wrong. Did they finally convince him?

" I knew he put on some weight, but not that much, and I thought it was all muscle. But he was supposedly eating fattening foods, not sticking to a diet regimen, thinking the extra weight might help maintain his velocity, being originally a power pitcher. His mechanics got screwed up, because of his wiry legs carrying the extra weight, so he went on a diet, but a crash diet and lost weight fast and uncontrolled, before this season. "

I brought this up with both Panda and Timmy prior to season start.
( Got blasted by the board's experts )

Timmy- He lost 20 pounds in a two month stretch. Regardless what anybody says, you can't lose more than 2 pounds of fat a week (Naturally). In a 8-9 week stretch, Timmy claimed to have lost 20 pounds of fat. In reality, he might have lost about 8 pounds of fat and 12 of muscle. This affected not only his velocity but also his mechanics. At different times this season he has had all all sorts of issues. I think it all comes down to his mechanics. A combination of him thinking he was the pitcher of old and him not making the proper adjustments to suit his physical capabilities. I read an article on Sunday and it states that Lincecum claims to have added 10 pounds since losing the 20 pounds. If that claim is true, it's not all muscle, but at this point weight is weight. Muscle/Fat is another discussion.

Panda- He claimed the opposite. He supposedly claimed to have added 20 pounds of muscle,lol. I laugh because it's funny and false. No person could gain 20 pounds of all muscle in a 2-3 month span (Naturally). The average person (most people) will not gain 20 pounds of muscle in a 12 month span (Natural). My concerns with Panda were not so much how fat he was. It was him not missing time because of a stint to the DL.

20 pounds of muscle in 2-3 months is hard, but possible. You'd have to eat unreal amounts of lean protein and strength train 2 hours a day. 7 pounds of muscle per month - not impossible. These guys most definitely have the resources.

Problem with that scenario is I don't see Panda eating egg whites, tuna, and chicken breast. More like fried and buttered pork.

I don't know if it was the same program as post-2010, but in that one Pablo was only allowed to eat what they gave him. they had prepared meals with very specific nutrient specs.

-chef

When he went to fat camp - yes, he had to eat what they gave him. During the season though, I'm sure he pigs out on his mom's deep fried Venezuelan food, especially when he had his hamate surgeries.

I think the yarn Vinny was spinning may have had some truth to it, but was an exaggeration. You know him and his stories, he's famous for them, but the reason they are usually good is probably that they are embellished. I mean Scully said that he has gotten back to his previous weight of 167. There is no way last year Timmy weighed almost 200 pounds, if he supposedly put on 30. Maybe 15-20 tops. I'm surprised that Lincecum would consider doing that in the first place, knowing his own unique for his body size mechanics. I believe it was said, that for his size, 5'10", he has the wind-up and stride as he pitches of a pitcher 6'4" and that and his lean, wiry muscle legs are what has given him his power. This is how is Dad taught him to surpass his body size to throw mid-nineties. So why would Timmy F with that?

"20 pounds of muscle in 2-3 months is hard, but possible. You'd have to eat unreal amounts of lean protein and strength train 2 hours a day. 7 pounds of muscle per month - not impossible. These guys most definitely have the resources."

I think you are confusing bulking and muscle. Bulking up doesn't necessarily mean muscle gain. You will hear claims of people who bulk and claim it's all muscle. In a 2 month span, the most people could gain of muscle is about 8 pounds. The average person will gain 1/2 pound a week, tops. 1 pound a week is pushing it to high standards. It's like claiming that anybody who practices Martial Arts will become as skillful as Bruce Lee.

Arnold Schwarzenegger trained for 8+ hours a day and used all the performance enhancers available to men. He never gained more than 20 pound of muscle in a two month span. Saying you could gain 20 pounds of muscle in a three month span(Natural), you're putting Pablo in the 1% club. Sorry, but that's not the case. It just doesn't happen.