We think Tim Lincecum is a pretty cool dude. He’s got the Dave Grohl–circa–1993 hair, the slightly off sense of humor, the Keanu Reeves–esque slightly spaced whoa, the wildly entertaining windup, and, of course, the weed. He’s perfectly suited for San Francisco, the perfect superstar mellow after the crank frenzy that was Barry Bonds. And he was at his absolute best last night, dominating the Mets in a 2–0 shutout. When a great pitcher is on, it becomes a soloist art, an auteur bending the canvas for his own means. Lincecum was on last night. There wasn’t much the Mets could do.
The Mets notched only six hits, one of which came from Carlos Beltran, who made his semi-triumphant return last night and looked pretty much like Carlos Beltran. He looked a little gimpy in the ninth inning, but that’s to be somewhat expected. He even tried to steal a base after his hit, but was thrown out. It’s not easy to have the first guy you face after months of recovery be Tim Lincecum.
In other Mets injury news, Jose Reyes was a late scratch, citing “discomfort.” Suddenly, a guy who was supposed to be back yesterday might not even be back this weekend. The lineup, still, is not complete. It’s like he and Beltran tag each other in. (Oh, and Luis Castillo is coming back next week, though we’re not sure he counts.)
More to the point: The Mets fell five games behind the Braves in the NL East, and a game and a half out of the wild card. Jon Niese against Barry Zito tonight, with Beltran still in the lineup. The Mets are working their way back while they simultaneously run out of time.