I doubted Tim Lincecum last August and I was wrong.

At the start of this season I said he was the best pitcher in baseball and I was wrong.

I’m still puzzled by the guy. He has everything. He should be the best but he goes through stretches in which he seems good but not great. And sometimes not so good. When he gets into trouble on the mound he seems confused sometimes, and doesn’t think his way out too well.

I still believe he has what it takes to be the best and I still believe he will have an excellent season. But mixed in with my certainty is a little doubt — the kind of doubt I never felt with Koufax or Bob Gibson. What are your thoughts on the current, up-to-the-minute Lincecum?

Second question: Why do people refer to him as Timmy?