Michael Duca on A's and Giants By Michael Duca May 29, 2010     Sportstalk: Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has had a tough couple of outings his last two times out. Do you see those performances mechanical issues, is he having a mental block, or is it true that he's having arm pain and that was one of the reasons why manager Bruce Bochy was considering having get an extra day's rest in the rotation? As I always say, I'm not a doctor and I did not sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night --- but --- Timmy's mechanics are complex. There's a lot of coiling and uncoiling that releases all that energy, and it has to be precise. It appears to me that it's a fairly typical Tim Lincecum problem -- that he's opening his front shoulder a bit early, which has, in the past, led to control and command issues. Until I learn differently, I'm sticking with that explanation. He threw his regular side session Friday and was clearly working on mechanics with Dave Righetti. Time will tell, of course. He's got a really tough matchup Monday with Ubaldo Jimenez, who is, right now, the best pitcher in baseball. Sportstalk: Buster Posey is coming back to the show, the team has been slumping in some of their series in their last two weeks, Bengie Molina may need some rest, Eli Whiteside doesn't play every day, what role to you see Posey playing and will he start catching as soon as he gets here? No. He will play first base in his first game. (OK, I cheated -- the lineup card is already out). I don't see him being up "for good", and first base is not where they need him to be playing, now or in the future. Posey will play a few games and then go back down when DeRosa is activated. Sportstalk: Was a good dose of San Francisco all that the Oakland A's needed last week? Since sweeping the Giants the A's have been on a tear winning six of their last seven games four of which have been on the road, Ben Sheets has been throwing longer innings, the pitching has improved and manager Bob Geren has been satisfied with the hitting, do you see the rest of this road trip with Detroit and Boston a true test of Oakland's grit and what their made of? Apparently. It's hard to argue with the results -- they are hitting home runs, they are pitching well, and, oh, wait! -- it's Baltimore. They did withstand the Miguel Cabrera show Friday, but yes, Detroit and Boston at home are a very tough week of games, and we will know a lot about how resilient this team is by this time next week.

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