When your run-of-the-mill starting pitcher suffers back-to-back poor outings, the media assumes he’s in a funk and usually nothing more is made out of it. But when the defending two-time Cy Young award winner suffers back-to-back poor outings, the media goes into a Mountain Dew-mixed-with-cocaine-like frenzy and poses questions such as: What’s wrong with Tim Lincecum? What’s wrong with Tim Lincecum! What’s wrong with Tiqiowehgoiwgh….

After giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday night in a loss to the Nationals, all the talk in San Francisco yesterday was about Lincecum’s struggles. He also pitched poorly in a no-decision against the Diamondbacks in the start prior to his outing on Wednesday and has now walked five batters in each of his last three games after walking just 10 in his first seven starts combined. He has routinely fallen behind hitters early in counts and his main issue has been control.

But before this becomes national news, remember that Lincecum held the Astros to one run over eight innings on May 15 and also struck out 13 Marlins while walking just one on May 4. It’s not like he’s been in a season-long funk and the Giants have this huge crisis on their hands; he just needs to figure out what has ailed him over these last two games.

I’m not Dave Righetti, but it appears as though Lincecum’s struggles are mental. Early in the game Wednesday night against the Nationals, he allowed a runner a free 90 feet when he couldn’t handle the throw back from first baseman Aubrey Huff following a pickoff attempt. Those things happen when a player isn’t focused and it seems as though Lincecum’s struggles are getting inside his head and he’s pressing. The more an athlete fights his struggles, the more his struggles consume him and in my non-professional opinion, I think that’s what’s happening to Lincecum. Maybe he also has a small mechanical issue that Righetti can iron out, but it seems as if he’s suffering from lack of confidence more than anything else. (Not that he doesn’t have confidence, but maybe the seed of doubt has been planted in his head.)

Another underlining issue is the fact that the Giants paid him this past offseason (two years, $23 million), so now he has to deal with the pressures of trying to live up to a contract. If there’s one person that knows about that it’s Lincecum’s teammate and good friend, Barry Zito, who signed a $126 million contract with the Giants in 2007. Zito is living proof that the pressures of a contract can eat away at a player.

When things start to go badly for an athlete, he never feels like he’ll find success again. But Lincecum is an elite pitcher and it’s because he’s so good that people have already started hitting the panic button after two bad outings. During a 162-game season, the media has to talk about something and it has latched onto Lincecum after Wednesday night.

But he’ll be fine – everyone goes through these rough patches. Even two-time Cy Young winners.

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The Giants have reached a two-year, $23 million contract with ace Tim Lincecum, which allows the two sides to avoid an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for today.

According to ESPN.com, Lincecum will receive $8 million this year and $13 million in 2011, as well as a $2 million signing bonus. He also has a chance to earn performance and award bonuses, although no details have been provided on what those incentives are.

This is great news for both sides, as arbitration hearings can sometimes get messy between team and player. Lincecum had filed for $13 million in arbitration, which would have broke Ryan Howard’s mark of $10 million in 2008. The Giants submitted $8 million for Lincecum, which was viewed by many to be a lowball offer for a two-time All-Star and Cy Young winner. Lincecum also owns a 40-17 record and a 2.90 ERA with 676 strikeouts in only three seasons.

After overpaying for Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria (just to name a few) offer the last couple of seasons, the Giants made the right decision coming to an agreement with Lincecum before the hearing. Along with Pablo Sandoval, Lincecum is the face of the franchise and the ace of a fantastic pitching rotation that also features emerging star Matt Cain, top prospect Madison Bumgarner and 27-year-old Jonathan Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter in 2009.

Now that they have come to terms with Lincecum, the Giants can focus on what hopes to be a successful 2010 campaign. They have enough pitching to challenge for a postseason berth, but their offense has been among the league’s worst for several years now. The club hopes that the moves they made this offseason (i.e. signing free agents Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff, as well as re-signing Freddy Sanchez and Juan Uribe) will be enough to get the Giants back into the postseason.

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In a surprising twist of events, a source tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Giants have offered ace Tim Lincecum a three-year, $37 million contract. The deal would pay the pitcher $9.5 million, $12.5 million and $15 million over the next three years, although Shea reports that Lincecum’s camp countered with a proposal for over $40 million.

If not, Friday’s hearing in Florida would decide whether Lincecum’s 2010 salary is $13 million (the figure he submitted) or $8 million (the figure submitted by the Giants).

The record for a player eligible for arbitration for the first time is $10 million (Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard), $4.35 million for a starting pitcher (Dontrelle Willis, Cole Hamels). It’s believed Lincecum’s agent, Rich Thurman, negotiating for a multiyear deal, has asked for a first-year salary close to the $13 million figure he submitted.

It was just yesterday that I hammered the Giants for creating a lose-lose situation by only offering Lincecum $8 million in arbitration and then following through with the hearing by setting it up for this Friday. I maintained they were running a risk of not only losing in arbitration, but also upsetting Lincecum (their franchise player) in the process by low-balling him with their $8 million offer.

But this changes everything. Now the Giants are showing their commitment to Lincecum by offering a fair deal that works for both sides. And if they’re only a few million apart, then hopefully they get something worked out by tomorrow and avoid a potentially messy arbitration hearing.

The Giants went from a lose-lose situation into a potentially positive one, although let’s see if they can close the deal before tomorrow.

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