THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS TEAMS TOO OFTEN ARE RUSHING PITCHERS TO THE MAJORS BEFORE THEY ARE MENTALLY READY.

Byline: JOHN KLIMA

BASEBALL

Tim Lincecum wasn't in the minor leagues long enough to fall asleep on a bus. He arrived in the majors with the San Francisco Giants in May, less than a year after he was drafted. At the tender age of 23, he already grasps that a pitcher's mind is his best friend.

Recently, Orel Hershiser paid a visit. Lincecum listened respectfully, but a week later, he had formulated his own opinions.

"He told me, 'When I came up, I was a curveball-sinker guy," Lincecum said. "'I never let that get away from me. Those were always my twopitches. Everything else was extra.'

"That's kind of helped me," Lincecum said. "I'm thinking about that. I'm trying to believe that. I have my curveball. My curveball and my fastball are my two pitches I came up here with."

There is gratitude, followed by analysis.

"But I also don't think I'm that much like (Hershiser)," he said. "Maybe in the lankiness, but he's got like four inches on me. I lean back. He tilted forward when he stepped back. He had a different leg kick than I do. As much as people can say some guy looks like this guy or some guy throws like this guy, every pitcher has their own little tweaks. Every pitcher has something that makes him tick. Every pitcher has something that's different in their rhythm and delivery.

"No two pitchers throw exactly the same."

Lincecum, who is 6-2 with a 3.75 ERA, came to the Giants with intellect. Most pitchers do not come to the majors with it, which means clubs have to train them. And most clubs do not prepare pitchers for the mental aspects of the game. This lack of patience has undercut the careers of many young pitchers. It leads to overthrowing, which leads to the operating table.

Lincecum has an advantage. He has a thought process as evident as his 96 mph fastball.

Yet he is also an unfinished pitcher facing finished products. Lincecum ended July with his best month as a pro, compiling a 4-0 record and a 1.62 ERA, but the league hasn't seen him twice. Though holding his own in the majors, one could argue that he still would be better off if he was in the Pacific Coast League right now, where mistakes are easier to learn from against lesser hitters. Immediate success does not ensure that a young pitcher is ready.

The problem is that baseball, as an industry, suffers from impatience. Stuff allows a pitcher to dominate, but does not teach him how to eliminate mistakes.

The young right-hander is learning how to assimilate while being asked to win. Is the kid putting pressure on himself?

"No one wants to fail at this level or go through hard times, but at the same time it's part of the game," Lincecum said. "I've tried to learn to accept it at this level. It's a little harder here than I'm sure it would be in a minor-league situation, but nonetheless, it's still hard to take. It's trying to take as much stuff that's good out of those bad outings as possible and duplicate them in my other outings."

Does this process risk hurting him down the road? Yes. Why rush what doesn't need to be? If a pitcher of Lincecum's composure, intellect and pure stuff admits how difficult the game is, what is it like for the ordinary young pitcher?

"It's a new experience for me, trying to take in all that everyone is trying to offer me, especially with all the veterans on this team," Lincecum said. "You try to take in so much at once. This game is so simple you tend to over-think and over-analyze everything when it's just about throwing to the glove, throwing the right pitches in the right situations, knowing where to be and not getting too caught up with everything else."

This industry covets young arms, but does not want to take enough time to develop young minds. This leads to a host of pitfalls. Not all young pitchers have the mental fortitude to survive when they reach the majors, even if their arms belong there. If a team paid for the arm, why not invest in maturity?

As veteran Dodgers outfielder Luis Gonzalez shrewdly noted, "When you pay $2 million for a kid, you don't want to wait on him for 15 years."

Gonzalez is right. Most teams don't want to wait 15 years. They want to wait 15 minutes.

The mentality of rushing players before they are adequately prepared mentally runs contrary to the way baseball is supposed to be taught. If the big leagues are not the place to develop talent, then don't sacrifice kids at the altar before they are ready. Talent will persevere, yet patience is not for sale. Players learn at different paces. Sometimes, you wonder if front-office folks forget how hard the game really is. There is nowhere to hide on a big-league diamond.

This condition is worse among pitchers than it is among position players. There are clubs that throw young arms into the incinerator. When you do that, you run the risk of ruining them.

Teams can argue that only the strong survive, but if the club neglects to give the kid time to mentally grow into the major leagues, then they run the risk of destroying the original investment.

No owner wants to hear that his $2million investment went to waste.

When you throw a baby into the fire, you risk burning the bottom line.

No business is more hit or miss than the development of potential No. 1 starters. No position in baseball has a higher attrition rate. The game lacks pitching because it has strayed from how it was meant to be developed.

Summer is when every club is looking for bullpen help. This is because baseball has created a modern game in which fiveinnings and 100 pitches is an acceptable outing. Starting pitchers are meant to be horses, not show dogs. Much of this stems from how the game neglects developing pitching minds.

Can it be that pitch location is an extension of mental command? Can it be that pitchers need an adequate amount of innings in the minor leagues to hone the mental side of the game? As Lincecum believes, no two pitchers are like. This goes for the mind as well as the arm.

There's a reason veterans survive in the majors. It's because they know how to command the mental aspect. But the game does not afford the same opportunity to kids that it does veterans. This is also counterproductive. Even if the kid doesn't have the same contract, he still cost money to sign and develop. There is a demand for youth, but often reluctance to win with it.

"It's been scattered all the way around," Lincecum said, describing his first 16starts. "I'm trying to find consistency with all my pitches up here now. You get out there and get caught up in the whole situation of, 'Hey, I'm pitching against this guy or that guy.' You start getting away from yourself. I've been trying to not get too far away from myself, but at the same time, adding to myself."

The boy understands the balance. This insight alone is more than anyone in professional baseball could have ever given him.

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SEEDS ON THE DUGOUT FLOOR

You can't put a price on the intangibles. That's the lesson of Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra. It's hard to find a scout or a baseball person who thinks Garciaparra is the player he used to be. They agree that he doesn't run as well as he used to, doesn't move as well and no longer has power. But Garciaparra grades out high as a veteran player for the quality of his at-bats on a nightly basis and his ability to produce in the clutch. "That's the thing about him," one scout said. "For all the things guys say they don't like about him anymore, the guy is still an extremely tough out in a clutch situation. There's something to be said for the knack for getting big hits. It's not always about sheer tools." Through Friday, Garciaparra was hitting .406 with runners in scoring position.

Here are two unsung members of the Chicago Cubs who have helped the team battle with Milwaukee for first place in the National League Central. Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot had reached base in 27 consecutive games entering Friday's game with the Mets. It is the longest streak for a shortstop in the major leagues this season, surpassing the streak of 25 consecutive games New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter had earlier this year. Reliever Bob Howry hasn't allowed a walk to the past 53 batters he has faced.

Angels left-hander Joe Saunders has impressed scouts with his ability to win when he does not have his best fastball command. He's been able to get by in those starts with change-ups, curveballs and what scouts call moxie. "He's fearless, which I think you have to be when you're that kind of a guy," one NL scout said. "That's the kind of thing that impresses you at this level, the ability to compete on the days you don't have your best stuff."

Seattle left-hander Horacio Ramirez has been outstanding at Safeco Field, where he is 6-0 with a 2.63 ERA in sixstarts. He has held opposing hitters to a .263 batting average. On the road, Ramirez's stuff hasn't translated. He was 0-3 with a 13.72 ERA entering Friday's start at Fenway Park, which held true to form. Ramirez got a no-decision in a game in which Boston peppered him for four runs and 10hits in four innings. His season ERA is 6.68.

It's never too early to start discussing Rookie of the Year candidates. Entering the weekend, Red Sox infielder Dustin Pedroia was leading American League rookies with a .322batting average, followed by Reggie Willits (.303) of the Angels and Kansas City's Billy Butler (.303). Willits leads AL rookies with a .400 on-base percentage, followed by Pedroia at .397. Tampa Bay's Delmon Young (Camarillo High) leads AL rookies with 124 hits, followed by Pedroia (102) and Willits (89). Young also has an AL rookie-leading 26 doubles, 177 total bases and 54 RBIs. Alex Gordon of Kansas City is behind Young in total bases and RBIs.

Detroit sent right-handed reliever Fernando Rodney on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Toledo. Rodney has been out since June 24 with right-shoulder tendinitis. The Tigers remain hopeful that they will get Rodney and Joel Zumaya (broken hand) back before September.

Just when the Devil Rays were assembling a nice crew of talented young position players, July arrived. The Rays went 7-20 in July, matching their worst July in franchise history.

Manny Ramirez is officially putting his name in the record books with the big boys. He drove in his 1,585th career run this week to move past Rogers Hornsby and Harmon Killebrew for 32nd on the all-time list.

-- John Klima

SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH

Zito's arm slipping?

Something doesn't seem right with Barry Zito (Pierce College), but nobody knows exactly what. There has been talk around the league for much of the season that Zito's velocity is down. After his start Thursday at Dodger Stadium, in which his fastball topped out at 85 mph, that talk continued. One scout watched Zito's long toss session in the outfield and said his arm strength looked weaker than in past years. He also speculated that Zito's arm action did not look as lively. His mechanics remain identical. His curveball is still better than 90 percent of the league, but doesn't have the same snap it has had in recent years. "You have to wonder if the life in his arm is slowly slipping away," one American League scout said.

Bonds the hitting instructor

One aspect of the game that Barry Bonds isn't recognized for is his knowledge of hitting and willingness to discuss philosophies with younger players. It can be said that while pitcher Greg Maddux is lauded for his pitching genius, Bonds is ignored for the same level of hitting knowledge. His slump not withstanding, Bonds' plate discipline should be considered equal to that of Ted Williams. Like Williams, he also will discuss hitting. "That's something he doesn't get recognized for and I've seen him do it with a lot of our younger outfielders who have come through this system," said San Francisco pitcher Noah Lowry (Pepperdine). "You just watch him talk to them about their approach and things that they can do with their swings. He offers advice to a lot of guys. He helps a lot of guys out. I don't think he gets a lot of credit for that."

Pure Braun

Granada Hills product Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was rewarded for his July power surge in which he hit 11homeruns and knocked in 25 runs by being named both the National League Player of the Month and NL Rookie of the Month for July. Braun, who locked down third base for Milwaukee, hit .345 (38 for 110), scored 18runs and had four three-hit games. He also won NL Rookie of the Month award in June. With the injury to Hunter Pence of the Houston Astros, and the fact Braun is playing a premium position on a contending team, it could mean that Braun is in great position to win the NL Rookie of the Year award.

-- John Klima

CAPTION(S):

35 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1) no caption (Barry Bonds)

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 3) San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum, 23, is 6-2 with a 3.75 ERA this season, but said he has struggled with consistency.

Photos by Getty Images

(4) Barry Zito

(5) Ryan Braun

(6 -- 35) no caption (baseball hats)

Box:

(1) SEEDS ON THE DUGOUT FLOOR (see text)

(2) SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH (see text)

(3) DAILY NEWS POWER RANKING

- John Klima