Feb. 16, 2011
Mychael Urban
CSNBayArea.comGIANTS PAGEGIANTS VIDEO
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Of all the Giants pitchers, Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson are surely the last two that the team's fans want to see on the injury report.There they were on Wednesday, though, victimized by varying degrees of soreness that limited them in workouts.Lincecum, whose bullpen session Tuesday was the talk of camp, was held out of fielding drills and sprints because of a stiff neck. His name alone makes anything health-related seem like huge news, but Lincecum couldn't have possibly downplayed it more after receiving treatment in the trainers' room."It's not a big deal," Lincecum said shortly after noon while sitting at his locker in the Scottsdale Stadium clubhouse. "Nothing to freak out about."Lincecum theorized that he'd slept on the neck at an odd angle, suggesting that the pain was in no way baseball-related."I did my throwing and all my other work," he said, adding that he fully expect to throw in the bullpen again as scheduled on Thursday.Wilson was not available for comment after his day was shortened by what manager Bruce Bochy said was back stiffness.The Giants' colorful closer took the field with the rest of the team's pitchers and catchers for the 10 a.m. start of the workout and briefly played catch before abruptly shutting it down and disappearing into the covered batting cages behind the right-field wall, leaving his gear behind.He likely worked his way from the cages to the back field that has a side entrance near the trainer's room, and he was dressed and gone before long.Bochy downplayed both of his star pitchers' ailments, offering the standard platitudes about caution being the order of the day this early in spring, and it's worth noting that Wilson and Lincecum are two of the most fit players on the club, neither with much of an injury history.
It's also worth noting, however, that Wilson appeared to be holding back a bit in his bullpen session Tuesday. Bochy said Wilson might be able to throw in the bullpen as scheduled Thursday, too, but if there's any stiffness at all when Wilson reports to camp in the morning, the Giants aren't going to take any chances.
REWIND: Bochy holds off on announcing Giants rotationFollow Mychael on Twitter @MUrbanCSN.
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