Lincecum’s diet secret? In-N-Out Burger

Tim Lincecum is beefing up his diet in an attempt to put on some weight this spring.

From the sound of things, the Giants would be smart to keep Pablo Sandoval far, far away from their ace pitcher.

According to John Schlegel of MLB.com, Lincecum is dining with gusto this spring, devouring fast food as if he were paid by the calorie. His expected meal after Wednesday’s start was a giant bag of In-N-Out Burger, consisting of three double-doubles, two orders of fries and a half-chocolate, half-strawberry milkshake.

“That’s probably not the best form of nutrients but I’ve always kind of just eaten what I’ve wanted to and worried about it later,” Lincecum said after his fifth start of the spring. “Nothing’s affected me now, so I’ll stick to it.”

Lincecum says he’s put on about 10 pounds, bringing his total to a whopping 168.

I don’t see that this is much of a problem. Lincecum is working out like a madman this spring and he has been dominant. He’s always been slight, and obviously has a crazy metabolism that burns calories as soon as they go into his body. He’s doing everything he can to put on weight and his performance on the mound isn’t suffering.

I had similar body – though far less athletic -- when I was younger. I could eat anything, at any hour of the day, and still looked like, well, like this.

That all changed when I was about Lincecum’s age (26). The metabolism slowed down, and all of a sudden those egg sandwiches at midnight started sticking around a little longer than I expected. That could happen to Lincecum eventually, but as long as he feels good, the Giants won’t be concerned. As Bruce Bochy said: “Yeah, he’s put on a few pounds, he looks good out there. He’s showing off his muscles now. I wish I could eat like that.”

Amen. As Bochy, Lincecum and Theodore Donald Kerabatsos all know, those are good burgers.

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