Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

Sep. 9--By the time he was announced to the AT&T Park crowd moments before his first major league pitch Tuesday night, Madison Bumgarner wasn't much of a surprise. He got a standing ovation as he warmed up in the bullpen, and another after his 1-2-3 debut inning.

You could have scripted it, because that's how these things go.

But there was an ominous overtone to the evening, in keeping with the steel-gray skies and the chilly breeze that had pennants atop the scoreboard snapping in the direction of the Alameda shoreline. Bumgarner was pitching because Giants ace Tim Lincecum had been scratched.

A bad back, the team said. That would be cause for concern, because you're never really sure how those things are going to go.

Inflammation and spasms, the team added. No timetable was set for Lincecum's return, for good reason -- when it comes to spasms, the back has a mind of its own.

"We all have occasional back flare-ups," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before the game. "We're hoping this is all it is and he'll be fine to go again soon."

Question is, will "soon" be soon enough to keep the Giants' "Zero Margin For Error" Tour on track? By the time Bumgarner had allowed his second homer of Tuesday evening, the final score from Colorado was in: Rockies 3, Reds 1. Meaning the Giants needed to win to stay two games back in the wild-card race.

And the Giants, you may have heard, are more

inclined to win when Lincecum is on the mound.

So this is a big deal where the final few weeks of this season are concerned. But it's also potential trouble for as far into the future as you care to look. Hey, they don't call Lincecum "The Franchise" for nothing. He joined the Giants in May of 2007, when they were just dipping their toes into the third of four consecutive losing seasons. Since then they are 27 games below .500. He is 23 games above .500.

From the moment he first took the mound in San Francisco like some black-hatted leprechaun, a beleaguered organization and its downtrodden fans began to hope again. His Cy Young Award gave the team a national profile. As the lead dog among would-be aces this season, he above all others has helped the Giants mask basic flaws and circumvent conventional wisdom.

Time to cue the score from "Angels in the Outfield"? Almost. It has been that unlikely and uplifting. Yet even as Lincecum has won the area's minds and hearts, there has been a question, largely unspoken and wholly unanswered:

How does such a little guy generate so much velocity without hurting himself?

Maybe he doesn't.

We don't want to be overly dramatic about this. Maybe it's as simple as the cumulative effects of hotel beds, airplane seats and a heavy workload. Lincecum has thrown 3,035 pitches this season, sixth-most in the majors. Last year he was second with 3,682.

True, they also call him "The Freak" for his ability to get big results from his slight build. Maybe his body just informed him a couple extra days off are in order. Maybe the anti-inflammatories do the trick. Maybe "Relax the Back" becomes an official Giants sponsor, and Lincecum is dancing an Irish jig by the time the Dodgers pull into town Friday night.

Maybe it's just a little thing. That said, even little things can linger, recur and become ongoing issues. That little man/big velocity thing? We used to wonder it about former A's pitcher Tim Hudson. He's had a nice career, no doubt. But he's also had more than his share of disabling oblique strains. Recently he returned to the Atlanta Braves after missing more than a year after Tommy John surgery.

We wondered it about Pedro Martinez, too. He's had an even better career than Hudson, winning three Cy Young awards and more than 200 games. But he has been plagued in recent years by hip, hamstring and rotator cuff miseries.

There's no way of knowing for sure whether or not Tuesday was Lincecum's first wincing step down that path. But late in the game, an angry crowd venting its frustration in the face of a 4-3 deficit, one missed Lincecum start seemed about three too many.

Contact Gary Peterson at gpeterson@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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