Good Versus Evil

Jeremy Guthrie versus Tim Lincecum.

Of course we would be biased anyway. And there are plenty of baseball reasons to cheer hard for the Rockies when they face off with their division foes tonight at Coors Field. Guthrie desperately needs to be a stopper and show the veteran moxie that the team hoped he would bring when they traded for him this offseason. The offense can instill instant confidence in their frightened fan base by doing damage against the two time Cy Young Award winning Lincecum.

There are also a number of other reasons that I am thoroughly looking forward to cheering for Guthrie and against Lincecum tonight.

Guthrie’s interaction with fans on Twitter is always entertaining, but he upped the ante yesterday. As told by Troy Renck, Guthrie sent a tweet asking if anybody wanted to come to Coors Field to throw the ball with him. This was not simply for show; he then played catch with and spent part of his day with Metro State student Woody Roseland. It turns out that Roseland is a cancer survivor and public speaker. Guthrie then said that Roseland made his day and changed his life.

How unbelievably cool is that story? How awesome is Jeremy Guthrie?

On the same field where Guthrie long tossed with Roseland, Tim Lincecum was once in between pitches in a tense game and asked for a new baseball. Normally this transaction would be of little or no significance, but in this case there was much more to it. The request carried with it the accusation that the Colorado Rockies were cheating, sending out “non-humidor” baseballs when they needed a rally. One need not be a lip reader to see what he muttered to himself: “[Expletive] juiced ball, [expletive].”

The guy who was right in the middle of the Giants accusing the Rockies of cheating? Ever since then he has been a player Rockies fans love to hate, and rightfully so.

Jeremy Guthrie rode his bike to spring training games. He does not drink, smoke, or use tobacco.

Tim Lincecum smokes marijuana.

Jeremy Guthrie has a sick purple robe. Sources close to the situation tell me that Lincecum does not.

Tim Lincecum has stupid hair. Jeremy Guthrie does not.

Tim Lincecum pitches for the San Francisco Giants. Jeremy Guthrie is proud to pitch for the Colorado Rockies.

Jeremy Guthrie is good. Tim Lincecum is evil.

It would be that much more satisfying if Guthrie somehow managed to outduel the stingy Lincecum tonight to nudge the Rockies to a 2-3 record and a chance to steal their first home series.

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