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Giants’ Tim Lincecum gets a two-year, $35-million deal ... but why?

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Tim Lincecum pitched a no-hitter last season.

That apparently was enough for the San Francisco Giants to reward him with two-year, $35-million contract through the 2015 season.

Either that or the Giants management was stuck in some sort of time warp when it reached the agreement -- which also includes a full no-trade clause -- with the pitcher who has spent all seven of his major league seasons in San Francisco but was due to become a free agent in the off-season.

Lincecum won National League Cy Young Awards in 2008 and ’09 and was a key reason the Giants won the World Series in 2010, posting earned-run averages of 2.62, 2.48 and 3.43 in those years. He hasn’t had a winning season since, although he went 13-14 with a 2.74 ERA in 2011.

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But he hasn’t been the same guy in the last two seasons. Not even close. In 2012, he went 10-15 with a 5.18 ERA and was reduced to the role of reliever -- albeit an effective one -- during the team’s postseason run to another World Series championship.

Last season he returned to the rotation and was 10-14 with a 4.37 ERA.

Still, Lincecum only needs to pass a physical to get a two-year deal that is worth just $5 million less than the one he just completed.

Maybe the Giants just couldn’t bear the thought of seeing a guy who has done so much for the organization in another team’s uniform. Or they’re still rewarding him for his considerable past accomplishments.

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Or perhaps they know something the rest of us don’t. After all, they’re the ones who have won two of the last three World Series.

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