It wasn't that long ago that San Francisco was dominated by a baseball player who upped his performance by using any kind of substance, including the clear and the cream.

Thankfully for Giants fans, they've been freed from cheering the ways of Barry Bonds(notes) and now get to appreciate Tim Lincecum(notes), who uses a different kind of cream to bolster his effort on game days. 

According to the Associated Press, the reigning Cy Young downed an "ice cream taco" on Tuesday before going out and throwing a masterful complete game in a 4-1 win over the A's in Oakland. The effort marked the fourth time that Lincecum has gone the distance in his career and second time against Oakland this season. He's 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA and 124 strikeouts this season and is definitely in the NL Cy Young discussion. He'll almost definitely be appearing in next month's All-Star Game ... if he can avoid getting sick this time, of course.  

Thankfully, Major League Baseball has not developed a reliable test for Breyers or Dairy Queen, because if baseball ever rehabs its image, it'll be be on the backs of guys like Lincecum. A whirling wisp of a pitcher, Lincecum often seems too good to be true, a media creation bound to eventually be torn down. But then you hear about him eating a childhood treat to fuel up for another start and you realize even more that he's really the guy he's advertised to be. Look, if there's a more likable player in the bigs, I don't know about him.  

Also, I can vouch for the powers of the Choco Taco. Back in my ice cream truck days, those treats cost $1.75 and would pretty much take up all of my treat allowance for the rest of the week. But passing up a couple of more days of Bomb Pops and Flintstones Pushups was completely worth it, because those tacos pretty much took me straight through from my Little League game and deep into a rousing night of ghost in the graveyard. Good choice, Timmy. 

Bonus question: SI's Jon Heyman brought up this choice on his Twitter this morning and it'd make for a pretty good debate in the comments below. If you were starting your own franchise, would you select Lincecum or Kansas City's Zack Greinke(notes) as your staff ace?

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Related: Food and Beverage, Tim Lincecum on BLS