The camouflage hats the players are wearing today are so good, I thought for a second that Brian Wilson was pitching without a cap and had a tattooed, bald head!
Update: There’s something about Billy Hamilton at the plate that reminds me of Mickey Rivers. He just doubled in two runs in the eighth inning to cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3. Hamilton would have tripled on the play, except Skip Schumaker had walked to clog the bases. 🙂
Update: Kenley Jansen comes in to strike out Brandon Phillips with the bases loaded to end the threat. That gives Jansen 36 K in 22 innings this season. The Dodgers hold onto the lead 4-3.
The Giants tried to meet with Wilson at several times this season to give him his ring — they even invited him to the ceremony in April — but he didn’t respond. After last night’s incident, the team simply sent the ring down to the Dodgers clubhouse.
“I don’t know why he decided to make a show of it and air his grievance tonight,” said team spokeswoman Staci Slaughter to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Giants closer Brian Wilson has “structural issues” in his right elbow and is likely facing season-ending surgery, manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday night before the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I generally don’t see closer injuries as that big a deal. The way teams use closers, most situations are easy save situations. The problem is that when a replacement blows a save, it looks really bad. Wilson blew at least five saves a season in each of the years he served as the primary closer. In other words, the best closers are going to blow about 10% of their opportunities.
Dr. Andrews is 69 years old, and while I hope he practices for a very long time, I’m wondering who is going to replace him? The words “pitcher” and “James Andrews” in the same sentence invoke dread among fans. Who will be that next dreaded doctor?
I tend to like players who are characters. They bring some flair to the game, like Mark Fidrych talking to the ball, Fernando Valenzuela with his eyes, Rickey Henderson‘s one handed catches. I even liked some of the bad boys, especially if they produced. For some reason, however, I just haven’t warmed to Brian Wilson. The beard just bothers me. I think it’s the unnatural color. With his latest outfit, he may be turning into baseball’s version of Dennis Rodman.
Brian Wilson comes into the Giants/Tigers game with a 4-1 lead to start the ninth, but leaves with one run in, the bases loaded, and just one out. He then takes out his frustrations on a refreshment tank, throwing it the dugout wall, then beating it with a bat. It was probably the voices in his beard. 🙂
Update: Andy Dirks hits a line drive that’s snared by shortstop Brandon Crawford, who was cheating toward second for the double play. With the runner moving on what looked like a base hit up the middle, Crawford just needed to step on second for the force to end the game. The Giants with 4-3, and the poor water cooler was roughed up for nothing.
Brian Wilson makes his save interesting, loading the bases with Nationals as he tried to protect a 2-1 lead in the ninth. Adam LaRoche struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game, as Wilson was one pitch off the plate away from blowing a save. The Beard has saved eight game in nine opportunities, but he has been wild also, walking nine and hitting two in 10 1/3 innings. If that keeps up, eventually they’ll cost him.
Brian Wilson blows his first save opportunity of the season as the Cardinals mount a two-out comeback in the top of the ninth inning against the Giants. Leading 3-2 with two outs, Wilson issued a walk, gave up an infield hit, then hit a batter to load the bases. Ryan Theriot then battled Brian, fouling off pitch after pitch until he found one he could line for a two-run single. Wilson walked the next batter and Bruce Bochy pulled him from the game.
Maybe all that work raising the World Series flag before the game wore him out. 🙂
Update: Pablo Sandoval delivers a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Now, another former Cubs player, Mike Fontenot, has a chance to win the game with a runner at third.
Update: Fontenot flies out to end the inning, send the game to extra frames.
Update: Wilson strikes out Werth, gives up a single to Rollins, but gets Ibanez to ground into a double play and the Giants win 3-0. They take a 2-1 lead over the Phillies in the best of seven series.
Brian Wilson did exactly what he wanted to do tonight in the ninth inning. I’ve heard him say that when he decides not to let a certain hitter beat him, he’ll be stubborn about it, even walk him rather than give in. That’s what you saw tonight. Ankiel, then Hinske: both have homered this series on pitches middle-in. The only time Wilson came in on either hitter was a fastball above the hands. Go back and check if you Tivo’d it. I’m going by memory, but I think I’m right. Everything else was outside corner. Wilson pounded it, even when falling behind in the count. Better to miss six inches off the corner than down the middle. No way is Ankiel or that jellyroll Hinske, taking me deep. I’ve never seen such extreme confidence, basically saying I’ll put the winning run on base and you still won’t be able to hit me.
Omar Infante is a good hitter, but with a .321 BA and a .359 OBP, he’s also a hacker. Wilson got him to chase pitches and struck him out. Melky just isn’t a good hitter, but got decent wood on the ball.
The problem with Wilson’s approach, of course, is that even he makes mistakes. Even if he doesn’t, some times even poor hitters manage to put the ball in play in the right place. I suspect Wilson believes the odds of that happening to him are lower than they are in reality, but that’s also part of the mental makeup of great players. They don’t believe they can lose.
Derrek Lee and Brian McCann single to start the eighth inning, putting runners on first and third as the Giants hold a 4-1 lead over the Braves. That causes Bruce Bochy to bring in closer Brian Wilson to try for a two-inning save. Cool.
Update: Melky Cabrera beats out a slow roller to third. We’ll see if they give Sandoval an error for pulling Huff off the bag. Lee scores from third, and the Braves trail 4-2. The rule it an error for Pablo Sandoval. A bunt by Brooks Conrad puts runners at second and third with one out.
Update: It’s a one-out blown save as Alex Gonzalez doubles off the wall in left and the Braves and Giants are tied at four. Atlanta is finally catching breaks and getting big hits.
Update: That’s all the Braves get as a fly ball and a strike out end the inning. It’s a new ballgame, however, as the teams go to the bottom of the eighth tied at four.
Brian Wilson comes in to pitch the top of the ninth inning with the Giants leading the Padres 3-0. He’ll face pinch hitter Luis Durango.
Update: Durango falls behind 0-2. He didn’t know they were strikes and tried to go to first after evening the count at 2-2. He works the count full, then fouls off four pitches before grounding out to shortstop. One down.
Update: Chase Headley gets ahead 2-1. He grounds to second as Mike Fontenot makes a nice backhand play. Two down.
Update: Will Venable falls behind 0-2. He strikes out swinging at a pitch high and out of the strike zone, and the Giants win the division!
Update: Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. They over came a big Padres lead with a little over a month to go to take the NL West and the second best record in the National League. They brought up Posey and made good deadline and waiver deals to improve the team. That gave them enough offense for their pitching to win, and the Giants are back in the playoffs.
Dan Uggla completes a Marlins comeback from a 7-1 deficit as he drives a Brian Wilson fastball to the wall in the left-center gap, driving in the tying run as Florida evens the score with San Francisco 9-9. Dan also hit a two-run homer in the five run seventh. I guess Brian Wilson’s shoes prevent him from protecting a two-run lead in the ninth.
Update: Uggla is left at second as the teams go to the bottom of the ninth with the game tied.
