I can’t really be angry at anyone for this, though I wish they’d pitched around Burrell to get to Feliz. Hey, shit happens.

You just hope that Wilson doesn’t let it get him down. He doesn’t seem like the type though.

Of course I’m also buzzed.

But we came back from three down!

The bullpen held! For a really long time!

Wilson’s been better than that. It’s gonna happen. It’s why insurance companies don’t insure pizza delivery people…because the more you drive the better the odds of an accident.
The odds just bit Brian. If it happens again it’s DFA time , but for now just shrug it off.

Bochy should have brought in Zito after Misch. We would have lost a blowout and nobody would be upset.

I’m disappointed by fish. Really, I always think I’m going to like it more than I end up liking it. Fish, you’re the High School drop-out of the seafood world.

Grant, 5/1/08:

I’m not superstitious; I just think that my opinions and thoughts control world events. We know what happens when I designate specific O_timism D_ys—tears and corpses, not necessarily in that order.

Right on schedule, Mr. Brisbee. Right on schedule. You blog is dedicated to cruelty, dedicated to journalistic dishonesty.

/buzz bissinger

Well, with Wilson’s performance anyway. If you don’t challenge Burrell, you end up with the potential tying run on 2nd. Could/should B-Dub thrown something other than the fastball? Yeah, but fuck it. Better that than the nibble nibble nibble treatment that the Giants pithers have tortured me with over the last few years.

I’ll take one massive coup de grace over death by 1,000 cuts every day, and twice on Sunday. Make the guy beat you, to coin a phrase.

I saw that on the servers last year!

I was sitting alone in the parking lot of Ohlone College listening to Burrell hit the walk-off. Fortunately, nobody was around to see me bang my head against the steering wheel. i stewed over it most of the night and couldn’t completely enjoy the dance performance I was watching. I’m not particularly surprised about or completely upset about it. I was expecting Wilson to blow one in the near future. After all, it’s his first year as a closer in the bigs. I wish he could’ve held it off for at least one more day though.

Wilson has diddled around in many of his saves. I’m not criticizing him per se; he’s a rookie and I’m hopeful he becomes more like Nen and less like Boonitez. But he’s scattered many hits and walks and even runs in his appearances.

However, I remember a horrible, horrible game in Philadelphia last year where the Giants played and pitched well for like 5 innings and then utterly and completely screwed the pooch, playing stupid and pitching badly. I remember at the time knowing, subconsciously, all through the game that even though they were playing well that they would never win.

That didn’t happen yesterday. They were in there all game, it never got out of hand, and they were ultimately beaten by some of the best hitters in baseball. He struck out Howard. He got 2 strikes on Burrell (who has 9 or 10 HR now) and went to 7 or 8 pitches or whatever it was before giving up the homer. I’d rather have a win, but that was not an embarrassing loss and frankly was not THAT frustrating. Compare it to what would have happened had Boonitez pitched the 9th. Or if Felix Rodriguez or Wayne Franklin had pitched the 8th. Or if Klucko would have struck out three times and broken three batting helmets throwing them after whinging to the umpire.

Last night was a great ballgame, and I was proud of the Giants to have played such a good game in Philadelphia. I’d rather see them win, but considering most of these guys were in Fresno or Augusta or high school last year, I’ll take it. It shows what they can do when they don’t get picked off, run into each other catching fly balls, swing at the first pitch in every plate appearance, etc.

People do.

He’ll be back.

happy cainerday!

It seems that many here view this season as one of learning and growth and perpetual tryouts. If thats the case, last evening’s game seemed like a good classroom for Mr. Wilson. Eventually Wilson will have to be able to challenge hitters with one pitch out of neccessity, not choice, in crucial situations. Whether that pitch is a slider, cutter or four-seamer, there will be many evenings when he won’t have command or effective movement/velocity on 1 or more of his pitches. But he will still have to close out games with the heart of the order due up. Hopefully these will be playoff games in the future and he will already have had the experience of knowing what it takes to prevail in situations like the one he faced last night, when the results really do matter.

As it was, he missed on the last pitch by catching just a little too much of Burrell’s happy zone. If the pitch is literally 2 inches further outside, its popup city and Wilson gets his 10th save and we’re proclaiming him the presumptive closer for the All-Star Game and the Cy Young Award. Other than that mistake pitch (MLB hitters are paid millions to hit mistake pitches by the way) he had Burrell overwhelmed as much as he did Howard and Werth before him. Even Utley could only fist a little blooper to reach 1st earlier. Don’t forget also that Ryan Howard and Charlie Manuel stopped the game for a few minutes play acting Howard’s called third strike. It was an obvious attempt to disrupt Wilson’s momentum. And to a certain extent, it succeeded. Another learning experience to be filed away in Mr. Wilson’s tool box.

Besides, if Wilson throws a slider and it gets hit out, how many here would have been asking “Why did he throw a slider when his fastball was so dominant?” Or if he deliberately puts the winning run on base, and Feliz hits one down into the corner to win the game, some would have been gnashing their teeth over “never putting the winning run on base deliberately” etc.

What should not be overlooked is the way Wilson completely dominated their best hitters with ONE PITCH. That was a tremendous inning to watch. Wilson put on a clinic (until the very last pitch) on what dominant, challenging, intimidating pitching was all about. His deportment before, during and after the blast was professional and confident. The same as he is when he converted the previous 9 out of 10 chances. You had better believe the Phillies won’t overlook any of this, and neither will the advance scouts from Pittsburgh, Houston and Chicago Sox.

If memory serves, that was the 6th one run loss the Giants have endured this season out of 30 games. Twenty percent. When you out-hit your opponent 16 hits to 8 and strand 24 baserunners, lead the league in stolen bases, and have 3 excellent starters, an above average bullpen and a closer who knows no fear, I don’t believe we are looking in the right places if its winning games that is a concern. If its bringing along young prospects, determining who those prospects are, and essentially treating this season as one long extended open tryout, then last night’s game was for you.