Brian Wilson's Arms Crossed Explanation
So I've been wondering about what the heck that arms crossed finger pointing thing that Wilson does after he finishes a game meant, and this article here explains it well (link below). It's actually an interview by Andrew Baggarly and he quotes Wilson in his own words. There's actually a pretty interesting meaning behind it. In short, it's like a mix of a mixed-martial arts reference and a Christianity symbol (yeah, weird huh?). Pretty deep for Wilson the comedian lol. Anyways, I just thought it was interesting and to share it with you guys.
Oh and I like Vizquel's comment (I didn't even know he did it):
I asked him about teammates dropping the X, including Omar Vizquel who does it every time. (Omar doesn’t know what it means. “I just like him because he’s crazy,” Vizquel said.)
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This is refreshing:
any believer that walks with Christ, or any walk of life you have, no matter where you are, I’m showing respect to you for your hard work, too. Because it’s not easy living in this world."
Sounds like Wilson is a really serious guy down inside, and takes this shit seriously. I really really hope he turns out to be as good as we all think he can be.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:12 AM PDT reply actions
Nice interview
I really like Andrew Baggarly’s work in his blog. I’m sure the players appreciate him letting them explain themselves directly, verbatim, without any editing/interpretation.
Also, I like this quote from Wilson: “I don’t care about any personal statistics, giving up runs or whatever. As long as I preserve the win, everything’s OK.” We make fun of him for being a drama queen, but he knows what’s important.
Eagerly awaiting Crazy Crab Bobblehead Night on 7/18.
+1 on wilson quote
Brian really seems to put the team first. Despite all his heart attack moments, he has gotten the job done.
Less arm, more talk. Raisingcain is a GAMER.
Adopted Giant: Henry Sosa
He’s a CLOSER they are supposed to be INTENSE.
But reading his quotes, it’s just weird to me, really Brian, you’re giving respect to MMA fighters after you save a game? Really? That makes zero sense. It’s like if Nen got the save, and started doing the invisible “I’m riding a horse, giddyup!” motion as a shout out to all the horse jockeys in the world.
All the guys on the team say he’s a riot and a crackup and this, but I don’t see any personality in him in his interviews. I mean, I love that he went Billy Idol for Giants Idol, but otherwise, meh.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions
None of us can really say without knowing him personally. As you well know, it is easy to come off different on camera
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah
Very few of the Giants who I’ve seen interviewed on the post-game shows have a whole lot interesting to say. While he was on the team, Steve Holm made Wilson look like Charles Barkley. I’m not going to hold it against them, though.
Eagerly awaiting Crazy Crab Bobblehead Night on 7/18.
True, but how many of us will ever get to know him personally? What we see right now is basically what we get.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Ill take a 93% save percentage.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Tis a nice thing to have. Would prefer him to knock it off with the giving up two hits an inning, but one thing at a time I guess.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm not saying Wilson isn't a good closer but...
Save percentage is kinda goofy, but Tyler Walker had a 85% save percentage in ‘05, was he a good closer?
Or, better yet, the recently released Joe Borowski had a 85% save percentage last year. He also had a 5.07 ERA, was he a good closer?
Wilson is probably our best reliever but don’t get wrapped up in the saves number he has.
Holds are dumber if you ask me.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions
WELL F YOU THEN
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions
Holds = Most useless stat ever.
..so allow me to present Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain as two sweet, sweet bottles of warming hooch.
I wonder when this is going to run out of steam.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Jul 16, 2008 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions
It's the new Bocock
AT BEST!
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah. His WHIP is only slightly distressing…
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions
ah well, if he keeps up his 25/27 save rate that’d be fine with me… after all, it’s only the W that counts. I kind of like the drama anyway =) makes that last out way more exciting than it should be. Just tell bochy not to put him out there unless it’s the 9th and we’re leading. hahah
If my head is full of white hairs by the end of this season.. I blame Brian Wilson. (I'm only 22, dammit!)
another Wilson quote by Baggarly
Wilson wasn’t able to steal his All-Star T-shirts, though. He bought 37 of them at $30 a pop, enough to cover his teammates, trainers and clubhouse staff.
“I’m trying to figure out whose locker to put the bill in,” he said.
Uhhh … Barry Zito?
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Good call.”
brilliant
I posted this is another thread already
Of course, it got no responses ;)
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Was it a Fanshot?
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Jul 16, 2008 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions
I don’t care about any personal statistics, giving up runs or whatever. As long as I preserve the win, everything’s OK.
This, combined with his stuff, is why he’s a good closer. Which he is.
¿Julio is tourist in San Francisco? Harper's Bizarre!
This
I agree with.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
I really think he should consider caring more about not giving up runs in the future though.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
He doesn’t have some special ability to “pitch to the score.” If he keeps allowing as many runs as he has and as many baserunners, he’s going to start blowing some saves eventually.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
Not to mention
I know it’s just his job to get “saves”, but don’t you actually want to like… pitch well too? Blah blah blah personal statistics, but come on.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
I call this the Noah Lowry Argument™.
Last year Noah Lowry OMG WON GAMES even though his underlying numbers were garbage. Some people have a hard time wrapping their noggins around it.
I happen to think
That it is possible to pitch to the situation. You pitch differently with a 1 run lead than you do with a 3 run lead.
Giving up 2 runs w/ a 3 run lead is meaningless. Baseball is a game of balancing probabilities, and if you give up 2 runs because it increases your probability of getting three outs, it is the right choice.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Sometimes, yes. With a three run lead, a pitcher can groove fastballs to the leadoff hitter. Many, many times, this action leads to an out (hard hit or otherwise). Every once in awhile, leadoff hitter goes deep, making it a 2 run game. No big deal in the greater scheme of things to the pitcher, but he has given up a run.
yes
Whereas in a 1 run game, this would be a much bigger deal.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 17, 2008 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions
“Grooving” fastballs to a hitter that results in a HR, means that the other team has increased it’s probability of winning the game.
That’s not a good thing.
Good pitchers pitch well in ALL SITUATIONS. You don’t see Brian Wilson going “Oh crap, we’re up by 3, maybe I should just lob some 84mph fastballs down the pipe now”
That generally means that you throw the batters strikes because you don’t care if they hit it out.
...that’s not exactly what Brian Wilson does. He nibbles and gives up walks.
It’s BS. His job is to prevent the other team from scoring runs.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
I'm not saying Brian Wilson is a master of this
But I am saying that it is possible to pitch to the situation, and trading runs for outs with a 3 run lead is often the right thing to do.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
It is, but I don’t see anything to indicate that Wilson is doing this.
In addition, it’s great that he’s not blowing saves but I think Wilson has the ability to be a true shutdown reliever (one that can be used in high leverage situations that AREN’T just save situations) and hearing him say things like “I don’t care if I give up runs” is actually discouraging. I know he’s just saying it to probably justify his place on the ASG despite his poor ERA, but I think he should be striving to be the best he can be, not just a guy who closes out three run games by giving up two runs every time (hyperbole.) The team will be better for it if he aims to shutdown the opponents rather than just do what he needs to do to get the save.
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
Regardless of his wording
I think his aim is to shut down opponents. However, the discrepancy with non-save opps is pretty amazing, and flies in the face of traditional statology.
¿Julio is tourist in San Francisco? Harper's Bizarre!
Wilson does have a FIP about a run lower than his ERA, but I’m still getting really sick of this “I don’t care how many runs Wilson gives up as long as he gets saves!”
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
Yeah, he’s probably our best reliever but people are putting way too much weight into his save numbers.
I'm going to blow you away with numbers
But it’s actually an extremely complicated situation, so I have yet to best decide how to approach it.
I may have to use Matlab, which is annoying.
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
statistics… too many statistics…. getting way out of hand :P
If my head is full of white hairs by the end of this season.. I blame Brian Wilson. (I'm only 22, dammit!)
Because getting a save and knowing how you got a save are two different things, and knowing how you get saves makes actually getting them significantly more repeatable.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Jul 16, 2008 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
this
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Jul 16, 2008 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Big time Kudos to Baggarly
For letting Wilson say it all in his own words.
¿Julio is tourist in San Francisco? Harper's Bizarre!
I was with you
He very well could be still
Eugeniooooooo!!!!
by FairweatherFan on Jul 16, 2008 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions





















