Brian Wilson

dis Joaquin, and even Joe Martinez can fill the void; bridging the gap to Jeremy Affeldt and closer Brian Wilson. We'll see how things shake out in spring training. There's about a half dozen other bullpen candidates, including one-time short stop Tony Pena, Jr.   So, one more time, let's view what the opening day line-up should look like (with the assumption that Aaron Rowand will lead-off): CF Rowand2B Sanchez3B Sandoval1B Huff LF De RosaC  MOLINASS RenteriaRF SchierholtzSP Lincecum  I would say pretty solid, but is there another potential right fielder out there with more experience? Is the team willing to spend any more money? I would say probably not because they still have to sign Lincecum who has asked for $13-million in salary arbitration for 2010 -- the Giants are offering only $8-million. He'll get at least ten, and probably closer to twelve. Regardless of Timmy's final number, that will boost the team payroll somewhere around 100-million-dollars, and that includes about five-million in deferred money to Barry Bonds.  So, although it would be nice to add an Eric Byrnes (Bay Area kid for probably for not much money), Xavier Nady (former Cal Bear, most recently with the Yankees), or Jermaine Dye (Sacramento kid and one-time Oakland Athletic), it just doesn't appear financially feasible. I believe it was me last season who said that Schierholtz deserves an extended look to prove himself. Now that Randy Winn is gone, it appears the time is now for Nate to play everyday in right field for the Giants. There is some young depth for the outfield as well with Andres Torres, Eugenio Velez, John Bowker, and (I would say very reluctantly) Fred Lewis.  

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In addition, they will have to invest some money to keep the young guys happy (Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson are due for BIG raises, and I say, give them whatever they want!).

  Back to Lansford, I don't blame him. He won a batting title (1981 with Boston), and knows how to hit. That doesn't always translate into being able to teach others how to do the same however. Just to use a brief basketball analogy -- how good of a coach was Magic Johnson with the Lakers? Same idea, but on a smaller scale. Lansford is bright and knowledgeable, but without a couple of big thumpers, this line-up loaded with number two and number six hitters (besides Sandoval) is not going to get the job done. We all know this. The Giants know this. But for some reason, they felt like they had to make a statement with this firing. The rest of the staff was retained by the way, when it was officially announced that Bruce Bochy would be returning for two more years with a club option for a third year. Same goes for GM Brian Sabean.

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 Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson had all-star-caliber seasons. Sergio Romo and Dan Runzler have stepped in to prove they fit into the 2010 equasion. Brandon Medders and Justin Miller deser

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my Affeldt finished off Lance Nix with a nasty curve-ball for a called strike three in the 8th, and Brian Wilson slammed the door with two more strike-outs in the 9th to record his 30th save.&n

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  Brian Wilson was also considered a candidate to make the team, but ran up against some stiff competition, including Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers, Heath Bell of the Padres, Ryan Franklin of the Cardinals, and Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets.  Last year at Yankee Stadium,

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 And despite a couple of hiccups here and there, Brian Wilson is once again all-star material with 21 saves, a 3.50 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 36 innings of work.  Also last night, I no

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Excellent at bat, which does not make me happy.

That brings in our closer, Brian Wilson. He topped at 100 mph to strike out Kendall.

Great game! GIANTS 10 BREWERS 6

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tant factor—it’s not at all unusual for a closer on a losing team to rack up his share (Brian Wilson of the 37-48 Giants currently leads the NL with 23 saves). In some ways, it’s easier for a losing team to get more saves, since their win margins tend to be tighter. A real juggernaut will tend to blow out other teams, leaving no room for saves. Thigpen recorded 57 in large part because he was only one of five closers in baseball history with 57 save opportunities. 

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gued recently by a string of poor performances, pitched the 8th inning and went home with the win...Brian Wilson had another 1-2-3 9th inning for his fourth save on this road trip.  T

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