Wilson Survives and Rebounds

Losses like Friday night's to the Phillies are the worst kind of losses. You can hear the pain in Henry Schulman's recap:

The Giants threw 161 pitches, and the 161st made all the difference. Had it been thrown an inch to the left or an inch to the right, they might have had a tremendous comeback victory, Aaron Rowand could have been The Man in his homecoming to Citizens Bank Park and Brian Wilson might have completed one of his most electrifying saves.

Yes, it would have been an "electrifying" win - but that's not what happened. I've watched plenty of baseball in my lifetime and seen plenty of blown save opportunities. It happens. That's it. Brian Wilson has the makings of a great closer, and if he's going to become a great one, he'll just have to be able to survive and rebound.

Thankfully, Wilson seemed un-phased: "I want the ball in my hands again, in the same situation, and I'll throw the same pitch," he was saying afterwards. "I think it is a matter of faith and confidence that you have to have in yourself."

A day later, Wilson was back out there in the tenth, preserving a 3-2 lead for the Giants. "I wanted it bad," he said. "I didn't want to wait until Tuesday or tomorrow. I kind of wanted a doubleheader last night."

And that's just how you've got to look at it. If your closer blows a save, hope he's got the confidence to want to go back out there the next night.

Around the league, they've already taken notice of Wilson, who has ten saves in 12 chances. ESPN The Magazine recently profiled his eating regimen. Want to be a power closer? Start with an egg-white omelette with bell peppers, shredded cheese, and slices of ham and turkey.

Now if we could just find him some new entrance music.