Baggarly: Rowand’s UZR is sharp

Scroll down for Baggarly’s Broken Eyes (pretty sure I saw them on a Kimchibilly Night at DGBD poster once)

Aaron Rowand made two more nice catches in center field Friday night, including a diving play on a shallow fly ball. I profiled Rowand’s improved defense in an off-day feature story.

In the story, I made reference to relatively new fielding metrics. But I ultimately decided not to use them in the story. It’s just too cumbersome to use statistics that are alien to the general populace. You’ve got to explain the basic methodology and what they really mean, and it’s hard to do that in a way that isn’t cumbersome – especially with column inches at a premium.

Besides, I don’t believe there’s any reliable measure yet to analyze defensive skill. Fred Lewis might have an impressive 9.5 UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) for his career in left field, but you can’t tell me he’s a good left fielder. The problem must be in the methodology, because my eyes sure aren’t broken. (The stat combines several measures, most notably the difference between expected outs and outs recorded.)

...This season, Rowand’s UZR is on the plus side at 0.9. That doesn’t mean he’s league average, though, because zero isn’t necessarily the midpoint. In fact, only 10 qualified CFs are currently on the plus side, so you could argue that Rowand is back to being slightly above average.

SF Chronicle/Shea: Barry who? Rockies’ Tracy finds success

Does a manager make that much of a difference?

Seems to be the case with the Rockies, who last month replaced Clint Hurdle with bench coach Jim Tracy and then began winning like it’s 2007. Tracy, remembered in the Bay Area as the guy who ran the Dodgers early in the 2000s, finally has a managing gig in which he’s not haunted by Barry Bonds.

...

Tracy’s previous two stops were Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, and excuse him if he wondered what it would be like to have his mind clear of Bonds.

Tracy’s first four years managing the Dodgers, Bonds won MVP awards. Tracy’s fear of the Giants’ left fielder seemed to grow annually - as did Bonds’ numbers against the Dodgers - peaking in 2004, when Tracy hardly pitched to the man.

Barry was just a hunka hunka burnin’ love…

McCovey Chronicles: Tim Lincecum Is Not Billy Rowell

I answered a few questions for Athletics Nation here, and one of them had to do with the niche that Giants fans had carved for themselves. The Cubs fans are the “lovable losers”, the Dodgers fans have the whole thing where they arrive with two outs in the top of the fifth and leave before the bottom of the fifth starts, and the Red Sox fans are now the “lovable losers that you want to punch in the face now that they’ve won something.” What are the Giants, then? I gave some lame answer about wine and cheese, but I have a better answer now.

Giants fans are a bunch of pessimistic whiners.

Oh, I’m fully aware that I’m at least a corporal in the pessimistic whiner army. I whine and, uh, pessimize with the best of them. When a hitting prospect comes up, I assume he’s going to flame out. When a pitching prospect comes up, I assume he’s going to walk five hitters for every nine innings he pitches. I assume that every free agent will stink, and that every trade will come back to hurt the Giants. And I don’t assume that the Giants will lose in a painfully unforgettable way when they reach the playoffs—I know it.

We’re still whining about a trade from seven years ago, even though the best part of the trade hasn’t done anything other than tease the Twins. Well, it might be a little disingenuous to suggest that Lirano was the “best part” of the trade. There was also that guy. You know, the one with the hat? The uh, what do you call him, uh, oh, the closer who needs to pitch at his current level for a couple more years to have a shot at the Hall of Fame, who was a likable and homegrown player, and who probably would have won a World Series with the Giants in 2004 if he were the closer.

See. That just came naturally. I thought I was clicking the spell-check button, but it turns out I just unconsciously typed a bunch of pessimistic whining. It’s our thing.

NY Daily News: Dusty Rhodes, hero for Giants of 1954 World Series vs. Indians, dies

After Willie’s catch, the reason the Giants won their last Series…

Rhodes, whose lefthanded stroke was tailor-made for the short right field porch at the old Polo Grounds, won the first game with a pinch-hit, 10th-inning three-run homer off future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon just inside the right field foul pole, about 296 feet away. The next day, he delivered a pinch single in the fifth and a home run in the seventh against another future Hall of Famer, Early Wynn, to highlight a 3-1 Giants win. Finally, in Game 3, he hit a two-run pinch single off the Indians’ Mike Garcia to spark a 6-2 Giants win.

Baggarly: Lincecum angry after loss

Lesson one. We’re never late...when throwing to the plate.

Lincecum didn’t appear to make a single mistake in the eighth inning, but a two-run lead still evaporated on his watch after a series of eerily familiar bloops, seeing-eye grounders and infield choppers.

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, however, could be faulted for a major error in judgment. He fielded a chopper on the infield grass and caused 10,000 groans when he failed to throw home as Chone Figgins scored the tiebreaking run.

The Giants were swept in the three-game interleague series, Lincecum lost for the first time since April 12, and he was testy about it.

“I’m not in the greatest mood right now,” said Lincecum, who had been 6-0 in his previous 11 starts. “What can you learn from it? I don’t know. In that situation, a quarter-inch can make the difference in the game. “… A hit is a hit whether it’s a line drive or not. But I’m still (ticked) I gave up as many as I did.”

Mel Hall convicted of sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl

Former major league outfielder Melvin Hall Jr. has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team a decade ago.

A Tarrant County jury took about 90 minutes Tuesday to find the 48-year-old Hall guilty on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child.

The sentencing phase was to begin later Tuesday afternoon. Hall faces up to life in prison.

According to testimony, Hall met the 12-year-old’s family in 1998 during a basketball tournament. Hall talked about plans to start a select basketball team and later worked one-on-one with the girl. At one point, he moved into the girl’s home while his Southlake home was being built.

The woman said she was assaulted in Hall’s vehicle, at a tournament and at his North Richland Hills apartment, where he showed her a pornographic movie.

Ugh.

Burriss riding 0-for-27, Palmer’s Halo effect, Sandoval is a Vlad/Gwynn hybrid, Mcpherson

–
I noticed that closer Brian Wilson seems to have added a few accoutrements to his gestures after a save. In addition to the crossed arms motion, he kisses the tattoo on his wrist (it means “All honor to Him” in Celtic), taps the brim of his cap and taps his heart.

“Head for memory, heart for strength,” Wilson said.

–
Bengie Molina, on what he told John Lackey before the rookie started Game 7 of the 2002 World Series:

“We went through the hitters, but your heart is going so fast and everything is happening so quick,” Molina said. “That’s not the time to say much. Just give him the ball. You know, his demeanor and his way of taking care of things, it told me he was the right guy for that game. I never had any doubt in my mind.”

Scioscia said he went to then-pitching coach Buddy Black after the Game 6 comeback win and asked who was left for Game 7. Black said it was Lackey. Scioscia said, “OK.”

End of conversation.

Chicago Tribune: San Francisco Giants need hitter for wild-card push

Keep an eye on the Giants. They’re a long shot to catch the Dodgers in the NL West but could have staying power in the wild-card race, especially if GM Brian Sabean gets them a hitter.  Matt Cain, who lives in the shadow of pitching teammates Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Randy Johnson, is having a great season (8-1, 2.55). His 3.61 career ERA suggests he could pitch his way into Cy Young consideration. ... Could Derrek Lee be the hitter the Giants need? Sabean at least ought to kick the tires to see if Jim Hendry would consider approaching Lee about waiving his no-trade clause, as the Cubs have first-base options available to them in Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox.

plus, Overmatched? Not Gordon Beckham

Fletcher: Was Pablo Sandoval’s bunt OK?

Or as Bic penologist extraordinaire Dan Plesac sez..."He looks just like Kevin Mitchell!”

You know the old unwritten rule about breaking up a guy’s no-hitter with a bunt, don’t you? Well, apparently that doesn’t apply to what Pablo Sandoval did tonight.

A’s rookie Vin Mazzaro had not allowed a hit through the first four innings, but Sandoval led off the fifth with a bunt single. Although that raised some eyebrows in the press box, it didn’t in the A’s dugout.

Manager Bob Geren said he had on his scouting report that Sandoval was a bunter (this was his third bunt hit of the season), and he actually had moved third baseman Jack Hannahan in a little, although not all the way in. Mazzaro said he wasn’t expecting it, but he didn’t seem to mind that Sandoval bunted.

Really, it’s only a violation of etiquette to bunt for a hit when a pitcher has a no-hitter if it’s later in the game (like the seventh) or if the game is not close or if the hitter is not someone who normally bunts. This met none of those requirements.

Diamond Notes: Brian Wilson’s reality show is really weird.

Brian Wilson’s reality show is really weird.

The Giants closer once famously claimed innocence over a Twitter post reporting his late-night activities by saying, “I write a bunch of stuff that’s not true. It’s made up. Obviously I’m not doing things like going toe-to-toe with a ninja. Find me a ninja, for one.” On the show, he says matter-of-factly, “I’m a ninja.”

Wilson with Dane Cook-ish showmanship reveals he actually does seem to prefer room service over hitting the town to take on the aggressive males of the world. He also brings you into Barry Zito’s bedroom and shows how he gets up for games against the Dodgers.

“Life of Brian” Episode II airs next week on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Casey Blake, you’ve been warned.

TMZ: Barry Bonds Strikes Out with Wife

Love Him Not, Hate Him…

TMZ has learned Barry Bonds’ wife has filed for legal separation.

Bonds and Liz Watson were married in 1998. They have one daughter together. It is his second marriage.

Liz greeted Bonds when he hit his history making 755th* home run in 2007.

The papers, filed Friday in L.A. County Superior Court, cite irreconcilable differences.

Liz has requested joint legal and physical custody of their 10-year-old daughter. She’s also asking for spousal support.

Boston Herald: Puzzled Omar Vizquel: No sign of Boston

The solution to the Red Sox’ shortstop problem may very well have been sitting in the visitors dugout last night.

Veteran Omar Vizquel probably isn’t going anywhere with the Rangers leading the AL West, but he won’t lie - he wishes the Red Sox made a play for him when they had a chance.

“They haven’t even called anybody to see if I’d want to go, or if (Texas) would let me go,” Vizquel said before last night’s 8-1 Sox win at Fenway Park. “They haven’t really called me ever. They didn’t call in the offseason. They didn’t call in spring training. They always talk about it, but they never call the right people to see if I’m available.”

...

“It would have been great,” Vizquel said. “The Red Sox are a veteran team. All I’d have to do here is make the plays at short. I don’t think they’d worry about me hitting too much.”

Bo Terrorizes The Giants During White House Visit

There’s a pecking order in baseball. The Phillies won the World Series, so last month they got to meet Barack Obama. The Giants won…nothing. So they got to tour the White House when the President wasn’t around. The best the White House could scrape up was Bo Obama, and the Giants somehow managed to screw that up too.

San Francisco’s radio announcer had his jacket torn up by the presidential pup, and their left fielder had to be admonished by staff for using one of the dog’s towels. All in all, I don’t think Bo will be welcome at AT&T Park any time soon.

WSJ: Prager: The Man Who Shot ‘the Shot Heard ‘Round the World’

Rudy Mancuso, photographer who captured a big moment in baseball history, died last month in Manhattan. 

On Oct. 3, 1951, in the upper deck of the Polo Grounds, a little man with a big camera snapped a portrait of Yankee outfielder Hank Bauer seated nearby. Rudy Mancuso had just one more exposure. And so, as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants waged their final playoff game in Harlem, the amateur photographer let pass 77 balls and 142 strikes, at last clicking his Busch Pressman at 3:58 p.m., a split second after Giant Bobby Thomson pulled an 0-1 fastball from Dodger Ralph Branca with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

[...]
When on Oct. 24 the Giants used the black-and-white photo in an ad in the Sporting News and again in their 1952 yearbook, they didn’t pay or credit Mancuso. Neither did Adirondack Bats in a January ad.

In May 1952, Sylvania Electric Products Inc. put the photo on the cover of its company newsletter and credited it to “Rudolph Mancuso.” [...] The man who shot “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was entirely forgotten.

MASN: Wood: Historic moment, insert your name here

Seems Phil Wood has a problem with Randy’s 300th win…

I bring up the Pinelli story inasmuch as I tend to think that home plate umpire Tim Timmons had much the same mindset in yesterday’s first game. When he called Adam Dunn out on strikes on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the eighth inning, the strike 3 call was made with just a slight hesitation. A walk ties the game at 2 and gives Randy Johnson a no-decision.

I believe in that split-second he decided he’d rather see his name attached to Johnson’s 300th win than one of his colleagues.

Hey, I don’t begrudge Johnson his milestone. But, much like in a game where a pitcher has a no-hitter going, you want that first hit to be a clean shot, a hard hit ball, not some squibber that creates a bang-bang play at first. It’s not hard to imagine that in Timmons’ mind he thought “Here’s a guy who strikes out a lot anyway, his team stinks, what’s the real harm?”

For years I defended umpires on the radio, but less so in the recent past. The continually shrinking strike zone, the arbiters who at times seem to be looking for a confrontation, the ones who seem to crave the spotlight; I’m more aligned now with my Saturday radio colleague Dave Johnson, who really feels the art of umpiring has taken a serious turn south.

Storms postpone Big Unit’s quest, will pitch game 1 of doubleheader today at 4:35

The Big Unit was held up by Mother Nature, putting history on hold.

Randy Johnson’s bid for 300 wins was postponed Wednesday night after a series of thunderstorms left the field at Nationals Park unplayable for Johnson’s San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.

At 10:47 p.m. EDT—more than 31/2 hours after the scheduled 7:05 p.m. first pitch—Nationals president Stan Kasten announced that the game had been called and would be made up as part of a doubleheader, starting at 4:35 p.m. on Thursday.

SF Gate: Bruce Jenkins’ 3-Dot Lounge

190+ pitch outings by Mike Krukoww-oww!

Mike Krukow had some scathing, spot-on comments about pitch counts yesterday on the Gary Radnich show. Krukow plays it close to the vest during telecasts, honoring the game’s trend toward caution and protecting young arms, but he revealed his true feelings with Radnich, ridiculing the notion of effective pitchers being replaced after 100-odd pitches and calling it “the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”

...As Krukow told Radnich, the way you become a winning pitcher is by finishing a game, working your way through a batting order three or four times. Anyone can win the first couple of matchups, but once you’ve figured out how to out-perform that guy every time, especially when it counts, you’re a better pitcher and a better man. Krukow said he routinely had 150-pitch games during his career, clearing 190 a couple of times in college, and that if you decide to stick with a pitcher who has it all going, after 110-120 pitches, “It’s not going to hurt him, OK?” said Krukow. “It’s just not.”

The worst of it is, Hinch probably won’t even think twice about his decision. He and a thousand other managers will take the paranoia route every time. That’s how you lose games, respect and any chance of making an impression in this division.

MSNBC/Calcaterra - Big Unit doesn’t think he’ll be the last to 300

With his next win, he’ll be the 24th pitcher in major league history to join the 300-victory club. And it’s fashionable to suggest he’ll be the last of his kind. But if you make that suggestion to Johnson, don’t expect a polite nod. Johnson’s own fossil record suggests that the next 300-game winner could be among us right now, not necessarily ticketed for greatness but toiling to throw strikes.

“I’m not going to say I’ll be the last because everyone overlooked me . . . That was the talk when (Tom) Glavine got there (in 2007). I wasn’t given a chance because of my back surgeries. So I’m not one to say who could or couldn’t. Anything’s possible. Look at me.”

Schulman: Are you ready to admit Renteria was a good signing?

Yes...right after I admit my Aunt Dirty’s scream-filled casu marzu cake was delicious.

Let’s just talk about the player, and here is what I see:

I see a shortstop who clearly is past his defensive prime and cannot make plays, especially to his right, that most younger shortstops make. But I also see a shortstop who is good to his left, makes the routine plays and presents a good, experienced counterbalance to Emmanuel Burriss’ inexperience at second base.

I also see a hitter who has not batted for a high average but is one of the few guys in this lineup who will work a count, who knows how to go the other way and now is batting .333/.453./.452 with runners in scoring position.

Is Renteria an All-Star? No. But I do not see him as the worst free-agent signing in baseball this year, which is how the deal was viewed by lots of analysts.

S.F. Chroncile: Moves now limited by no moves in past

At some point in the next few years, the Giants might have to part with Matt Cain. They might need to give up the notion that Cain and Tim Lincecum will become dual aces as intimidating as Koufax and Drysdale or Schilling and Johnson. Under the right conditions, that time might have been this spring.

But only a very secure general manager can make that call, and the Giants went into spring training with two egregious limitations: expiring contracts for their GM and field manager. Many Giants fans might have balked if Brian Sabean had been handed an extension after four straight losing seasons and Bruce Bochy got one after two losers in a row, but such votes of confidence don’t have to be absolute.

There is almost nothing more practical in pro sports than buying out the final contract year of an executive or coach/manager. The owner might cringe, but the cost of paying these guys to leave is far cheaper than allowing a team to be run by potential lame ducks.

Sabean and Bochy went into this season with implicit win-now mandates and a young roster that required patient cultivation. Those aren’t mutually exclusive goals, but the level of conflict is pretty high.

Witness the dangerous level of panic in the front office over the barren offense. The recent road trip certainly warranted some urgency, but the Giants proclaiming themselves ready to deal seemed more like public-relations pacification than baseball sense. A GM on a talent hunt tends to be a tad more discreet than Sabean was over the weekend in Seattle, where he told reporters that he would seek out a hitter as soon as possible and set aside his usual concerns about acquiring a player on the brink of free agency.

Marlins notebook: Giants may be interested in trade for Dan Uggla

To get Uggla, the Giants almost certainly would have to give up one of their young starters, either lefty Jonathan Sanchez or perhaps more reluctantly right-hander Matt Cain. During the Winter Meetings, a Sanchez for Jorge Cantu rumor made the rounds.

Sanchez won’t be arbitration eligible until after 2010. Cain in March 2007 signed a modest contract that calls for salaries of $2.65 million this season, $4.25 million in 2010 and a $6.25 million option for 2011 that could vest at $6.7 million.

Baggarly: Giants will listen to offers for Cain

Nooooo! This might be nuttier than the time The Mutants played the Napa State Psychiatric Hospital!

The Giants aren’t hitting, which means Brian Sabean is taking a pounding.

With a quarter of the season complete, the club’s long-tenured general manager acknowledged what anyone reading the box scores could detect: The pitching has been sensational, the defense has done the job and the offense usually makes you want to glue your eyelids shut.

“We obviously can compete, but we know where we’re challenged, and it’s maybe more acute than we thought it would be,” Sabean said prior to the Giants’ 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night at Safeco Field.

...With that in mind, club sources said Sabean would put out feelers to see what right-hander Matt Cain could fetch. Because Cain is young, controllable and relatively cheap for two more seasons, it would require productive offensive players with similar service-time attributes to strike a deal.

“If the bat per se is talented and hopefully not a free agent to be, you pay the market price, whatever that is,” Sabean said.

Brian Sabean evaluates team, talks about the trade landscape

We had an audience with Brian Sabean in the dugout and I’ll post more in a little while. For now, a few bullet points:

–He is actively looking for a bat on the trade market and acknowledged one big shift: he is now considering players who are impending free agents. (No names discussed, but Nick Johnson has to be near the top of the list.) He also is willing to trade minor league talent, but not impact prospects. The club also is actively scouting other position players who could be available closer to the trade deadline.

Bruce Jenkins: Giants are NL West’s best hope

(05-19) 20:12 PDT —It’s up to San Francisco to save the National League West from the Dodgers, the Manny Ramirez scandal and the depressing notion of a division won much too easily. Not that it seems very likely, but the Giants are the only team even remotely equipped for the task.

Next to all this, the Giants seem positively golden with the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval. Can they win this division? Total longshot. But they’re the only threat to Mannywood.

Business Pundit: 25 Rich Athletes Who Went Broke

It seems that baseball players are a better bet to keep hold of their money than football or basketball stars, but are not immune to foolish profligacy:

22. Jack Clark

MLB player since 1975
Estimated lifetime earnings: $20 million

When Jack Clark declared bankruptcy on listed debts of $11.4 million and assets of $4.8 million, his lawyer made a statement. “He had some expensive hobbies, and I think they got ahead of him.”

Ya think? The man owned 18 automobiles, including a 1990 Ferrari that cost $717k alone. His three customized, tricked out 1992 Mercedes Benzes cost around $125k each. All in all, he still owes money of 17 of his cars, as well as the failed drag racing course he meant to race them on. Add to that half a mil in back taxes, and you have some expensive hobbies, indeed.

I don’t remember hearing about Eyre, either…

Fletcher: Worrying Less Equals Success for Zito

Quit your pineing! Captain Quirk is back!

Remember Barry Zito?

Quirky lefty. Big curve ball. Part of the Big Three that carried the A’s all those years. Signed ginormous contract with the Giants. Became the highest-paid fifth starter in baseball.

You can forget that last part.

Now into Year 3 of that $126 million deal, Zito finally seems ready to deliver.

“Barry is back,” a National League scout told FanHouse. “He’s pretty close to what he was. I’d say he’s 80 percent of what he was, at least. He’s got his velocity back. He’s not back to 2002, when he won the Cy Young, but he’s a competitive, championship-level pitcher again.”

L.A. Times: Sorry about that

“I’m not here to disrespect anybody on a personal level,” Blake said. “Had I or anybody known that it was a religious deal or honored his father, I mean obviously you’re not going to mock that or disrespect that in any regard.”

After Blake hit a game-tying 12th-inning home run off Wilson, TV cameras caught him imitating the closer’s celebratory stance in the Dodger dugout and Wilson promised to remember the gesture next time the teams meet. And while Blake stopped short of apologizing Tuesday, he did say his actions were out of character.

“Should I have done it? Probably not,” he said. “I came in and hit a big homer. I was excited. I got out of my box a little bit. Apparently they got real upset over it. Whatever.”

OCregister: Brandon Wood for Jonathan Sanchez. Who hangs up first?

Jonathan Sanchez remains a big breakout candidate, a hard-throwing lefty whose deceptive delivery makes his fastball seem even faster.  He has trouble repeating his delivery and leaves loads of fastballs high and outside. The walks have killed him, but he’s extremely difficult to hit, fifth in baseball in Ks/9 in 2008. Dustin Moseley and Kelvim Escobar may be back soonish, but they may not be; they may be effective, and they may not be; and even if they are, the Angels have a new power lefty reliever who hasn’t even hit arbitration yet.

Meanwhile, the Giants’ offense has swine flu (timely!). If the Giants hope to win 90 games at the rate they have scored this season, they would need an ERA of 3.09, not so realistic. They need bats. Their third baseman, Pablo Sandoval, has handled the position well, but is more suited to first; their first baseman, Travis Ishikawa, is the world’s leading purveyor of outs. The Giants have some options for third in the minors, but nothing you worry about blocking yet. Brandon Wood fits perfectly, and he won’t be a free agent for five years still.

I know, I know. Nobody wants to trade Brandon Wood. I don’t want to trade Brandon Wood. But if they aren’t going to play him…

L.A. Times: Wilson vows not to forget Casey Blake’s mocking gesture

San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson said he wouldn’t forget that Casey Blake mocked the cross-armed gesture he makes after every save as a tribute to his faith and deceased father.

Blake was shown on television cameras Sunday appearing to mimic Wilson’s signature pose at the end of the 12th inning.

Wilson didn’t deny that Blake’s gesture could intensify the rivalry between the clubs.

“It could be a catalyst if you want to look at it that way,” he said. “There’s always something to fuel the fire. You’re always looking for some excuse to get riled up.”

The incident so upset Wilson that he wouldn’t speak to reporters about it Sunday and had to be consoled by teammates.

Asked whether Blake’s actions surprised him, Wilson said, “In this day and age, everyone’s got some meaning behind what they do. Whether a guy crosses home plate and points to the sky; he’s not just pointing to the clouds, right?”

Giants closer Wilson upset after Dodgers’ Blake mocks him

Naturally. God only knows what Casey Blake was thinking.

A friend sent Brian Wilson a photo of Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake mocking the crossed-arms gesture that the Giants’ All-Star closer makes when he finishes off a victory. The gesture is symbolic of Wilson’s faith and it’s also a signal to his late father.

Several veterans approached Wilson and appeared to be trying to calm him down. Strangely enough, Blake hit the tying home run off Wilson in the 12th before Randy Winn’s two-run single in the 13th put the Giants ahead again. Wilson got three quick ground outs in the bottom of the inning to finish the game.

When asked what was upsetting him, Wilson grudgingly showed the photo on his phone to myself and Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle. (It showed Blake seated in the dugout with his arms crossed.) He didn’t want to say anything, though. We asked if Blake’s gesture was an affront to his faith. “Yeah, and my dad,” Wilson said.

I asked if he’d remember the next time he faced Blake. Wilson shrugged and clamped his mouth shut. From the next locker over, Jeremy Affeldt said, “Blake knows what he did.”

By the time we hustled over to the Dodgers clubhouse, Blake was showered and gone.

Clearly, this will be worth watching when these two teams meet again in August.