[h1]S.F. Giants' Brian Wilson seems to be ready[/h1]
Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer San Francisco Chronicle April 3, 2011 04:00 AM
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04/04/11
Mike Fontenot, one of the four hitters in
Brian Wilson's simulated game Sunday, said, "I saw fire coming out of his nose."
"My nose?" Wilson responded in mock horror. "That's not a good sign."
His 27-pitch "inning" was the best sign that
the Giants will activate Wilson from the disabled list Wednesday, the first day he is eligible. He did throw with ninth-inning fire to show he is ready to close a game.
Actually, Wilson said, "I've been ready for two weeks." When asked if his next time on a mound will be in a game, he said, "It could be. It
will be."
Wilson allowed what would have been a double off the wall by
Pat Burrell and a single by
Eli Whiteside, the only hits in 12 simulated at-bats. Manager
Bruce Bochy and pitching coach
Dave Righetti wanted to see stuff and command. Fontenot let them know the stuff was there. When Fontenot was jammed on a grounder to first, he hollered "Oww!" as his hand stung. Righetti said Wilson's command was "pretty good."
The final check is how Wilson's side feels today. Ideally, he would throw multiple innings or on back-to-back days before his activation, but Bochy said, "You've got to adjust. We don't want to hold him back too long."
Pat the Rat: All the Giants say Burrell is one of the first to arrive each day, and why not? He has important stuff to do. Take Sunday. More than four hours before game time, Burrell dragged
Dan Runzler and
Brandon Belt into short right field and had Runzler lie face down near the spot where
Aubrey Huff made face-first dives on successive plays Saturday.
Using medical tape, Burrell created the outline of a corpse with "17" on the back.
"Typical," Huff said. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
Nobody was laughing when Huff attempted another dive on a
Jamey Carroll liner and it got by him for an RBI triple in the first inning.