‘BEARD’ IS FUN, BUT NO ANSWER TO DODGERS
Alas, once again the Valley has missed, perhaps by just a whisker, our chance to cheer the beard.
Now, we are left again to fear the beard. Giants fans will jeer the beard. And all of this assumes that Brian Wilson doesn’t shear the beard.
The Dodgers on Tuesday signed Wilson, the three-time All-Star who made his reputation as a closer and as a character with the San Fran- cisco Giants.
The Diamondbacks were among the teams that kicked his tires about a week ago when Wilson threw for a handful of teams at UCLA, and he reportedly received offers from three of them. Wilson chose the Dodgers, archrival to the Giants and current leaders of the NL West, with the Diamondbacks and their shaky bullpen trying to
hang in the race.
Of course, it was less than a year ago when James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder was on the market, along with his beard. But the Suns said they didn’t have the pieces to make an acceptable offer, and the Houston Rockets dealt for the dynamic swingman from Arizona State.
Harden led the resurgent Rockets to the playoffs and made them suddenly appealing to center Dwight Howard. Now, the folks in Clutch City are all fired up again about the Rockets.
Now it’s Wilson, the free agent with the free-flowing Witness Protection beard who has gotten away.
After signing a guaranteed major-league deal for the remainder of the season, Wilson reportedly will work out at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility in the West Valley with tentative plans to join the Dodgers in a couple of weeks.
If it came down to money, nobody was going to out-bid the deep-pocketed new ownership of the Dodgers, who can afford to overpay and risk that Wilson won’t pan out. Los Angeles plans to use him as an eighth-inning set-up man if and when he’s ready.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks must be a bit more discerning with their budget. But General Manager Kevin Towers evidently wasn’t satisfied to stand pat, either.
Multiple reports had the Diamondbacks active as today’s trading deadline approached. They were rumored to be among teams pursuing a deal for White Sox starter Jake Peavy and Astros starter Bud Norris.
They also were reported to have had Tuesday’s starter Ian Kennedy on the trading block as well. He made his scheduled start and Peavy was scratched from his start against Cleveland. Norris was scratched against Baltimore.
Peavy, at the right cost, might have made sense, because with or without an effective Wilson, the Dodgers are going to be hard to overcome in the NL West. At the right price, Norris isn't a bad alternative. He would be under control for the rest of this season and two more.
But the Red Sox and White Sox reportedly have struck a deal that also includes Detroit, which will send Peavy to Boston. At this point, the Diamondbacks may be better off saving their money and their prospects.
As for Kennedy, if the Diamondbacks are willing to part with him — possibly just for left-handed bullpen help and some payroll savings — what does that say about how much the organization believes he has slipped since that remarkable 2011 season, when he compiled a 21-4 record with a 2.88 ERA?
In the end, it might not matter what the Diamondbacks do now that the Dodgers are on a roll. But those of us in the sports media tend to root for good stories over anything else, so for that reason we lament that Wilson is wearing Dodger Blue rather than Sedona Red.
He’s funny, unpredictable, quotable and — oh, by the way — has four pretty wicked pitches when he’s right.
Wilson was a key component of the Giants unexpected championship in 2010 and got the save for the NL in the 2011 All-Star Game at Chase Field. It was during that All-Star break that he not only answered questions his beard, but his beard. He’s Charles Barkley, only with a ring.
Wilson reportedly keeps a home in the Valle, and runs up and down Camelback Mountain as part of his off-season training when he’s here.
But he hasn’t pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in April 2012, the second such procedure on his pitching arm since his days at LSU.
He became an elite closer for a couple of seasons, striking out a total of 176 batters and compiling an ERA of 2.27 in 2009 and 2010. The Giants had to shut him down late in that All-Star 2011 season because of soreness in his elbow, and then it gave out entirely early in the 2012 season.
Yes, seeing Wilson and his beard in a Diamondbacks uniform would have been a lot of fun. But it wouldn’t have been the answer to the Dodgers.