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Wilson was and still is the heart of the Giants. He was one of the many pieces that led San Francisco to the their championship in 2010.
But since throwing that final 3-2 pitch to Nelson Cruz to clinch the title, his right arm has experienced some serious ramifications to throwing over 60 innings during that magical 2010 season.
Signs of fatigue often appeared in 2011 when he only pitched 55 innings and collected 36 saves. For Wilson, those numbers aren’t nearly the norm.
As a result, he was shut down in September with arm issues. That was the last of Wilson the baseball world saw in 2011, and 2012 has basically just been the same string of events. After supposedly feeling great during spring training, his elbow flared up once again very early in the season, and after pitching just two innings, he was done for good.
Now, he is currently rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, the second time he has endured the infamous surgery over the course of his seven-year career. While Wilson continues to rehab, the Giants continue to lack the closer’s presence that he brought to the table.
Losing Wilson at first, was a hard pill to swallow for manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean, obviously. Sure, they had a few alternatives at their disposal, but not one of those alternatives boldly stood out.
The names floated around—would it be Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt or Santiago Casilla? All three had the tools to at least fill the void, but with Romo’s fragile arm, and Affledt’s inconsistency, Casilla was the clear choice. And they seemingly nailed that pick given Casilla’s instant success that eased the minds of the Giants.
Casilla, the longtime middle reliever, thrived in the closer’s role. In his first three months as the closer, he recorded 21 saves while only blowing two. During that surprisingly dominant stretch, he also totaled a 2.70 ERA and yielded opposing hitters to just a .217 batting average.
Wilson? Wilson who? Casilla was the man now. During those three months Bruce Bochy didn’t even hesitate to throw Casilla into the fire. And all but two times, he put the fire to rest.
However, three months is only a fraction of the 162 game marathon. Casilla sprinted through the first three months, and didn’t have enough left in the tank for the rest of the race as the end of June proved to be the turning point in Casilla’s regression.
Like originally expected, he was mediocre at the beginning of the fall. Then, mediocre turned into bad and bad turned into terrible. From June 22nd to the final day of July, Casilla posted an 8.74 ERA, and opposing hitters were hitting north of .300 off the flamethrower. Let the Wilson memories begin.
He was missed, a lot. Casilla copied Wilson in a sense that he made things interesting, but there’s one slight difference—Wilson finished the game, Casilla didn’t for the final couple months in the closer’s role. That’s the part the Giants missed the most.
Sure, they missed his antics, the beard, the lifestyle, but in the end, they missed his knack to shut the door in big games.
Let’s all keep in mind that Bochy is no slouch when it comes to change. Granted, he might’ve given Casilla a bit more rope than he should’ve in the wake of his struggles, but his options were slim.
Eventually, enough was enough for the skipper, and Casilla was relieved of his closer duties in early August. Since, the Giants have used a closer by committee setup which hasn’t been bad, but also hasn’t been great.
However, the closer by committee strategy isn’t something that fares well in the postseason. The tactic is just too unreliable in short series. There’s just not enough time to evaluate who has the hot hand.
But, Casilla could emerge as the closer once again. Not only does he boast a 0.82 ERA since being stripped of his closer job, but the nagging blister on his throwing hand has vanquished.
One thing is for sure though, Casilla can’t match what Wilson did in 2010. Very few can.
This article was originally published at MLB Reports.
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