Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Beard vs. The Mullethawk

"It's a battle of the NL West's most hirsute brutes!

"In the blue trunks, at 6'2" and 210 pounds, he's the Wild One from Iowa, it's the Dodgers' Casey 'The Beard' Blake!

"And in the orange trunks, at 6'1" and 195 pounds, he's the closer whose hair is a party on the top and in the back, it's the Giants' Brian 'The Mullethawk' Wilson!"

From Extra Baggs, a blog by Giants beat writer (San Jose Mercury News) Andrew Baggarly:

Giants closer Wilson upset after Dodgers’ Blake mocks him

A friend sent 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. The background on Wilson's gesture can be found here. [...]

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."

"Let's get ready to rumble...the next time these two teams meet...which isn't until—wait, you're kidding me. August? August 10? Geez, wake me up in three months."

(Hat tip: Diamond Notes via Dodger Thoughts)

UPDATE: Wilson vows not to forget Casey Blake's mocking gesture (LA Times) zzzzzzzzzz

UPDATE: Blake meant no disrespect by gesture (Dodgers.com)

Wilson photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

16 comments:

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I'm 100% positive Blake has no clue why Wilson does that gesture

NicJ said...

HAHAHA!

i love casey.

NicJ said...

Brian Wilson doesn't like when people have fun, fun, fun at his expense.

Adam said...

Blake just earned his bobblehead.

Fred's Brim said...

maybe they have the same father...
*cue ominous soap opera music*

Chappy said...

Memo to Brian Wilson:
just because you make up a hand symbol (I thought he was imitating Wolverine myself) that in your mind is representative of your faith and your father, doesn't mean that Casey Blake or any of the rest of us have to give a shit.

Unknown said...

The funny thing is that the article implies that Brian should look for retaliation the next time they meet, when everything about the sign points to the opposite kind of response.

patm14 said...

His father is probably rolling over in the grave with a haircut like that

Alex said...

It's Wilson who chose to involve his personal memories of his dad into his celebration. He put it out there. If after hitting his HR, Blake had done a cartwheel in honor of his mom, would that make it OK?

rbnlaw said...

It's why players love closers so much. Frankie Rodriguez "gives props to the lord" everytime he saves a game. Jose Valverde does that riduculous "triple spit" when he enters. The music, the gestures, the rituals? You're supposed to be a pitcher who gets outs. So if Wilson does his little "this one's for you Dad and Jesus" thing and gets made fun of, he had it coming.
Quit showing up batters and you won't get mocked.

Ebag said...

Sounds like Wilson was about to cry.

Glen Creason said...

...normally Giant pitchers retaliate by giving up three run homers or hitting the catcher on the head with their bat (a la Juan Marichal)

PenosCabell said...

This just adds to the rivalry.

I love it.

Ryan said...

Dude ain't showing up batters...he turns his back to the plate and the opposing team when he does it. I can verify this as he's been closing so many victories as of late...which is nice.

Steve Sax said...

As Duk from Big League Stew put it: "Personally, I'm willing to bet that Blake wouldn't have done what he did if he knew of the move's significance, especially the part about the tribute to Wilson's dad. I mean, haven't we all laughed at the guy in the distance who trips over the curb, only to feel monumentally bad once we draw near and find out he's blind and handicapped?"

I didn't know Wilson was blind and handicapped.

Steve Sax said...

Ryan: What if there's a man on second?