A reporter said to Brian Wilson yesterday, “The clock had you throwing at 91. Is that satisfying for you?” Wilson, the most-watched Rancho Cucamonga Quake in a while, replied, “for now.”
Wilson is expected to make his next rehab appearance on Friday for Triple-A Albuquerque after his 8-pitch, 1-2-3 inning last night at Rancho Cucamonga.
Eight pitches is enough for a photo op, but not really enough to draw a conclusion about the type of pitcher he will be if (and when) he pitches for the Dodgers. During the 2011 season, the last time Wilson was an effective major-league pitcher, his fastball was in the 88-97 mph range and his slider 83-95 – often with tremendous movement. Yesterday, Wilson’s slider was clocked in the 86-87 range, his fastball at 91-93. Good enough to pitch a 1-2-3, 8-pitch inning at the Single-A level. Sure, that’s good enough for now.
But the better test — maybe with less media attention — will come at Albuquerque.
Some bullet points for a Taiwanese father’s day:
• Ted Lilly had a minor-league contract with the Giants yesterday. Then he didn’t.
• In case it wasn’t obvious that none of the Dodgers’ best prospects are playing for Triple-A Albuquerque, this.
• Martin Kim, Hyun-Jin Ryu’s interpreter, was profiled here.
• Ryu, by the way, is the 12th rookie in L.A. Dodgers history to reach double-digit wins (10-3), and his .769 win percentage is the highest.
• From the New York Post: “Sick vandals painted a swastika and racial slurs on a statue of Brooklyn Dodger icons Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese at MCU Park in Coney Island, officials said.”
• A new New Era commercial features Matt Kemp in his natural domain for this season, and correctly identifies the longitude and latitude of Dodger Stadium.
• Alex Rodriguez appealed his 211-game suspension.
• Chase Utley got the best of former Dodgers catcher Dioner Navarro in this collision last night, to put it mildly:
• The Venice Boys & Girls Club’s junior division team is still alive at the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series in Minnesota. They will play for the championship at Target Field today Congrats on a great season to the Venice senior division squad, which lost in the semifinals late last night.
• This blog space was built on the hard work of a bunch of web guys whom I’ve never met, and the hard work of one sports writer whom I have met. Give Tony Jackson’s new blog some love here.
• I’ve been on a little jazz kick lately. Here’s “In Your Own Sweet Way” by Miles Davis: