Sports Radio Service


		Michael Duca on A's and Giants By Michael Duca July 4, 2011

	Sportstalk: The Giants opened a homestand at Pac Bell against the Padres which started on Monday and the talk isn't the series but whose on the menu for the All-Star game representing the Gigantes. Who do like and what have you felt was their best contribution to the team, the selections are made up of pitchers, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson and Ryan Vogelsong? These guys have not contributed much to the success of the team; it's hard to understand why they are all going to Arizona. You're only talking about the most valuable player in last year's World Series, the top two starters for the World Champions, in Cain and Lincecum. And Vogelsong couldn't even make the team out of spring training, you're going to put him on an All Star team JUST because he leads the National League in ERA? Seriously, it's hard to imagine the Giants having 25 wins without these guys leading a pitching staff, and Wilson is a phenomenon unto himself -- he was actually voted in by the other players, with the possible exception of Casey Blake. He leads baseball in saves, so I kinda think he deserved the trip, too. Sportstalk: The A's have selected pitcher Gio Gonzalez for the All-Star selection. Talk about his selection and his accomplishments this year. Also his teammates really enjoy Gio and consider him a positive clubhouse guy and he did a pretty mean radio show with Amaury Pi Gonzaelz for A's Spanish radio. Gio is among the top 5 starting pitchers in the AL in several statistical categories, and deserved to go to the game on his own merits. And, seriously, who else would you have selected from the A's? Gonzalez showed his mettle by learning he was the team's lone representative, then going out and stifling a strong-hitting Arizona Diamondbacks squad Sunday -- just what you'd expect of an All Star. Sportstalk: Weird Friday in Detroit last week when Brian Wilson the Giants reliever blew a gasket when he took a bat to the dugout and to a Gatorade can. It was a game that the Giants would later win, some critics have said Wilson's antics was of a bad sport and some have said he was frustrated what was the difference in this situation as opposed to other dugout situations like a Milton Bradley and a Carlos Zambrano, and what would the Gatorade can have said? Baseball is a game of frustration and failure -- closers are the rarity in that they succeed most of the time. It was the second time in his career that Wilson had blown consecutive save opportunities -- a rare enough occurrence that it warranted some sort of response. and, what, exactly, are the alternatives? Do you want a player who takes that calmly, acting as though it didn't matter? These are the ultimate competitors, and they are not going to quietly accept repeated failure - nor should we expect them to.