Perry to visit injured troops
Sept 12, 2008 10:43:09 GMT -5
Post by arden on Sept 12, 2008 10:43:09 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/11/SPBA12SDCJ.DTL
Wilson plans to mix up his training, pitching
Henry Schulman
Friday, September 12, 2008
(09-12) 04:00 PDT San Diego -- - Southern California beachgoers will welcome a new Brian Wilson this winter. This generation's beach boy is the Giants' closer, who plans to move from Arizona to the Los Angeles area and train for a triathlon.
Wilson is a workout fiend who said his regimen goes from "rigorous" during the season to "impossible" over the winter. "That," he said, "is what makes it fun."
"I'm going to start training for an Ironman Triathlon. I'm not going to do the one in Hawaii and come in last. I'm just going to mix up my own one in Santa Monica. My buddy came up with a little course I'm going to go ahead and try."
Wilson allowed he will "notch it down a bit," which means 30 miles on the bike instead of 100 and a 10-mile run instead of 26.2 miles.
"I'm not looking to shed 30 pounds and come to spring training at 160, throwing 81 mph," he said. And the swim? "Probably two par-5s worth."
On the baseball field, Wilson had a bad end to the Giants' good homestand. He blew consecutive save chances against Arizona (Nos. 4 and 5 for the season), allowing a two-run homer by Chris Snyder on Tuesday night and a two-run triple by Chris Young on Wednesday. The Giants rebounded to win both games on hits by Eugenio Velez.
Asked if he still felt strong physically, Wilson said, "Yeah, of course. It was only two pitches. They were just looking fastball, they got it and it went their way for a couple of seconds until we got it back."
Wilson recognizes he might have to expand his repertoire beyond the fastball if he wants continued success as a closer. He throws a slider, mostly as a get-ahead pitch, and teammates say he has a decent changeup.
"This is more or less like a trial and error," Wilson said. "I'm going to go with what feels good, and every single one of my saves has been predominantly fastballs. Obviously later on in my career, maybe next year, maybe even this year, I'll start mixing up other pitches, but the last thing I want to do is lose a game on something people think I should be working on. If I throw a changeup to give up a game, they'll go, 'Why wasn't he throwing his fastball?' "
Visiting the troops: Wilson is among six Giants who will visit injured troops from Iraq at a San Diego military hospital today. Strength and conditioning coordinator Ben Potenziano arranged the visit under the auspices of the Wounded Warriors Project, which raises money for injured soldiers facing long rehabilitations. Alex Hinshaw, John Bowker, Steve Holm, Jack Taschner, Geno Espineli, head trainer Dave Groeschner and former Journey front man Steve Perry are taking part, too.- Henry Schulman
Wilson plans to mix up his training, pitching
Henry Schulman
Friday, September 12, 2008
(09-12) 04:00 PDT San Diego -- - Southern California beachgoers will welcome a new Brian Wilson this winter. This generation's beach boy is the Giants' closer, who plans to move from Arizona to the Los Angeles area and train for a triathlon.
Wilson is a workout fiend who said his regimen goes from "rigorous" during the season to "impossible" over the winter. "That," he said, "is what makes it fun."
"I'm going to start training for an Ironman Triathlon. I'm not going to do the one in Hawaii and come in last. I'm just going to mix up my own one in Santa Monica. My buddy came up with a little course I'm going to go ahead and try."
Wilson allowed he will "notch it down a bit," which means 30 miles on the bike instead of 100 and a 10-mile run instead of 26.2 miles.
"I'm not looking to shed 30 pounds and come to spring training at 160, throwing 81 mph," he said. And the swim? "Probably two par-5s worth."
On the baseball field, Wilson had a bad end to the Giants' good homestand. He blew consecutive save chances against Arizona (Nos. 4 and 5 for the season), allowing a two-run homer by Chris Snyder on Tuesday night and a two-run triple by Chris Young on Wednesday. The Giants rebounded to win both games on hits by Eugenio Velez.
Asked if he still felt strong physically, Wilson said, "Yeah, of course. It was only two pitches. They were just looking fastball, they got it and it went their way for a couple of seconds until we got it back."
Wilson recognizes he might have to expand his repertoire beyond the fastball if he wants continued success as a closer. He throws a slider, mostly as a get-ahead pitch, and teammates say he has a decent changeup.
"This is more or less like a trial and error," Wilson said. "I'm going to go with what feels good, and every single one of my saves has been predominantly fastballs. Obviously later on in my career, maybe next year, maybe even this year, I'll start mixing up other pitches, but the last thing I want to do is lose a game on something people think I should be working on. If I throw a changeup to give up a game, they'll go, 'Why wasn't he throwing his fastball?' "
Visiting the troops: Wilson is among six Giants who will visit injured troops from Iraq at a San Diego military hospital today. Strength and conditioning coordinator Ben Potenziano arranged the visit under the auspices of the Wounded Warriors Project, which raises money for injured soldiers facing long rehabilitations. Alex Hinshaw, John Bowker, Steve Holm, Jack Taschner, Geno Espineli, head trainer Dave Groeschner and former Journey front man Steve Perry are taking part, too.- Henry Schulman