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Wilson's Replacement

Giants fans: STOP fearing that this is going to be 2011 all over again. We have to keep our heads up and our faith alive. After winning the World Series in 2010, last year was possibly the worst year of our baseball lives. But did we not pull through? We must keep the Ricardo Marquez #Posivibes alive!

As we all know, our feared leader, Brian Wilson, is having season-ending Tommy John surgery. We cannot catch a break, right? But how strong are we? We pulled through with spirits at an all-time low last season, and we had the opportunity to call up some new kids who we fell in love with. The news of losing Brian this week crushed me as well, don't get me wrong, but there is always a light. We just have to be patient.

So, who will be our new closer? Luckily for us, we have the O.G. beard, who is still feared. Sergio Romo, our righty killer, still has that slider that brings tears to my eyes. While I know that the difference between a set-up man and a closer is huge, I think that he has the character to pull off the role (and we all know closers need character). Our bullpen has been strong the last couple of years, so we have additional options to take Romo's spot.

Our Triple-A affiliate has been hanging on to some gold as well. We have a couple of prospects with incredible potential to join our bullpen squad, and one who may be our closer in the future. Heath Hembree has received a lot of praise for his ability to close out the game, and now is a good time to display that on the big stage. Do I think he should be our closer right now? No. I think that we should give him a couple innings in relief, see how he handles the pressure and explore options from there. Heck, if he is successful, he can get started on his closing journey now, and how exciting would that be?

My heart is broken because of this issue, but we will survive. We may even have a new pitcher in our beloved bullpen, a reliever who will carry us to a new generation. B Weez is staying positive, and we will join in for ourselves and for him. Here's to a fast recovery, Brian. We all adore you, and we can't wait to see you again. But we are still looking forward to a positive, amazing, exciting and torturous season.