Brian Wilson has power and positive thinking

Brian Wilson worked out on a stationary bike Wednesday at the Giants' ballpark, the first real exercise doctors have allowed him to tackle since his Tommy John surgery April 19.

I hope Wilson used some type of protective device for his beard. It would be tragic if that facial foliage got tangled in the bike's spinning spokes and the Giants' closer went all Isadora Duncan on us (she was a modern dance pioneer who died when her scarf got caught in the wheel of a sports car).

That's the type of negative thinking Wilson is working hard to avoid as he rehabs from the surgery. Doctors say it can take up to 24 months to come back from a Tommy John job, but Wilson said he's not planning to take that long. His target?

"Opening Day," Wilson said. "I'll be closing it out. ... I don't imagine (making) any rehab starts. I'll be here for spring training. I'll be here Day 1."

Wilson seemed in good spirits Wednesday as he held court at his locker three hours before the game. And why shouldn't he be? The surgery went well, his recovery is on schedule or ahead of it. And as he said, "This is a surgery where you get a new arm. I'm 30 and I've got a new arm. That's pretty awesome. Throw harder, maybe, get a little better."

An arm and a leg

The Giants would settle for a new right arm as good as the one Wilson featured from 2008 to 2011, four seasons averaging 41 saves.

There is always doubt that a power pitcher will come back as strong after major surgery, especially after a second Tommy John, in which a damaged arm ligament is replaced with a ligament from the other arm, or - as was the case with Wilson this time - from a leg.

But Wilson is a positive kind of guy. He works at it.

"You gotta work at it, of course," he said. "But the longer you work at it, the easier it is, because if you're gonna sit around in your house every day, it'd be nice to start thinking about some positive things. Because the more negative things you think about, it just infests your brain, and it takes a downward spiral from there. And that's the No. 1 part of healing: You need to be positive."

What has Wilson been doing with his idle time? Well, he has been growing his beard. He said he absolutely will not trim a hair of it during his rehab.

He went to Muir Woods recently.

"Saw the trees," he said. "I was asked if I was John Muir. Twice."

It's good that he has kept the beard, because Sunday's ballpark giveaway is a Brian Wilson bearded gnome. They are not live creatures, but plastic dolls that look like Wilson, and mounted on your dash probably would scare off car thieves.

(Asked about the gnomes, Wilson said, "I don't gnome what you're talking about.")

Doing jigsaw puzzles

Wilson said he has been sampling new hobbies.

"I went to a puzzle store on Divisadero and I picked up three puzzles," he said. "And I went to an antique store and I bought a couple of retro lamps. I laid carpet. I mounted some TVs. I've just done everything, pretty much. Can't play video games cause I don't want to mess up my forearm, but I've done a lot of puzzles."

His pièce de résistance was a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of the Taj Mahal.

"Pretty excited about that," Wilson said. "That was a long one, because the sky was all blue and you couldn't tell where the pieces went, it was trial-and-error. That took a good day and a half to do the sky. The actual Taj Mahal took probably a week."

That was more of a project than Wilson's arm surgery, which was quick and routine. Range of motion has increased steadily in the right arm, and he no longer wears a brace.

"It's just been a really smooth ride thus far," he said.

Repeat patients

Wilson did admit that his research into repeat Tommy John surgery patients showed him that a full comeback from a second surgery is not automatic.

Many pitchers have had multiple TJ procedures. Jason Isringhausen of the Angels had it done three times, and pitched well last season and this season.

Dr. Frank Jobe, who pioneered the procedure, has said that with second-timers, "You worry a bit more," partly because it's possible the pitcher simply has weaker than normal connective tissue.

Working in Wilson's favor is that he had his first Tommy John in college, in 2003, so he got excellent mileage out of that repair job. He'd probably be thrilled to get another seven or eight good years out of this one.

Hey, Jose Rijo had five Tommy Johns. His arm had more pieces than the Taj Mahal, and he pitched until he was 37. Plus, the fifth one is free.

Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. sostler@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle