The return of The Beard

Those piercing blue eyes.

That knitted Rasta beanie.

The sound of House of Pain’s “Jump Around” ringing through AT&T Park at the start of a ninth-inning save situation.

Our San Francisco Giants might be two-and-a-half games up in the NL West and having one heck of a season. But hey, we still miss Brian Wilson.

While we won’t get to see His Royal Bearded-ness in the 2012 regular season, Wilson is on the mend and gearing up to be part of the Giants roster in 2013.

Giants Insider Andrew Baggarly reported from LA — where the Gigantes just made mince meat out of those pesky Los Angeles Dodgers — that Wilson was present in the visiting clubhouse and talking to manager Bruce Bochy about his future with the Orange & Black.

The World Series closer has been absent from the field of play due to Tommy John surgery in mid-April to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. But six months of rehab have been paying off for Wilson, who trainers say can resume playing catch as early as October.

I know that news has many Giants fans — and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t one of them — getting extra hopeful we might see The Beard To Be Feared back on the diamond in the post-season.

But let’s cool our jets for the time being and hope the guy is as healthy as possible before we put him back on the mound.

Another item up for discussion down in SoCal: Wilson’s contract for the 2013 season. The pitcher will be eligible for arbitration and the Giants could seek to cut his salary by 20 percent, Baggarly reports.

Which would still give him a contract around $6.8 million a year; high pay for a pitcher coming off his second major surgery. But — as Baggs so aptly points out — whatever the salary comes out to be, Wilson is expected to be in a Giants uni in 2013.

And how does the skipper think the eccentric B-Weez and his currently unkempt beard seem to be holding up:

“He looked good, looked healthy.”

But then he added:

“The beard did not look healthy.”