The Torture Cast

Willie is joined by Justin Robert Young of Night Attack, who also happens to be a Pirates fan, for a game in the box. We discuss the Giants positive approach to social media and the loss to the Pirates.

Willie made his way to Pete's to watch a game with some of the mods and redditors from reddit.com/r/SFGiantsHe interviewed Nick and the head mod, Devon while we watched the Giants lose to Jaun Uribe, I mean, the Braves.

The Giants pulled off an incredible 21-9 record in May, despite losing the last 2 games of the month, and a heartbreaker at that. Ben, Eric and Chad discuss the Giants' meteoric rise to 1st/2nd place, all star candidates, all the DFA'd Giants that have roosted in Sacramento, and as always, our new favorite guys, guys we should hate, and why we'll win it all.

Hunter Pence is back. And not just on Twitch, but like hitting homeruns and throwing awkwardly from right field. Yes, all is right with the world.Back when the Giants were 4-10, we didn't panic. We said let's wait until they have played 40 games, and if they're at .500 and Hunter is back, they'll be fine. Welp, they're 20-18 now, so guaranteed to be at .500 after 40, and Hunter IS back, and had a huge hand in the last two wins, going 4-8 with a homerun and scoring five runs. The Giants have the best record in the NL since their bad start at 16-8, and have a great stretch of games coming to balloon that record.Join Chad and Eric as they discuss the Giants' recent success as they delve deep into numbers, including Casilla's immaculate inning, only the 79th in recorded history. Belt is hitting .321 and shutting up his haters, Pagan's back is acting up, and Bochy names coaches for the All Star Game. Plus, Jeff Loria named his cat as manager of the Marlins.Enjoy episode 86 of the TortureCast!

We got to talk about a winning week in episode 85. The Giants swept the Dodgers at home, and they went 4-1 for the week. We'll ignore the fact that the Giants lost to the Dodgers tonight. That doesn't count.Chad thinks Sanchez will be DFA'd when Pence comes back, we love Maxwell and Aoki, hate Ventura, Twitter and Arte Mareno. Come join this "less than 1 hour" episode of the TortureCast!

Wouldn't it be nice to have the Tigers' record (11-2) right now? Although the Giants have gotten off to one of the worst starts ever for a World Series champion, it's not quite yet time to panic.Chad and Eric discuss the highlight of the week, which, yes, was the only win in the last 10 games, but it was also the World Series Ring ceremony. Chad was in attendance, and he strolls down memory lane and recounts his experience in the clubhouse, seeing all five living Hall of Famers, and actually handled the ring of Bochy himself. All pictures of the night are on our Facebook page.We cover McGehee, Peavy on the DL, "Tweet at me, Bruh," our new favorite and least favorite guys, and of course, "Why We Will Win it All."@TortureCastFacebook.com/TortureCast

Welcome to our first regular season podcast of the 2015. Hopefully it won't be the last. We've been a fortunate group of guys able to podcast about 3 World Series championships, watch from the press box and interview players, but the first week of the season feels like the Houston Astros. Despite winning three of their first four, the Giants are in a tailspin with a current 6-game losing streak. Their bats have not just gone cold, they are stored in liquid nitrogen. They are a whopping 5 for 47 with runners in scoring position. They can get runners on buy the truckload, they just can't deliver them home.Eric and Chad talk about the frustrating start to the season, throw around ideas on how to fix it, discuss Heston's place in the rotation, get peaved at Peavy, and at one point, bask in the glow of the home opener and Bum on a horse.It can't get any worse, can it?- Chad will be in the press box at AT&T on Saturday night to cover the ring ceremony and game versus Arizona. Be sure to follow @TortureCast on T

So, the Giants won tonight. They can't go 0-162 like some predicted.Chad, Willie and Eric wax poetically about their 6 game road opening days, Matt Cain's injury, Peavy's back, and their predictions about the season. Chad goes low with 84 wins while the rest of the crew hover around 88. We also remember Lon Simmons, argue about the Giants' opening day winning streak, and worry about everything that we can't control.

Spring Training has not been kind to the Giants. They own the worst record, by far, in all of MLB. Hunter Pence got broke, and Bochy is actually worried about his team's performance.Chad, Ben and Eric try and talk each other down from the ledge, and bring some levity to the foreboding results from the Giants' practice games thus far.Hey, it's an odd year, afterall.

Yes, Jerry is a 49er, but we covered him at the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach this month, so it sort of, by proxy, regionally counts to fit our jersey-number-title-thing that is dying. The boys are back in Arizona! Timmy reunites with his dad, Pablo is still fat, Cain is throwing wild and free, Ben and Chad review their experience and interviews at Media Day, Bochy's heart had a scare, Sheilds rejected a larger offer from the Giants, Moncada signed with Boston, and the first radio broadcast of a spring training game is next week, March 3.Can't you just smell the fresh cut grass through your media player of choice?You can follow us on Twitter @TortureCast and like us on Facebook! All of our podcasts and video and audio San Francisco Giants player interviews can be found here or YouTube.com/TortureCast.

We regretfully dedicate the first portion of this episode of TortureCast to the Super Bowl and the bad? call at the 1 yard line. Willie, Chad and Eric catch up on all of the signings by the Giants, including Casey McGehee and Nori Aoki, and reminisce with our man-crush on Michael Morse, who is now a Miami Marlin. We will also be at Media Day on Feb 6 to interview as many Giants as we can, so if you have a question you want us to ask, let us know at torturecast AT gmail DOT com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.Also, don't we all want to be Pat Burrell still?http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/chase-utley-celebrates-super-bowl-shirtless-drinking-slip-n-sliding-pat-burrell

It's been a month since we recorded our gloriously long World Series Championship podcast, but our livers and tear glands have recovered enough to deliver our first "hot stove" podcast of the offseason. Chad, Ben, and Eric talk about the impending Lester decision (probably made by the time you listen to this), and the Giants options to fill their holes in left field and third base. Tim Flannery retired, and Madison Bumgarner won Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year," which apparently ripped off the fresh collective scabs of millions of KC Royals fans. You can follow us on Twitter @TortureCast and like us on Facebook! All of our podcasts and video and audio San Francisco Giants player interviews can be found at TortureCast.com.

They did it.Again.For the third time in the last five years, the San Francisco Giants are World Series Champions!Riding the superhero left arm of Madison Bumgarner, the Giants squeezed out a 3-2 win in game 7 of the World Series to down the Kansas City Royals.Willie, Chad and Eric record our longest podcast of the year to discuss this memorable World Series; the heroes, the almost-goats, and what it took to fuel a remarkable run that has placed the black and orange in "dynasty" status.Even if you have to listen to it in two parts, sit back, relax, and bask in the glow of three Commissioner's trophies!TortureCast.comFacebook.com/TortureCastTwitter.com/TortureCast

One. More. Win.And the San Francisco Giants will be World Champions for the third time in five seasons.We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to talk about our favorite team, potentially on the eve of the clincher as the Giants head back to Kansas City up three games to two. If not tomorrow, then perhaps game 7. Even if they don't win it all, this has been a hell of a ride.Listen to episode 76 as Willie, Ben, Chad, and lucky charm guest Eric break down the first five games of the World Series and look forward to a hopeful clincher in either game 6 or 7.These moments, right now, are why we do this show.The TortureCast, the podcast by and for fans of the San Francisco Giants.Good luck, and let's bring it home, boys!

Incredibly, our boys in black and orange have done it for a third time in five years! In a rousing 4-1 NLCS win over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants move onto the fall classic to face the young upstart Kansas City Royals beginning Tuesday night. Willie, Ben, Chad and guest Eric Nathanson review the NLCS, including the momentous homeruns hit by Michael Morse and Travis Ishikawa that have left indelible marks in Giants' lore. In the last half of the podcast, we preview the Royals, their strengths and weaknesses, and how the Giants might exploit them. We also talk about Hunter Pence's lack of geography knowledge, a horrible ESPN article, our favorite guys and we make series predictions (hint, all 4 of us take the Giants). Tune in for a jam-packed special World Series episode of the TortureCast!Follow us on Twitter.com/TortureCastLike us on Facebook.com/TortureCastAll of our shownotes and articles can be found on TortureCast.com!

A special mid-NLCS episode of the TortureCast finds the Giants and Cardinals knotted at 1 game a piece in this 7 game series. Now, the scene shifts back to our park in China Basin for games 3, 4 and 5. Willie, Ben, Chad and special returning guest, Eric Nathanson, break down games 1 and 2, including what went right (bullpen) and what went wrong (bullpen, BA w/RISP). Although the walk-off HR was soul-crushing for about a minute, we all were inspired by the tenacious Giants coming back throughout the game, including the dramatic 9th inning. You can follow us during all the action on Twitter @TortureCast and like us on Facebook.com/TortureCast. All of our podcasts, blogs and videos, including many player interviews can be found on TortureCast.com.

The Giants were considered the 10th seed in the MLB playoffs, yet here they are, demolishing the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals to become one of the "Final Four" in Major League Baseball. Willie, Chad and Eric discuss the Giants' chances in the NLCS vs the Cardinals and what makes these teams so special.

Since we last recorded, the Giants beat the Pirates in the Wild Card game and took a 2-0 lead in the NLDS against Washington. However, as the Giants looked to sweep the Nats with MadBum on the bump today, it didn't work out, and the Giants move onto Game 4 with a 2-1 lead and Vogey on the mound. Chad drives this podcast solo to talk about how the Giants are playing with house money, and how they might clinch this series before the dreaded game 5 possibility in Washington. Because, no one wants that.

What does 2014 have in common with 2010 and 2012? The San Francisco Giants are in the playoffs, of course! Let's hope the pattern extends itself to a third title. The boys break down the Giants' wild card chances against the Pittsburgh Pirates for an hour, which is about the same amount of time you'll be either watching commercials and relieving your bladder during wild card game on Wednesday.We gloat over our expert prognostication of Giants wins back in March (we picked 89, 89, 88, and the Giants had 88), pick our team MVPs, and give our cliche "3 keys" for a Giants victory against the Buccos. Let's hope this is the start of a new chapter in Giants' lore. Who will deliver the next triple-double, stand in the rain, bust out a thong, deliver the clutch HR, or throw a strike that freezes a dominant hitter to clinch a series? We'll find out if that road indeed lies ahead, Giants fans. Buckle up!Follow us on Twitter.com/TortureCastLike us on Facebook.com/TortureCastVisit our blog: TortureCast.com

Willie, Ben and Chad once again head to Zeke's after a Giants game to talk about many exciting events. First and foremost, the Giants blanked the Diamondbacks 5-0 to maintain their 2.5 game deficit behind the Dodgers and their 4 game lead on the wild card. We also talk about "video gamer's" night with Todd McFarlane before the game (Ben got the sweet Assassin's Creed figurine). Even more exciting was the fact that we had clubhouse access for the first time. Chad snagged interviews with Panda, Pence and Affeldt before the game, and those interviews can be found at TortureCast.com. We also spoke with Matt Duffy after the game (interview is at the end of this bonusode) about his critical 7th inning double to put the game away. Pour a shot and a beer, sit down, and enjoy another bonusode with the boys from TortureCast!TortureCast.com@TortureCastFacebook.com/TortureCast