The Torture Cast

Do we think this is likely? Not really. But, that is the latest bit of news coming out of the baseball world. Last week, MLB owners sent the players association a proposal that would start an 82 game season in July. Some of the main points of how the season would work include the DH for the NL, an expanded 14-team playoff, games restricted to mainly geographic opponents to reduce travel, and a myriad of COVID-19 related guidelines for on-field play (no spitting, chewing tobacco, fist bumps, etc.). They also proposed a 50/50 revenue split with the players, but that would result in lower salaries than the players already agreed to on March 26, when they agreed to a pro-rated salary based on the number of games played. Additionally, California Governor Newsom indicated that pro sports may be able to return by June, without spectators.All of these issues are massive hurdles, which makes the prospect of a season starting in July seem unlikely. However, baseball fans around the nation would be ecstatic to see their

We're back to talk about developments in a plan that may bring baseball back in some form by June. Currently, the plan is to essentially put all players and personnel in a bubble, test them for the virus every week, and make sure they only travel to and from the stadiums and hotel. However, the PPE and test kits required would put a huge strain on medical resources, and there are players with families that are unwilling to be away from their families for five months or longer. Adding families to the bubble would raise the costs and stakes far too much. This plan is questionable, at best, but may be our only route to a form of baseball.Baseball Reference is simulating the 2020 season with the game, OOTP 21, and currently the Giants are in 4th place at 7-10. Hunter Pence is 1-3 in the players' league, playing MLB The Show '20, but he had an epic walk-off Buster Posey homerun in his last game. You can view his games on his Twitch channel.Stay safe out there, and if you have a quarantine story to share with us, d

It's April 8, 2020. Just six weeks ago, we thought we'd be talking about the first week of the regular season by now. Instead, we are without baseball, and without sports worldwide. I found myself watching old Giants games on YouTube as an exercise in remembering what it's like.Eric and I chat about how we're doing during this crisis, but we dive into plans that are being floated that may, just may enable MLB to start the season in June with play across 10+ stadiums and adhering to a strict isolation and testing policy. We're not so sure this is a feasible plan, but any baseball is better than no baseball! Eric also asked me and the general audience what are your top five Giants-related personalities you would like to be isolated with? Tune in to find out what we thought!The corona virus has changed our world for now, and although sports and baseball aren't of the utmost importance, it does bring balance and a little meaning to our lives. We miss it.Oh, and STAY THE F&%( AT HOME!Chad@chadk21www.torturecas

The founder of this podcast, Willie Gregory (@williedills) invited Eric and I to join himself and his friend and Astros fan Ty (@tyberius_asher) on a special Twitch streamed episode to talk about the Astros cheating scandal. However, in the days that passed, the corona virus had taken over the headlines and canceled or suspended sporting events around the world, including Major League Baseball.In this special episode, we chat with Ty about how he has dealt with the Astros cheating scandal as an Astros fan, and then we dive in to discuss this brave new world that we are in. Covid-19 has forced the suspension of the NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB and canceled March Madness. Even Disneyland closed! My son's school closed, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the list goes on. Even Tom Hanks and his wife have it. Join us for a long, interesting, fun, and inebriated episode of the TortureCast!Check out the video stream on Twitch here! https://www.twitch.tv/videos/566341797

The crack of the bat, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the warm rays beating down on the fans. Baseball is officially back as spring training and the cactus league is a week into the 2020 season. Eric and I chat about our impressions of the first week of Giants' baseball, and to be honest, although this team may not be that good, what if they surprise us. No, not playoff surprise, but maybe a 75 win season? Time will tell.We also dive into "who is Mason Saunders?", revisit the Houston Astros cheating scandal, Aubrey Huff, possible playoff expansion, and we even have our first music break, with a song sent in by a listener. Enjoy "Baseball always brings you home" by Shel Krakofsky and Dave Dresser.Chadtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecasttorturecast.com

Pence is back, along with the Panda. Pretty soon we might see Barry Zito as the batboy. For all the analytical signings that Farhan zips out, he signed two fan favorites. We talk about all of the signings, FanFest, media day, Giants players adjusting to life without Bumgarner...and ALERT, PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TOMORROW! What a sweet sentence that is.Alas, we know there is some overlap with Giants and 49ers fans. However, if you don't like the 49ers or don't care about football, fast forward this episode about 20 minutes, as Eric and I get into the mess that was the Super Bowl. And...with new software we're still trying to dial in the audio levels, thanks for your patience!Chad@chadk21twitter: @torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

Happy New Year! Oh, and the 49ers are in the Super Bowl!!We last recorded in November, and WOW, what a difference a holiday season can make. MadBum signed with Arizona, the cheating scandal saw three managers and a GM get fired, Farhan Zaidi is acquiring young talent faster than his hairline is receding. Eric and I talk about the off-season moves, the Hall of Fame vote, the mostly brand-new coaching staff, including the first MLB full-time female coach, Vegas doesn't like the Giants, and much more in this episode of TortureCast!@torturecastwww.facebook.com/torturecast

We told you we would be back for episodes when the manager was hired. What we didn't foresee is the hiring of a controversial manager, a new GM, the loss of two HUGE Giants, the 2019 season awards, and a cheating scandal that is rocking the baseball world. Boy, did we have a lot to talk about in this meaty episode! We dive into the controversial hiring of Gabe Kapler, the hiring of Scott Harris as the GM, Will Smith signed a three year, $40 million deal with Atlanta, Bumgarner officially declined his qualifying offer from the Giants, all of the season awards, and the Astros sign-stealing scandal that is likely to alter the course of Astros history going forward.You may disagree with some of our opinions about Kapler. Let us know your thoughts on this topic, we'd love to dissect them in the next show!twitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecastwww.torturecast.com

Much like the "Mattress King" did, we thought the Astros would win the World Series. Unlike the "Mattress King," we did not bet 3 million bucks on it. Congratulations to the Washington Nationals for bringing home the coveted Tiffany trophy for the first time in the city's history. It wasn't the most exciting seven game series that we've seen, with only one game decided by one run and the rest by 3 or more, but it was seven games, nonetheless.Eric and Chad review the World Series and then talk about the Giants who elected free agency, and the finalists for the Giants' managerial position.We'll be back periodically throughout the offseason, even for short(ish) episodes when something big drops. Perhaps signing Cole? We kid.Thank you for all of your support throughout the 2019 season. It was our most successful year after our inaugural season of 2011. We recorded 28 podcast episodes during the season, totaling over 30 hours of content, including a few interviews. We hope to bring as much or more audio content to

Jose Altuve won it for the Astros with a dramatic pennant-winning homerun in the bottom of the ninth to send them to the World Series to face the up and coming Washington Nationals who surprisingly swept the Cardinals. It's the first such pennant-clinching homerun since Travis Ishikawa did so for the Giants against the Cardinals in 2014. Let's just thank the baseball gods that it's not a Dodgers-Yankees World Series!!Chad and Eric review the league championship series, the latest in the rumor mill of potential Giants' managers, Arizona Fall League developments, the passing of an MLB umpire that just worked the AL division series, and talk about Chad's latest deep sea adventures.www.torturecast.com@torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

Schadenfreude (/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/; German: [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔʏ̯də] (listen); lit. 'harm-joy') is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another.This is what us Giants fans experienced on Wednesday night. Despite seven consecutive NL West titles, despite a club-record 106 wins, despite setting a record for homeruns, the LA Dodgers somehow did NOT win the World Series. Clayton Kershaw, the anti-Bumgarner of the playoffs, entered with a 3-1 lead in the 8th inning of game 5 versus the Nationals and promptly gave up back to back homeruns on consecutive pitches, the second time he has done that in the playoffs. He's never done that in all of his years of the regular season.As we dance on the graves of the 2019 Dodgers' season, Eric and I also review the first round of the playoffs and check it against our predictions. One thing to note, including the two wildcard games, 5 of the 6 contests (4 LDS) came down to ONE GAME. So, th

The 2019 San Francisco Giants' season is over.We gave a tribute to Bruce Bochy's incredible career in episode 182, but this episode wraps up the last week of the 2019 season.Chad and Eric cover the week that was, and venture into predicting the playoffs for the 10 qualifying teams, and even review the predictions we had at the beginning of the season.Thank you for your support all year long!

Thank you, Boch.There's no other way to put it. 2003 wins. 3 World Series Championships. Innumerable memories.Bruce Bochy managed his last major league game on Sunday, and we were witness to one of the greatest send-offs a manager could ever have.He is forever Giant.Check out episode 183 for a summary of the last week in Giants' baseball, our playoff predictions and more, but episode 182 is all about Boch.Enjoy.

We weren't sure if it was going to happen, but it did. Bochy reached 2,000 wins in his managerial career, with the help from a certain Yaz.Chad and Eric talk about Bochy's magical milestone and the week that was in Giants' baseball. Yaz hit a homerun where his grandpa hit homeruns. A rookie won in Atlanta where the veterans couldn't. Changes to the park are afoot.www.torturecast.comwww.facebook.com/torturecastwww.twitter.com/torturecast

Yaz's dash to home in Sunday's game was an analogy for this year's Giants' team. Heart and hustle, but not the highest level of talent. But, heart and hustle will win games, as it is obvious in their 33-15 record in 1-run games, best in MLB. The Giants went 3-4 this week against the Pirates and Marlins at home, securing a losing record at Oracle Park. That said, their road record is above .500, and they can finish that way. A weird juxtaposition that the Giants will contend with next year. If they had a winning home record this year, they would be in contention. Bruce Bochy only needs 2 more wins to reach 2,000 in his career, with 12 games to go. The Giants find themselves in Boston and Atlanta this week. Eric and Chad talk about the week that was in Giants' baseball. From a record-setting number of players on the roster, who's hot and not, Cueto's fabulous return, and the bullpen having the best ERA in the NL in September, despite the trades and injuries. All this and more in episode 180 of the TortureCast!w

The Giants beat LA. Ok, they won 2 of 3 after losing 3 of 4 in St. Louis, but Bruce Bochy single handedly won the LA series with shrewd moves with the bullpen. Maricio Dubon hit a pair of jacks, including one against Kershaw, while the Giants improve to 33-15 in one run games. Eric and Chad talk about the week in Giants' baseball, the rookies, a record number of players on the roster, a tribute to Bochy by the Dodgers, who's hot and not, and more!www.torturecast.comtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

The Giants fell out of the playoff race in a huge way this week, going 1-6 and falling 8 games behind the Cubs for the second wild card. As of now, they need to shoot for 2,000 wins for Bochy (8 more) and maybe a .500 season as a silver lining.Eric and Chad talk about the bad week that was, transactions, the roster expansion, and their first 20 homerun hitter in 4 years. It's not all bad news...just mostly.www.torturecast.comtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

After a sweep at the hands of the Cubs essentially eliminated any chance the Giants have of making the postseason, Evan Longoria had a great weekend against the A's, enabling the Giants to take the Bay Bridge trophy and climb back to 4 games out of the wild card. But, if they had just taken one game in that crazy series against the Cubs, they'd be 2 out right now. With precious little time remaining, the Giants have to step on the gas...now!Eric and Chad review the 2-3 week and talk about players' weekend, Bochy's 4,000th managed game, Cueto's rehab, Pablo's TJ surgery, who's hot and not and more!torturecast.comtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

Eric said the Giants needed to go at least 4-2 this week, and well, they did. Although, we were hoping for a 5-1 week, Bum laid an egg in the last game vs Arizona. We recap a solid week of Giants baseball which saw Mike Yastrzemski hit 3, yes, 3 homeruns in a game. Last time that happened was Jarrett Parker...where is he now? We also saw the MLB debut for Logan Webb, Pillar light it up, Belt's granny, MadBum's masterpiece vs Oakland, and Will Smith's meltdowns. We review the week in Giants' baseball, stroll down memory lane, cover transactions, the upcoming series, and bring back "Guess that Giant!" Hope you enjoy episode 176, we did!www.torturecast.com@torturecast facebook.com/torturecast

It's been a wild two weeks of Giants baseball. The Giants went 5-8 since we last recorded, but they only dropped from 2.5 games back to 3.5 games back. Alas, their playoff chances keep plummeting (down to 3% per fivethirtyeight.com). In episode 175, we covered the trade deadline, the fact that both Bumgarner and Smith will be with this team through the end of this season, Panik getting DFA'd, the losing streak, the 1989 Giants' reunion, Will Clark's #22 getting retired next year, Will Smith's first AB, hit and RBIs...literally we couldn't have chosen a worse regular season stretch to miss our weekly podcast. Nevertheless, Chad and Eric are back with a vengeance in an extended episode to catch all of us up on the happenings of Giants baseball. I Feel Good.     ish.Here's the video the Giants streamed of the 1989 celebration on Sunday. We opened this podcast with the first minute of this segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvQ4QprPUUHere's the video from "Inside the Clubhouse" about the 1989 Giants:  http