The Torture Cast

The Giants keep surprising everyone. 4-2 this week with all 4 wins by one run, and 2 were extra inning. Two games were single-handedly won by Pablo Sandoval, as he hit two game winning homeruns this week. As a part-time player, he leads the team with 13 bombs. They are 26-10 in one run games and 11-2 in extra inning games. They keep pushing the narrative that this team can win, and will win close games. It's torture. It's classic Giants baseball, and Bruce Bochy thrives managing this team. Eric and Chad talk about the last week in Giants' baseball and the impending trade deadline that is less than 24 hours away as this is typed. Most likely, they Giants will NOT be trading away Bum and Smith, and in fact, may be adding small pieces. Although this could hurt their long-term prospects, we agree that Zaidi has proven that he can adapt to a changing team and will be able to cope with a lack of trade return. And the reality is...the players don't care about what this team will look like in 2-3 years. Most of them

From our friend Ryan Leong comes Joe Maddon's post game comments after the Giants beat the Cubs 5-4 in comeback fashion. Be sure to check out our latest episode 173!

Shaun Anderson pitched 5 innings against the Cubs tonight in the Giants' thrilling 5-4 comeback win against the Cubs. Here are some of his post game comments. Be sure to check out episode 173 that we recorded earlier today!

This is a quick audio byte of my thoughts as I drove home on the 101 after tonight's epic come from behind victory over the Cubs 5-4. I covered the game from the press box tonight and was treated to a 3 run eight, capped off by Joe Panik's game-winning RBI double. Giants are above .500 for the first time this season, with 6 games to go until the trade deadline. They've won 16 of 19, and the exuberant clubhouse vibe was palpable. The audio quality isn't perfect, as it was recorded in my car. I'll post the audio of Shaun Anderson's post game in a separate file.

This team continues to surprise everyone, including GM Farhan Zaidi. The men in black and orange have won 15 of 18 and find themselves only 2.5 games out of the wildcard and are now tied for second in the NL West at 50-50...they're at .500! Every win in July has increased their chances of making the playoffs and decreased the chance that Zaidi will trade anyone. The next 7 games will probably dictate what he does.Chad and Eric talk about the Giants' historic July, three extra inning walk-off wins versus the Mets, why Tim Flannery thinks the Giants should trade Bumgarner, who's hot (basically everyone), the minor league report, the flurry of transactions this week, and the crucial next 7 days before the July 31 trade deadline.Chad will be covering Monday's game versus the Cubs, so be sure to tune into twitter @torturecast! www.torturecast.comtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

The Giants have won 9 of 11 and lead MLB in home runs for the month of July with 22. You read that right. They lead the league in home runs this month. Did this team find their true identity, or is this just a phase like a cranky teenager going through a growth spurt? Eric and Chad talk about the series win in Milwaukee and recorded this during the Giants' 19-2 demolition of the Rockies in the first game of their day-night doubleheader today. To the surprise of everyone, the Giants are one of the hottest teams in the league. All the more surprising is the fact that they are winning on the strength of their offense. The team is 9-2 in its last 11 while averaging 8.5 runs per game. Suddenly, they're just 4 games back of a playoff spot. At 750/1 to win the NL Pennant, there would be value betting on the Giants to squeak into the playoffs and make a run. However, Farhan Zaidi is still likely to sell at the deadline, so bettors wouldn't actually be wagering on this Giants team; they'd be wagering on a team that ma

The Giants have won 6 of 7 and head into the All Star break just 5 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot. The problem is that they have seven teams in front of them, and that is why the oddsmakers give the Giants only a 0.7% chance of making the playoffs. That said, we can still enjoy some good baseball as of late with a tremendous week by Evan Longoria, who hit 5 homeruns, including 4 in San Diego, the Shark is pitching very well, Dickerson continues to swing a hot bat, and Will Smith heads into the break converting 23 of 23 save opportunities and dipping his ERA under 2.Chad and Eric talk about the last two weeks of Giants' baseball, Chad's experience covering the Diamondbacks game last Sunday, they give their All Star game and HR derby predictions, and look forward to baseball before the trading deadline to see if GM Zaidi will pull the trigger on any trades to help the farm system for future Giants' teams.twitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecastwww.torturecast.com

The title was just too sophomoric to pass up...sorry about that. But, we do want more production from Alex Dickerson, who knocked in 9 runs in the first two games in Arizona, including a grand slam, two doubles, and a triple. This performance prompted the chant, "Dick! Dick! Dick!" from the Giants' dugout. Truly an awesome sight and sound.We had a small break because of Chad's vacation, but it was a fairly successful period for the Giants, as they went 7-5 during the two week break, but still find themselves in the cellar of the NL West. Eric and Chad review the last two weeks, the latest trade rumors about Will Smith and Madison Bumgarner, compare Mike Yaztremski's stats through 92 plate appearances with that of his grandfather's start, this week in Giants' history, who's hot and not and more!twitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecastwww.torturecast.com

The Giants just can't seem to push through in any particular week, and last week was no exception. Although they did win the first game of each series against the Mets and Dodgers, they proceeded to lose the next two games and each series. They also mustered a horrendous 2 for 24 with runners in scoring position against the Dodgers, glaringly one time unable to score with the bases loaded and no outs and again with runners on the corners with no outs in their 1-0 loss on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, anyone see that Muncy splash hit and the subsequent reaction by MadBum? Yeah, Eric and Chad have thoughts on that.We also review the draft, this week in Giants history, and who's hot and who's not. We'll be back in two weeks for episode 170.twitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecastwww.torturecast.comWe also review the draft, this week in Giants history, and who's hot and who's not. We'll be back in two weeks for episode 170.twitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecastwww.torturecast.com

The Giants went 3-3 since our last podcast, but after losing the first two in Miami, I think most Giants fans will be quite pleased with winning 3 of 4 since then. But, let's be honest: going 3-3 against two of the worst teams in the league is disappointing, but also a barometer of where this Giants team is amongst the 30 clubs. We talk about the great performances of Shaun Anderson, Tyler Beede, and Jeff Samardzija, Crawford's 2 homer game, two easy wins in Baltimore, scoring 5 in the first inning just to give up 6 to the Orioles in the bottom half of the first, we review May's atrocious stats (spoiler: the starting pitching stats are the worst in SF history for ANY month), we preview the MLB draft (Giants have the 10th overall pick), who's hot and not, and much more! Don't forget to check out our weekly "This Week in Giants History" at www.torturecast.com!@torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

The Giants went 1-6 since our last podcast, and have completely taken the season in a different direction, being outscored 55-19 in the process. In addition, they gave up 15 unearned runs this week, which is almost half of the season total of 32. They are dead last in hitting and fielding percentage, and 3rd worst in the NL in ERA, a spot they were third in just a few weeks ago. They've lost 5 in a row, 6 of 7, and are on pace for 97 losses. Mac Williamson was DFA'd again, Carl Yaztremski's grandson was called up and got 3 hits, and the only win of the week was so improbable, with the Giants being down to their last strike 8 times. Baseball is weird. We talk about it in episode 167 of the TortureCast!www.torturecast.com@torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

The Giants went 3-1 after our last podcast, and have exceeded expectations (sadly) with a 17-17 record over their last 34 games. They took 2 or 3 from Arizona and their regulars have been performing well. Crawford won 2 games by himself with a game-saving play and a homerun. Panda hit 2 pinch hit HRs and won a game. Zaidi keeps the roster rotating with some shrewd trades and moves. Listen to this and more in episode 166 of the TortureCast, the podcast by and for fans of the San Francisco Giants!www.torturecast.com@torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

We review the last week in Giants' baseball, including a 2-4 record, using Nick Vincent as an opener after being outscored 42-5 in the first inning through 40 games, Derek Holland's comments about a "fake" injury and Zaidi's response, injuries, the revolving door that is the roster (36 on the 25 man and counting), who's hot and not, Hunter Pence's renaissance, and much more. Although the Giants sit in the NL West cellar, there's always interesting topics to discuss...just gotta look for it!Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!facebook.com/torturecast@torturecastwww.torturecast.com

The Giants could have had a much worse week if it weren't for the fact that they came back from 8 runs and 4 runs down in two games in Cincinnati. They took 2 of 3 against the Dodgers and split 4 in Cincy. The Giants lead the league with a 9-2 record in one run games...that's good but not good considering their lack of ability to put teams away. Their win after an 8 run deficit is the 5th time they've done that in Giants history and the first time in 30 years. They followed that up with a 4 run deficit win against the Reds, and that is a miracle of its own. We celebrate Eric's 40th birthday and Willie Mays' 88th birthday in episode 164.www.torturecast.com@TortureCastwww.facebook.com/torturecast

The Giants started off this week with a 2-game sweep in Toronto and finished a 4-4 road trip before heading back to San Francisco to face a depleted New York Yankees team that had 15 players on the injured list. That didn't matter, as the Yanks swept the Giants at Oracle thanks to bad starting pitching, poor defense, and getting behind early.Despite going 2-3 this week, the Giants sit at 11-17, last in the NL West and only surpassing the Marlins in overall record in the NL. Bum, Holland and D-Rod all did poorly against the Yanks, and Gary Sanchez hit the ball out of the yard twice, one time at 467 feet. We talk about the week, the last visit to SF by the Yankees (Chad was there for Bonds v Clemens in 2007), who's hot and not, should Mac be called up, should the pens be moved along with the elimination of Triples Alley and more.torturecast.comtwitter.com/torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast

The Giants raised their team batting average over the last 6 games from .199 to .209. The bad news is that the Giants' pitching staff ERA went from 2.75 to 3.22. Christian Yelich hit 8 homeruns...this week. The Giants have 13 homeruns...as a team....all season. Eric and Chad talk about a 2-4 week during this road trip, dropping 2 of 3 each to the Nats and Pirates. But, in almost every game, a single play was the difference. The Giants are, well...competitive. They truly are. A few hits here and there and the Giants could be .500 or better. They are not getting crushed. They just can't win most of the close games, which is, well most of their games. At least Buster Posey won a game single-handedly with a 3 run jack to defeat the Pirates 3-2. He also applied the tag to Kang to record the final out at home that game. So, there's that. But, that's exactly what the Giants need. And more times than once every 23 games. Also, why can't the Giants score in the first inning? They are dangerously close to setting the M

Where would the Giants be without Kevin Pillar? He dominated the week, hitting 4 homeruns with 12 RBI. In fact, no other Giant had more than 1 RBI for the week! The Giants sit at 7-10, 4 games back of the Padres, but it would be much worse without Pillar's contribution. That said, he's only hitting .155 on the season, so he's getting timely hits. How long will this last?We talk about Pillar and the week in review on episode #161, including the insane 18 inning win against the Rockies, surprising pitching from the Shark, and how the bullpen leads all of baseball with a 1.77 ERA. However, they also are at the bottom of the NL with a .199 batting average, and have mustered only 10 homeruns, which is the same as Kris Davis! Eric also introduced a new segment called "Guess that Giant," which Chad performed poorly in. Let us know in the comments if you guessed this Giant faster than Chad did (we're sure you did). This was a fun podcast to talk about a winning week. The Giants go on a long east coast trip, so their

In episode #160, Chad and Eric have a lot to discuss. The Giants are 10 games into the 2019 season, and although they haven't been swept, they also haven't won a series, going 3-7 in that span and dwelling in the cellar in the NL West. The pitching has been excellent, in fact, 2nd best in the NL, but their offense is non-existent. They have averaged only 2.5 runs per game and are hitting .207 overall. Cody Bellinger has more homeruns (7) than all of the Giants (6). We also talk about the two trades Zaidi pulled off this week and the short cups of coffee for Michael Reed and Connor Joe. Eric brings in a new minor league report, and he's planning another new segment for the episodes to come this season.Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook, and of course, visit www.torturecast.com for podcast episodes and written articles.

Chad and Eric host our annual season preview episode a little bit late...well, after 4 games into the season, but there is a good reason for that. Chad had the flu one week, then was traveling for work, then last week was having the experience of a lifetime, diving 2 miles under the ocean in the historic Alvin submarine, exploring a recently discovered "octopus garden" near an extinct underwater volcano while the BBC broadcast all this live back to the UK for their "Blue Planet Live" show. So, yeah, good reasons. The Giants started off the season with a whimper, losing 3 of 4 in San Diego, while mustering only 5 runs in the process. They are hitting an NL-worst .177, but at least their pitching is 2nd! By the way, who expected Michael Reed and Connor Joe to be on the roster? We review this series, and preview the season, reading off all of YOUR predictions for total wins this year. Spoiler alert...most of you don't think they're going to win that many game. We also give our playoff, statistics, trade, and mil

Chad and Eric reconvene after the #Harperwatch ended last week. The Giants were once again the bridesmaid after Harper said no and took the rose from the Phillies. But, we talk about the reasons why he stayed in the NL East, and why it could have been a prohibitive contract for the Giants, especially if they aren't going to be competitive for a few years.We also talk about the start of spring, the crowded outfield and pen, starting rotation possibilities, Bochy's retirement announcement and the unfortunate Larry Baer incident.The season is a mere 24 days away, and we can't wait!torturecast.com@torturecastfacebook.com/torturecast