Category Archives: Articles

by | April 29, 2013 · 12:46 PM

The Vogelsong Enigma

Vogelsong is struggling to return to 2011-2012 form. And he hates cereal bowls a lot. (photo: dailyrepublic.com)

We love the game face. We love the bull-dog determination. We love the playoff performances last year that helped them win it all.

But everything has gone south for Ryan Vogelsong so far this year. The question is, why?

I’m not going to pretend that I know, and I’m going to guess he would just called it an unlucky slump, and there is certainly some truth to that. I’m not trying to single Vogey out in this article, as Cain is worth of one as well (so that may be coming soon). However, Vogelsong is that guy we all pull for, the underdog, and I want to at least consider why this may be happening.

In a stunning turn of events for the first 25 games of the season, the Giants are second to LAST in starting staff ERA at 4.27 and only ahead of the team that just swept them (SD at 5.33). This is abhorrent, Twilight zonish, perplexing. This staff is supposed to be part of the NL-elite, not within the neighborhood of the Padres or Rockies. Of course Cain and Vogey are the two main culprits, with ERAs of 6.59 and 6.23, respectively. Only Bumgarner is keeping the Giants from the cellar of this statistic, with a sparkling 1.87 ERA.

Back to Mr. Game Face’s statistical breakdown:

Vogelsong has a .303 batting average against and has allowed 10 BB and 7 HR in 30.1 IP, while his WHIP is almost as high as my cholesterol at 1.55.  He gave up 17 HR ALL SEASON last year in 189.2 IP and only 8 HR by the all star break when he had 110.2 IP.

Why so many big flys?

Clearly when batters start hitting the ball out of the park with more frequency than a Kardashian getting fat, they are not being fooled. Hitters are making contact more often with pitches in the strike zone, and more alarming, is the BABIP has skyrocketed into 2012 Timmy territory from .284 to .330. Homeruns per nine IP is a video-game like 2.08, almost triple what he allowed last year, and approximately 1 out of 5 fly balls have traveled over the fence, just a bewildering statistic. Most of the other metrics (K%, BB% and pitch selection) have not changed dramatically, and the problem seems to be isolated in not being able to fool opposing hitters as often with balls in the strike zone. This may be correlated with a drop in the timing differential between his fastball and changeup, two pitches that make up 60% of his pitches delivered. His fastball is 1.4 MPH slower this year (89.4 vs 90.8),  and the change up, ironically, is slightly faster by 0.4 MPH, which makes the timing differential an average 1.8 MPH smaller, which is a sizeable 23% difference. The lowered chance of throwing opposing hitters’ timing off will only serve to hurt Vogelsong in the long run.

I’m not hitting the panic button yet, and neither should Giants fans; it’s only 5 starts, for crying out loud. He did tail off for the last 2 months of the regular season last year, but we can’t say it’s the start of his decline connected to this year, as he had a stellar playoff run. If tossing bowls of cereal across his kitchen gets him motivated, then lets all hope he has stock in Crate and Barrel and a good maid service.

- Chad

Stats that will alleviate your panic:

  • Giants are only 2 games back of AZ/COL
  • After 25 games last year, the Giants were 2 games worse at 12-13 and 5 GB of LAD.
  • The Giants have lost all 5 of Cain’s starts; surely that will turnaround (right?)
  • Giants are second in batting average in the NL at .267
  • Giants are second in batting average in the NL with runners in scoring position
  • Torres won’t EVER do that again
  • Scutaro won’t EVER do that again
  • Ok, those last 2 aren’t stats

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by | April 1, 2013 · 6:27 PM

Clayton Kersaw is Leading the Giants by 1 Game

I think Kershaw closed his eyes on this swing

So today didn’t go quite as we all would have liked, and no, it was not an April Fools’ joke. Take solace in the fact that Clayton Kershaw beat the Giants, with his masterful pitching, and of course, his first career MLB home run off of Kontos in the bottom of the eighth to break a scoreless tie. Entering today’s game, Kershaw owned a 1.37 career ERA versus the Giants, and obviously lowered it by pitching a complete game shutout today.

Who knows what would have happened if Bochy had brought in Affeldt in the 8th instead of sticking with Kontos (Affeldt was warming up in the 7th, and the Dodgers had 2 lefties to lead off the eighth). I bring this up because I saw some buzz on Twitter (clearly full of even-tempered Giants fans) already chastising Bochy’s first non-move of the season. Kontos was solid in the 7th, and hey, shit happens. Yeah, Kershaw ain’t Don Robinson, Matt Cain, or Babe Ruth with the lumber, but every dog has his day, even at the plate.

The bullpen effort was a bit of a comedy show in the eighth, with a wild pitch, a walk, a botched bunt coverage, a hit batsman, extra base hits, and of course, the Kershaw home run, all leading to 4 runs, but they’ll be fine. There’s always more focus on the results of the first day of the season. It’s like a new toy you unwrapped as a kid at Christmas. You love it, caress it, play the hell out of it for the first hour or two before it usually ends up lost or in the toy bin to only get a little attention from time-to-time.

I mean, both the Astros and Dodgers are in first place right now. That won’t last long, right?

How to comfort the black and orange faithful out there:

  • The first game of the season is the equivalent to the first 18 SECONDS of an NBA game
  • The D’backs swept the Giants to open the 2012 season (and look what happened)
  • The Giants lost their first game against the Dodgers in 2012 (9-1) and lost 2 of 3 in that first series (and look what happened)
  • Panda went 2-4 and played good defense today (elbow, elbow, elbow)
  • Posey cut down a speedy Crawford attempting to steal third
  • Pence hit one to the left field wall
  • Posey lined out hard to third base that would have set up second and third with one out
  • Despite a tough first inning (29 pitches), Matt Cain looked solid out there, delivering 6 innings of shut out ball
  • I nice stiff rum and coke (or three)

Let’s hope the G-men can get back on track tomorrow.

Chad

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by | March 30, 2013 · 1:02 PM

Your #28 Giants Jersey is good through 2021

Posey can buy lots of jerseys for us, probably every fan to walk through the gates of AT&T.

Yesterday the Giants made sure that my Buster Posey jersey will not go out of date until the year 2021. Who cares about the money? It’s financially the equivalent to me as earning the Nobel Peace Prize; it’s out of the realm of possibility and into fantasy.

(view our interview with Buster Posey in February below)

Inevitably people will know the value of this deal, but I’ve had a completely opposite visceral reaction that I had to the Zito signing in 2006. At that time, I assumed Zito was on the downtrend of his career, and the Giants were overpaying for a “former” Cy Young award winner. However, even though Posey’s contract is bigger that Zito’s, I completely approve of it, as do many Giants fans and national baseball writers. How can you say no to the reigning MVP, batting title winner, Comeback Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. This often used stat really rings true, the SF Giants are 2 for 2 in World Series championship years with Posey and 0 for 53 without him.

I’m sure that later in his tenure with the Giants, he’ll be playing first base and DH in interleague games, and perhaps he won’t be today’s Posey in year 9 of this deal. However, even if the Giants don’t win another World Series while Posey is here, and even if he performs under our expectations in the second half of his deal, it’s still a worthy payment to a man who has helped bring 2 championships to the great city of San Francisco. That’s worth something, isn’t it?

Chad

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by | February 9, 2013 · 12:52 AM

SF Giants Media Day

We had unprecedented access (well, at least for us amateurs) to the Giants players today for “Media Day” at AT&T Park. Willie and I were able to make it up to the park for the 2 hour speed-dating session with the players and had more access than we could have imagined.

Currently, I’m editing videos of the players that I interviewed, and they’ll be posted throughout the wee hours of the night, as you sleep, or at least, after you drank yourself to sleep, still bitter of the 49ers Super Bowl loss.

I keed.

We have video interviews of Sergio Romo, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelson, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Barry Zito, Brian Sabean, and maybe even the custodian.

We hope you enjoy the onslaught, we did.

Chad

 

 

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by | October 31, 2012 · 10:38 AM

Is This Sweeter Than 2010?

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These guys think it is.

2010 came out of nowhere. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Sure, some Giants fans “called it”. The same guy who says “home-run” every time Buster Posey comes up just so when he does hit one, he can say he called it and somehow take credit. Realistically though, nobody predicted that the 2010 San Francisco Giants had what it took to win it all. Then they did.

It was so very sweet because we had never experienced a World Series title before in San Francisco. We had suffered through 56 years of championship drought. We went through ’62, ’89, & ’02, not to mention the ‘Stick, losing 100 in ’85, winning 103 and not making the playoffs in ’93, our 2nd greatest player and the greatest hitter in baseball history, Barry Bonds, losing all credibility and making the Giants somewhat of a tainted organization, ’87, ’97, 2000 & 2003.

Yeah, we suffered as fans. Then 2010 came along and all the pieces just fell into place. We had a rough first half and then Jesu–, I mean, Buster Posey came up from the minors, our highly anticipated and extremely talented rookie, and everything changed. We got hot at the right time. We added Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and Javier Lopez. We saw the emergence of Andres Torres and Madison Bumgarner. Brian Wilson was “lights out” (I know he still scared us plenty but he had a sub-2.00 ERA). Uribe and Renteria came up big at the right moments. Timmy and Cain went nuts in the playoffs after solid years. It was torture, but it felt perfect.

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Then we saw perfection.

Then we saw the 2012 Giants. Now we really have seen a perfect team. This team faced so many question marks before the year started. Was Buster going to be the player he once was after a horrible injury ended his 2011 season? Was Pablo going to keep his weight down and play the way he could? Was Brian Wilson going to be healthy? Was our pitching staff going to maintain their dominance? Was Aubrey Huff going to rebound from an awful 2011? Were Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan going to provide a quality outfield? Would the Brandon’s (Crawford and Belt) prove they were big leaguers?

All of these questions were answered, even though some of them negatively. And yet, we aced this test.

Somehow we made less moves than the Dodgers at the trade deadline and ran away with the division. Everyone played a role in the emergence of the Giants as the NL West Champions. We faced elimination twice in the playoffs and came through in historic fashion. Then we swept the almighty Detroit Tigers in a no-doubter of a World Series. Spurred on by unlikely heroes like Hunter Pence, Marco Scutaro and Barry Zito, the Giants showed the world what a team that played for each other, and for the fans, could do.

This era of Giants baseball will be remembered forever in this town. After so much heartbreak and tears, the Giants fans deserve it. This team deserves it. I remember how sweet it was in 2010 and I know how much we wanted it then, but in my mind, this is so much sweeter. This year proved that we are not only a great baseball team, but a great baseball town. Take this one with you. Tell your children. Tell your grandchildren. Pass this feeling on. Who knows if this kind of team will ever come around again. I for one, will enjoy this one for a long time to come.

Now, I’ve got a parade to get to.

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- Willie Dills

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by | October 14, 2012 · 10:16 AM

Episode 39: The Roberto Kelly Playoff Special

Didn’t think this would be happening. Courtesy of The City Graphics.

The three of us finally get together since they clinched the NL West, and it appeared that this would be a post-mortem episode they way the Cincinnatti series started. Alas, the black and orange comeback kids have extended their season against another magical comeback team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Willie, Chad and Ben review the NLDS, criticize Dusty Baker for his managerial moves or non-moves in Game 5, and discuss how the Giants won the series, despite getting out-hit and out-pitched.

All 3 of us predict the Giants will beat the Cardinals in 6, but Chad thinks the series may go 9 games due to the nature of both teams’ inability to quit.

With magic on both sides, it may be Harry Potter vs. Voldemort.

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by | September 26, 2012 · 11:36 PM

TortureCast Goes to the PressBox…wait…WTF?! And “Bonusode” 38.5

Just your standard Willie-Chad lineup in the Giants dugout

Click above, right here, that little arrow, to play our “Bonusode” 38.5 from 9/20/12.

The article below, written by Chad King, summarizes his thoughts about the TortureCast’s trip to the Giants’ press box during the Rockies/Giants game on September 20, 2012, 2 days before the Giants clinched the NL West. Excuse the USA Today writing style, but it was written and submitted to a local newspaper.

The podcast embedded above was recorded by Willie and Chad right after the game.

Enjoy!

 

Confessions of a Press Box Rookie

Chad King

So why was a marine biologist suddenly thrust into the world of sports journalism? Much like George Costanza followed his lust for a woman who was worried about a beached whale in “Seinfeld,” I was coerced by my love for writing, podcasting, and the Giants.

Podcasting is a relatively new form of media. Anyone with a recording device and an internet connection can record and upload spoken words for the potential of millions to listen to. Many are trying and become the next Walter Cronkite or Ryan Seacrest (laugh track). I aspire to become neither. I follow my passion for parenting, gaming and the San Francisco Giants through podcasting. A trained sports journalist or radio DJ, I am not. Neither are most of those who occupy those professions, however.

As a co-host of “The TortureCast,” we’ve always had a passion for the Giants. A passion that has taken me and my two co-hosts to commit hours of pre-show research and preparation, hour long recordings, and hours of audio and website editing. There’s something to be said about the passion of the knowledgeable fan.

The San Francisco Giants recognized something within this passion and granted media credentials to the three of us to cover the Giants-Rockies game on September 20. Typically, Major League Baseball teams only grant media passes to “legitimate” media. We were officially legitimate media, if only for a day. With copious notes from hours of research, we hit the press room like kindergartners on the first day of school. We didn’t ask questions of manager Bruce Bochy in the pregame conference in the dugout nor the postgame conference, and pretty much relegated ourselves to scoring the game, tweeting satirical updates while consuming massive amounts of free caffeine. We gawked at KNBR broadcasters taking seconds in the media dining room, and tried to take “illegal” photos with our smart phones in the press box while skirting Major League Baseball’s official media dress code.

And yet, this was more of a service to the fans than what I saw around me as nine innings of baseball unfolded within the confines of the press box. First, I saw some journalists playing solitaire over several innings, many seasoned professionals reporting incorrect statistics, and found the “TortureCast” crew answering questions rhetorically asked by 30 year veterans such as, “how many homeruns did Buster Posey have coming into today?”

Although this day will be one of the most memorable in the “sports” section of my gray matter, one of the reporters left me with this little nugget: “The only thing that separates the sports writer from a truly knowledgeable fan is the credentials.”

Maybe George Costanza was more qualified that we give him credit for.

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by | September 8, 2012 · 5:03 PM

What’s Does “Pivotal” Really Mean Anymore?

Where’s the pivot?

Listening to the talking heads on radio, TV, and print can be quite amusing. The word “pivotal” is a cliche thrown around for every game and series against the Dodgers….and the third game of the last Padres series.

Was it pivotal that the Giants set the tone with an opening game victory? Well of course. However, after seeing many tweets out there proclaiming the Giants had won the west, not so fast. I would actually say that today’s loss versus the Dodgers was the pivotal game in the series. Okay, yes it’s the middle game, where pivots tend to be placed, but hear me out. If the Giants had locked down today’s game, which they should have considering Cain was going against Capuano, Kemp was out, they were leading in the 8th, etc., they would have been 6.5 games up heading into what most people would bet is a loss tomorrow with Zito versus Kershaw. Now that Affeldt slumped again in the 9th allowing a triple and double in succession, the Giants find themselves up 4.5, but with the likelihood that they will only be 3.5 ahead after tomorrow. Taking the last two games of this series will give the Dodgers confidence, and as long as they are within 3 games going into the last series against the Giants in LA, they have a chance.

Also, for those of you making fun of the LA trades this year, two of those acquisitions were responsible for the go-ahead run in the 9th. Well, a few million bucks just bought them a 2 game positive swing in the standings. If the Giants are not careful, the trades could still pay off for the Dodgers.

Here are my keys to the rest of the season:

- win tomorrow, win tomorrow, win tomorrow
- deliver the home cookin’!! The Giants are 8-15 in the last 23 at home, yet 19-6 in their last 25 on the road.
- if they split the last 4 games against LA, all they have to do is go somewhere around 11-8 against the rest of the west (19 games), and most likely the Dodgers wouldn’t make up 5 games in the loss column unless they played at an unGodly clip (15-3 or better).
- the Giants have a favorable schedule (SD, AZ, COL), the Dodgers still have 9 games vs the Cardinals, Nats, and Reds.
- take it easy on my liver

Chad
@chadk21

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by | August 15, 2012 · 12:25 PM

Spoiled Melk

This news doesn’t taste good (from gotbrainy.com)

The Melk has spoiled.

In a magical season for Melky Cabrera, a career year, All Star game MVP, the adoration of Melkmen and Melkmaids, and one that has helped propel the Giants to the top of the division, the team and the public were notified today that he tested positive for testosterone, a banned substance.

Not that it matters much, but Melky immediately admitted he took a substance “he knew he shouldn’t have,” and apologized to the team and the fans. It’s certainly better than other players that have denied use of PEDs, attributing their positive test to a supplement, or even worse, a delayed FedEx delivery (looking at you, Braun). Personally, it’s not much of a reprieve of the blow the Giants will take, and their chances of pushing towards the playoffs. Fifty games is fifty games, no matter if you deny it or accept responsibility. There is no additional punishment for denial.

The Commissioner’s office has also confirmed that he will be eligible after 4 games into the postseason, should the Giants make it. So, if they do make the divisional round, he could see action in games 6 & 7 and afterwards, or potentially 5-7 if they have a one game wild card playoff.

Although this news cracked the wires less than an hour ago, there’s already twitter chatter about how this will affect his contract next year. Many stating that obviously he made a mistake not negotiating a contract with the Giants earlier in the year, which is predicated upon the fact that his monster year will garner up to or over $15 million per year on the open market. Sorry to say, Melky, that number was at least cut in half, in my opinion. It’s not only because of your new record of testing positive, but now there will obviously be questions about how the testosterone improved your performance. Assuming he’s off of it next year, how will his numbers change? Will he be a .350 hitter with 15 bombs? Since this is a career year for him, and it happens to be during a time he was taking PEDs, I would say, probably not.

That doubt will now linger in the minds of the Giants front office, the other 29 clubs, and especially Giants fans, much like when you gamble with a carton of milk that’s a few days past its expiration date with the “sniff” test.

Chad King

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by | July 31, 2012 · 11:08 PM

Giants Not “Pence”-ive as a Free Agent “Hunter”

Right park, different uni (manginphotography.net)

First of all, I apologize for the title, but I was in the NY Post spirit with the Mets in town.

Hunter Pence is the player that many Giants fans have been drooling over for quite some time, and in all honesty, the Giants didn’t give up as prized of a prospect as they did last year as they jettisoned Zach Wheeler for a Beltran rental (btw, can we have him back, now?)

It’s not generally recommended to react to trades completed by your divisional rival, but in this case the Giants had to put at least one more bullet in the chamber as the Dodgers put a few (Ramirez, Victorino, and almost Dempster). Alas, the gaping bleeding hole in their lineup is a right handed bat, and much as I like him, Brett Pill ain’t the medicine for that ailment. Pence is a nice fit, an energetic player with pop and speed. He reminds me a little of Eric Byrnes; very awkward in the field, not majestic in his mechanics, but god damn if he doesn’t just get the job done, he does it better than most.

Shierholtz had a nice tenure with the Giants; a player that always aspired to do more, yet was solid in his contributions, despite not getting as many opportunities as he’d hoped for. His comments in the Chronicle a few weeks ago essentially put an “X” on his back regarding trade bait. His comments may not have been detrimental to the clubhouse, but perhaps you want to change the scenery for that player in the interests of both parties. Heck, he’s even reuniting with one of his best buds, Kevin Frandsen, who was recently promoted from AAA. Frandsen was even in Shierholtz’s wedding. Tommy Joseph is a promising talent, but the Giants are flush at catcher, a position that teams generally have a paucity. San Francisco still has Hector Sanchez, Andrew Susac, and some guy wearing number 28.

Unfortunately, the Giants will have to deal with arbitration with Pence this offseason, and if Beltran is any indication of how he feels that AT&T Park is a black hole that just sucks power numbers away from any bat that lingers near its center, Pence may come to find that the next 30 odd games played in this pitcher’s haven are not kind to the stat sheet. Nonetheless, if they get into October, he could smell the allure of a triples record next year?

-Chad King, @chadk21

 

 

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