Are you ready for an old friend to drop in? I am. This 5-game losing streak sucks and the San Francisco Giants could use some inspiration. The Giants are 7-10, barely ahead of the Padres for last place in the NL West. There’s six games left in this homestand, it’s time to kick it in to gear.
1) The Miami Marlins are coming to town for a 3-game series at AT&T Park this weekend. You may have heard, Barry Bonds is their hitting coach. It will be the first time Bonds ever steps foot in AT&T Park in an opposing uniform. It’s not going to be weird though, right? It’s going to make sense seeing Barry standing next to Don Mattingly in the visitor’s dugout wearing a Marlins uni. Sure, why not? Nope, still weird. It’s going to take an adjustment. More on Barry later.
The game to circle this weekend is Saturday evening when Jose Fernandez makes his first ever start by the shores of McCovey Cove. It’s hard to believe that after 50 starts, Fernandez has never pitched in San Francisco. The 2013 Rookie of the Year had Tommy John Surgery as well as fighting through a couple of other injuries, so it just hasn’t lined up for him to pitch here. He’s got a career 2.47 ERA, holds right-handed hitters to a .167 batting average, and strikes out almost 11 batters per 9 innings. He’s good.
After the weekend, San Diego comes to town for a 3-game set starting Monday night. TortureCast will be there covering the game and having a good time. Look for a bonusode or two to come out of that. Follow along when we’re at the yard by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
2) Skip this part if you don’t want to read about the last few days. The Giants are struggling. They’ve lost 5 in a row, 8 of their last 9, and have been outscored 54-30 during the 9-game stretch. The D-Backs just swept 4 at AT&T Park, only the 2nd visiting team to ever do that. The first was the Reds in 2014, maybe that’s a sign?
There’s been a couple of shaky games from the starting pitching, but it’s the offense that hasn’t been doing a thing. The Giants are 15-for-74 (.203) over the last 9 games with runners in scoring position. Angel Pagan is the only regular batting above .300. The Giants have a deep lineup, they just haven’t looked like it for over a week.
On the plus side, Denard Span walked 5 times in 4 games against Arizona. He’d only taken two free passes before Monday. Matt Duffy seems to have his swing back. Bruce Bochy gave the kid a day off and it has worked, he’s 6-for-11 with 2 doubles over the last 3 games since the break.
3) Barry Bonds is back as the hitting coach of the Marlins. He’s the owner of 160 home runs at AT&T Park, most in history. Thirty five of those are splash hits. Barry is returning to the place he hit home runs #500, #600, #660, #661, #700 (off Jake Peavy), #715, and #756. Not to mention #71, #72, and #73 in 2001. It’s the ballpark he made famous during the first decade in the China Basin. Like I said earlier, it’s going to be weird.
By the way, click any onf the numbered home runs listed above to go to the YouTube clip of each accomplishment.
4) Tweet of the week from old friend Tim Flannery:
I started doing shoulder rehab after surgery , My physical therapist said this is too much weight too early. Ha pic.twitter.com/7VfkcdCLAH
— Tim Flannery (@TimFlannery2) April 21, 2016
5) Some more Barry Bonds links, plus other stuff:
There’s some great stuff of Barry Bonds on YouTube. It’s easy to get lost down that rabbit hole..
Here’s the Miami view on Barry Bonds coming home. From Clark Spencer
USA Today with the national look at Bonds.
Tom Hoffrath of has been reviewing a baseball book for every day in April, some great suggestions.
If you’re a fan of the Twitters, this is a great look under the hood of sports media Twitter.
That’s all I have for this week. Because of MLB’s stupid blackout rules, I will be unable to watch any of the Giants games this weekend. I live in Florida, and even though I’m near Orlando, there’s no streaming of Marlins games. It doesn’t even matter that I don’t get the channel or that I’m 233 miles away. Anyway, blackout rules suck and I won’t see the games this weekend, just listen to them.
Remember, the guys from TortureCast will be at AT&T Park on Monday when the Padres come to town to face the Giants. There’s sure to be fun and a bonusode. Follow along on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.
-Eric
The TortureCast 