Monthly Archives: May 2017

by | May 25, 2017 · 8:41 PM

What’s Good With The Giants? The Quest For Mediocrity

Belt

The San Francisco Giants are finally playing better baseball. At least they were, until the last few days in Chicago. I was so hopeful for this week’s post. The last home stand was such a positive. After that it seemed like the Giants were building momentum with a series win in St. Louis. And then, the stupid Cubs and Wrigley Field ruined all those good vibes. So sick of those guys.

The Giants have played 49 games, roughly 3/10ths of the season, and currently own a 20-29 record. They sit at 4th place in the surprisingly competitive NL West, 11 games behind the first place Rockies. Last time I checked in, the Giants were a last place team but only 9 games back. So, I guess that’s progress? Right? I know, it really isn’t.

There was a lot more good over the past 17 games and it was much easier this time finding some positives from the 9-8 stretch. Continue reading →

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by | May 22, 2017 · 11:27 PM

Episode #123: Are We There Yet?

arewethereyet

“Sorry, son, you better piss in a bottle, cuz we have a long way to go”

You can download the episode here, or stream it below!

Nope. Not yet. The Giants are making great strides, winning 3 series in a row, and opening with a win in their 4 game series with Chicago. However, they still find themselves 9 games back of Colorado and in a precarious hole. That said, if they had been .500 or worse, their season really would’ve been over by now, or close to it.

There is life. Not much, but it’s something to build upon.

Chad and Eric talk about where the Giants are more than a quarter of the way through the season, and what it’ll take to erase the Rockies’ lead, week by week. We revisit Eric’s excellent article on the history of playoff berths with a record similar to the Giants’, and although far from a lock, it’s encouraging to see that it’s been done multiple times.

Join us for episode 123 of the TortureCast!

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by | May 18, 2017 · 9:49 PM

Can The Giants Come Back And Make The Playoffs?

giants west

Otto Gruele / Getty Images

 

Sitting at just 17-25, the San Francisco Giants are a long shot to make the playoffs in 2017. Even after their wonderful 5-2 home stand, the Giants are in 4th place in the NL West, around 9 games behind the first place Rockies.

A week ago, Chad an I recorded a podcast in which the basic theme was, “now or never”. Since the Giants recently reeled off a 5-game winning streak, and seem to be playing better ball, it got me wondering if they could possibly rebound from their bad start and make the postseason. I’m going to try to some answer some questions and see if we can look into the future and predict if the Giants can make it. All stats are from the Wild Card Era (1995-present).

Has a team in the Wild Card Era started this bad and still made the playoffs?

Yes. There is hope. Continue reading →

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by | May 15, 2017 · 11:42 PM

Episode #122: Josh Osich’s Mustache

osichstache

This glorious facial hair will save the Giants’ season

You can download the episode here, or stream it below!

Ben returns to the podcast with Chad and Eric to discuss what may be the turnaround for the Giants’ season. Sure, it’s only a four-game winning streak, but they hadn’t won more than two consecutive games all year. The pitching is settling in, and despite the injuries, the offense has shown some life over the last several days. Buster Freakin’ Posey is showing how to put a team on his back, going on a home run tear, catching a 17-inning game, and hitting a walk-off in said 17th. Cain has been somewhat of a “stopper,” and although he many not quite be channeling 2012 Matt Cain, it’s more than serviceable for a fifth starter. Span is hitting over .400 since coming off the DL and setting the table.

Now, they just need to start winning series and get back to .500, and we can talk about making the playoffs thereafter.

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by | May 11, 2017 · 1:55 PM

Episode #121: Can We Get a Do-over?

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Bruce Bochy attempting to travel back in time with VR goggles to start this season over.

You can download the episode here, or stream it below!

Being a Giants fan is tough right now. We’ve had it good over the last 7 years, but things are a-changing in 2017. The fact is, to get to 87 wins, a reasonable total to get the second wild card position, the Giants would have to play .591 ball the rest of the way, and only one team (Cubs) did that all of last year. Eric and Chad discuss this looming task, along with the poor performance of the team and players, aside from the likes of Posey, Panik and Arroyo.

If the Giants want to turn their season around, it needs to start now.

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by | May 7, 2017 · 7:37 PM

Last Place Sucks!

Standings

One-fifth of the way through the season and the San Francisco Giants are in last place.

It’s been five weeks of baseball and the San Francisco Giants are 11-21. They have the worst record in the National League. That’s a great line to grab you, huh? Makes you want to read more about the mess that has been the 2017 season, doesn’t it? Well, I hope so. Even when the team stinks, and they stink right now, there are positives. I’ll try to tackle a couple of those here before getting to the bad news because, as we all know by now, there’s a lot of bad news.

The schedule is now 1/5th of the way complete. The Giants are 9 games out of 1st place. That’s almost 2 games a week! Oh man. They have won back-to-back games just once and have only 2 series wins. We’ll be back with a new podcast episode this week to talk about the Giants getting hammered in Cincinnati, and the week ahead. Please, let’s find some good news.  Continue reading →

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