Tag Archives: baseball

by | April 4, 2016 · 12:19 AM

Episode 100 – 2016 Season Preview

2016seasonpreview_ep100

Download the episode here, or stream it below!

Although this is audio recording 145 (or thereabouts), we’re celebrating the 100th episode of the TortureCast! No big cake. No confetti. Just us.

Ben, Eric and Chad gather around the proverbial campfire to talk about their expectations for the 2016 season, including their predictions for the number of wins for the Giants. Now, Chad has something at stake, as he’s predicted the EXACT number of wins for 3 of the last 4 years: 84 last year, 88 in 2014, and 92 in 2012. The only year he was off was 2013, but he predicted his low of 82, which corresponded with the low bar of 76 wins, the lowest since 2008.

The year’s predictions:

Chad: 90 first place
Ben: 86 first place
Eric: 94 first place
Willie: 93, f

We also discuss our favorite episode, the coolest thing we’ve done as a part of this podcast, and our predictions for most HR, lowest ERA and best batting average.

Come join us for our centennial!

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by | April 1, 2016 · 1:02 PM

The Friday Five: April 1, 2016

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Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

As the 2016 San Francisco Giants season is about to get under way it’s time roll out what I hope is a regular feature here on TortureCast. Welcome to “The Friday Five”. Each week I’ll take a look at a few different things going on with the Giants. It’s a chance to look ahead to the weekend as well as catch up on anything that you might have missed during the previous few days.

  1. The long, cold void of winter is over. Monday morning at 11 am the Giants open their regular season in Milwaukee. Madison Bumgarner (career: 85-58, 3.04 ERA) gets the ball for his 3rd straight Opening Day start. In the previous two openers Bumgarner has allowed 1 earned run in 11 innings of work. The Brewers send RHP Wily Peralta (35-37, 4.04 ERA) to the hill for his 1st career Opening Day start. The current Giants roster is batting .361 against Peralta so we may see lots of scoring in tiny MIller Park to start 2016.
  2. In case you missed it, earlier this week Andrew Susac was optioned to Sacramento. With that move Trevor Brown won the backup catcher role to start the season. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of Susac as the season moves along, if he can stay healthy. I poked around the Giants 25-man roster this past Monday.
  3. In ex-Giants news, the former lovable panda known as Pablo Sandoval has lost his job as the starting 3rd baseman in Boston. The 29-year old will begin the second season of a 5-year/$95 million contract on the bench. Feels like the Giants dodged a bullet when Pablo decided to leave town.
  4. Tweet of the week, make sure you check out this Brandon Crawford piece:

     

  5. To finish off “The Friday Five” every week I’ll link to various Giants and baseball related stories that caught my eye during the previous 7 days. Here’s a few to get us going.
  • We’re recording our 100th episode of TortureCast this weekend. Submit your questions to be answered on the show. See if you can stump us with trivia, share a favorite moment from the show, or just drop a line about the 2016 team.
  • In the SB Nation season preview, Grant Brisbee looked at what teams would look like without trades or free agents. It’s fun to see which teams some of today’s stars originally signed with.
  • The Giants were picked to lose the Wild Card game in that SB Nation preview.
  • Over on ESPN, two of their “experts” pick the Giants to win it all. To be fair, most have them in the playoffs and 5 of 31 analysts have the Giants winning the NL.
  • Sticking with the prediction theme, Sports Illustrated’s panel loves the Cubs and no one picks the Giants to win it all.
  • Finally for the predictions, Fox Sports checks in with theirs. Once again the Giants don’t get much love.
  • Make sure to head over to r/SFGiants. It’s fun place to interact with Giants fans from all over the world.

It’s great to be back for another season of talking about Giants baseball. You can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe to our podcast on Stitcher and iTunes.

Don’t forget, our season preview is coming in our 100th episode this weekend. Thanks for all of the downloads, listens, and shares. It’s going to be another interesting Giants season.

-Eric

@2outhits

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by | March 20, 2016 · 6:31 PM

Are you Concerned About the Pitching?

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Let’s take a quick glimpse into the Giants spring training stats as of today. Ok, we all know that some players just “tinker” in the spring and settle down once the regular season starts, and this IS a small sample size, but it’s worth noting that the Giants have some new players that may be giving Giants fans a little indigestion.

 1. Jeff Samardzija

8.31 ERA in 13 IP, .382 BAA, 1.92 WHIP, 3 HR, 21 H

Maybe he took a little of the American League with him in his luggage. Hey, and I spelled his name correctly!

2. Jake Peavy

8.53 ERA in 12.2 IP, .450 BAA, 2.37 WHIP, 4 HR, 27 H

He always starts slow?

3. Madison Bumgarner

10.57 ERA in 7.2 IP, .371 BAA, 1.70 WHIP, 13 H 

Ok, we’re not really concerned, right? (about his sore foot, obliques, maybe his shaven beard that supplied him strength?)

4. Johnny Cueto

16.62 ERA in 4.1 IP, .409 BAA, 2.54 WHIP, 9 H

So, he used the word “testiculos” yesterday. So, there’s that.

5. Matt Cain

10.12 ERA in 2.2 IP, .538 BAA, 3.75 WHIP, 7 H

I want this guy to do well this year….so badly. Really. He’s such a nice guy.

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Honestly, he and Samardzija give me the most concern. Jeff is a horse like Matt used to be, but Cain is just an injury factory at this point, and his career is definitely on the downward trend.

I listed all five of these pitchers, despite their low inning totals, because, well, THEY’RE THE STARTING FIVE! Combined they are:

9.82 ERA in 40.1 IP, 13 HR, 77 H

I’m pretty sure I could’ve pitched to 3 batters without significantly raising these numbers much. Thirteen! homeruns in 40.1 innings? 77 hits?! Egad, it’s batting practice, or they are helping some minor leaguers out.

Now, this could be just a bad week for starters in the regular season, and certainly they won’t have this line during the year, but does it give you cause for concern?

 

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by | February 9, 2016 · 10:47 PM

Interview with Matt Cain at Pebble Beach

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Download the interview here or stream it below!

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2016-02-09T21_32_57-08_00.mp3]

Chad covered the AT&T Pebble Beach Chevron charity shootout which pitted the Giants against the 49ers. He was able to catch up with Giants pitcher Matt Cain to talk about his golf game, the offseason acquisitions, and his lack of fear of decapitating the crowd on the first tee. Also be sure to check out our interviews with Bruce Bochy and George Kontos, and look out for player interviews from this Friday’s “Media Day” at AT&T Park!

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by | February 9, 2016 · 10:43 PM

Interview with George Kontos at Pebble Beach

MLB: San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates

Download the interview here, or stream it below!

http://torturecast.podomatic.com/entry/2016-02-09T21_36_09-08_00

Chad covered the AT&T Pebble Beach Chevron charity shootout which pitted the Giants against the 49ers. He was able to catch up with Giants reliever George Kontos to talk about his golf game, the offseason acquisitions, and his first purchase with his new contract money. Also be sure to check out our interviews with Matt Cain and Bruce Bochy, and look out for player interviews from this Friday’s “Media Day” at AT&T Park!

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by | February 8, 2016 · 11:28 PM

Episode 99.2: Puppy Monkey Baby

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Download the episode here, or stream it below!

I hope you are singing “Puppy Monkey Baby” in your head right now.

Now that the Super Bowl has happened, Eric and Chad take you through the maelstrom of Giant happenings over the past month. And spring training is almost here.

We talk about our grades for the Giants’ offseason, Juan Uribe is too expensive, the Giants have the highest payroll in 2021, Belt is heading towards arbitration, where Timmy may go, Vegas World Series odds, and Chad will be covering the Giants vs 49ers shootout at Pebble Beach and Media Day at AT&T Park with the internet’s own Veronica Belmont!

And, baseball is almost here!

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by | August 11, 2015 · 3:50 PM

Episode 93: Shrug off that Hangover

Didn’t we all feel like we took one off the noggin’ this weekend?

Right click here to download the podcast, or stream it below!

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-08-10T22_44_01-07_00.mp3]

The boys are back after a vacation break to bring you some heartache, but silver linings. The Giants were swept by the Cubs, but thanks to the Pirates and Nats, sit only 2.5 games back of the Dodgers. We talk starting rotation, injuries, who we love and hate, and basically sing a huge kumbaya.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @TortureCast and like us on Facebook!

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by | July 6, 2015 · 11:12 PM

Episode #91: Unlucky 7

Could be 8 tomorrow.

Download the episode here or stream it below!

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-07-06T22_40_30-07_00.mp3]

The Giants have been a streaky team this year, and this week is no different being mired in a seven game skid. Willie and Chad talk about the Giants recent struggles, injuries, the return of Cain and Peavy, and beat up on Don Mattingly. We also made ourselves feel better talking about the four Giants that were selected to the All Star game.

Seriously, stop it, Giants.

Chad

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by | June 30, 2015 · 10:28 AM

Episode #90: Duffman

I wonder how many beers Duffy can actually chug after a game while holding Skeeter?

Download Episode 90 here, or stream it below!

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-06-29T23_50_35-07_00.mp3]

The Giants went 4-2 for the week, which is something amazing considering they were under.500 at home. Despite a 12-13 June (ok, they can still be .500 with a win tonight), the Giants are only 1/2 game back of the Dodgers. Chad and Ben discuss the month of June, the All Star game voting, Duffy and more!

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by | May 18, 2015 · 11:29 PM

Episode 86: The Reverend is Back!

No matter what he looks like doing the things he does, we like the things he does, because it helps others do thing better, and stuff.

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

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-05-18T23_24_45-07_00.mp3]

Hunter Pence is back. And not just on Twitch, but like hitting homeruns and throwing awkwardly from right field. Yes, all is right with the world.

Back when the Giants were 4-10, we didn’t panic. We said let’s wait until they have played 40 games, and if they’re at .500 and Hunter is back, they’ll be fine. Welp, they’re 20-18 now, so guaranteed to be at .500 after 40, and Hunter IS back, and had a huge hand in the last two wins, going 4-8 with a homerun and scoring five runs. The Giants have the best record in the NL since their bad start at 16-8, and have a great stretch of games coming to balloon that record.

Join Chad and Eric as they discuss the Giants’ recent success as they delve deep into numbers, including Casilla’s immaculate inning, only the 79th in recorded history. Belt is hitting .321 and shutting up his haters, Pagan’s back is acting up, and Bochy names coaches for the All Star Game. Plus, Jeff Loria named his cat as manager of the Marlins.

Enjoy episode 86 of the TortureCast!

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