Tag Archives: Brandon Crawford

by | March 25, 2024 · 5:33 PM

Episode #297: 2024 Season Preview

Brand new Giant, Blake Snell, throws at Spring Training on March 24, 2024. Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images

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

It’s one of our favorite episodes to do every year: the season preview episode! 

This also begins our FOURTEENTH season of covering Giants’ baseball.

Everything is fresh as a daisy. Everyone has a 0-0 record (well, except the Dodgers and Padres), and you can just smell the scent of fresh-cut grass in the office. Eric and Chad review what’s happened in Giants’ baseball over the last three weeks, including the bombshell of landing last year’s Cy Young winner, Blake Snell. Then, we get to our picks and prognostications. How many wins? Who will lead the team in ERA? Wins? HR? facial hair rearrangement? (strike that last one). We also solicited win predictions from YOU, our listeners, and we read every single one on air. Vegas has the over/under at 83.5 wins. Where do we land? We also give our divisional and wild card picks, and who will be victorious in the World Series.

Also, don’t forget to check out Chad’s Oracle Park food review video!

Go Giants!

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by | March 4, 2024 · 4:03 PM

Episode #296: He’s a Chapman

Shiny brand-new Matt Chapman takes hacks in the cage at Spring Training on March 3, 2024. Photo by Andy Kuno, SF Giants.

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

The Giants “said” they were done signing free agents, but it was a ruse, just as we thought. News broke late Friday night that the Giants signed prized third baseman Matt Chapman to a 3 year, $54 million contract, with opt-outs after years 1 and 2. The Giants have significantly upgraded their lineup with the additions of Soler and Chapman, and now questions linger about J.D. Davis’ or Wilmer Flores’ fate. There was also just no room for Brandon Crawford, who signed a $2 million, 1 year MLB deal with the Cardinals. Sad to see him go, but he had a -1.5 WAR last year, and he just doesn’t have the positional flexibility required of a 26th man. Normally, we are less concerned about the rotation, but with Tristan Beck out indefinitely after today’s surgery to correct an aneurysm in his upper right arm, the top four are Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and Keaton Winn. Hicks and Winn are already questionable, and Harrison doesn’t even have a full year under his belt. The fifth spot could go to Hjelle, or perhaps Kai-Wei Teng, but spring training will sort that all out. They will be getting Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray back during the year, and Cobb reportedly is ahead of schedule. But, could they still get Snell or Montgomery? Also, MadBum is floating ideas about a comeback, but, maybe he should just stick to his ranch.

No video stream this week.

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by | February 20, 2024 · 10:54 AM

Episode #295: Soler Power

Jorge Soler is introduced to the media at Spring Training on February 18, 2024. Photo by Andy Kuno.

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

The Giants officially opened up spring training this week, and we had a lot to catch up on. First and foremost, the Giants plugged in some desperately needed power by signing Jorge Soler to a 3 year, $42 million contract. He’s slotted to bat fourth and be the Giants’ primary DH. Zaidi also said that they are essentially “done” with acquisitions and trades for now, although Blake Snell is still sitting out there as a prized free agent, not to mention Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger. The Giants traded Ross Stripling to Oakland, but their opening day rotation looks a little light. Perhaps the Giants will stand pat with signing Jordan Hicks, who will become a starter after a long stint as a flame-throwing reliever, along with a trio of young starters, until Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray come off the injury shelf. Hey, the Panda is back! But, don’t expect him to make the roster out of spring training. We also talk about numbers, jerseys, and a LOT of 49ers talk.

No video stream this week.

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by | December 11, 2023 · 3:55 PM

Episode #293: Shohei, hei, hey…wait a minute?!

FU#%!

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

Not that we’re shocked, but the greatest unicorn player since Babe Ruth and most prized free agent in…well, maybe forever, decided that his services should stay in southern California but with the Bums. That’s right, the ONE team we didn’t want to see him go to was the Dodgers. $700 million over 10 years. The richest sports contract in history. The Giants were reportedly on the outside of the 3 finalists, which were Toronto, Anaheim, and LA, so they didn’t really have a chance in the end. Where do the Giants pivot? There is still a lot of talent out there, and signing a few all-starts versus one unicorn can still be a better value deal, despite missing on the marketing opportunities (which, by the way, may pay for most of Ohtani’s contract in LA).

Chad and Eric try and point the ship in the right direction for the Giants to sail, but seeing Ohtani in Dodger blue for the next 10 years has us….concerned to say the least. We review the available free agents, whom the Giants have signed, yet-to-be-signed arbitration-eligible players, and review the 2023 baseball awards.

No video stream this week.

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by | October 26, 2023 · 4:04 PM

Episode #292: New Skipper, Who ‘Dis?

Bob Melvin was announced as the new manager for the San Francisco Giants today, October 25, 2023. In a surprising development, the Padres gave permission to the Giants to interview Melvin, the former Giants’ catcher. AP Photo/Eric Reisberg

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

Once we heard that the San Diego Padres gave the Giants permission to speak with Bob Melvin, we knew it was just a matter of days before Melvin was signed and announced as the 39th manager in franchise history. That was made official this morning with an introductory press conference. What a strange turn of events. On July 18, the Giants were 1.5 games back of the Dodgers for the NL West, and had a firm grip on the #1 wild card seed. A few months later, not only is Gabe Kapler fired, but the manager of the All-star-studded Padres bailed ship with a year left on his contract for the Giants. Sounds similar to another ex-catcher and Padres manager that came north, eh? Chad and Eric review the positives and the challenges of the Melvin signing, and the fact that Farhan Zaidi was extended through 2026. Also, Bruce Bochy did it again! After winning Game 7 of the ALCS against another former Giants manager in Dusty Baker, he is now 6-0 in winner-take-all games, and it was his 13th managerial victory in an elimination game. Of course, 6 of those came in the 2012 postseason alone! We preview the matchup between Bochy’s Rangers and the speedy, 84-win Diamondbacks, who edged out Philly in 7 games. So much to talk about!

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by | October 13, 2023 · 2:45 PM

Episode #291: Bochy vs. Dusty

Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker will be facing each other in the ALCS, but it’s not the first time they’ve met in the playoffs. The Giants famously came back from an 0-2 deficit to Dusty’s Reds in 2012 after “Preacher” Pence inspired the team to not quit.

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

The Championship Series are set, and we find two ex-Giants’ managers against each other in the American League with Texas vs Houston, while the powerhouse Braves and Dodgers were eliminated in the division series, leaving the upstart Diamondbacks against the slugging Phillies in the National League. The teams with the best five best records in the regular season went 1-13 in the playoffs! Willie, Chad, and Eric review the first two rounds, but focus on the Dodgers’ failures, and the matchup between Bochy and Dusty. We touch on the Giant’s managerial search and offer our opinions of what they need to look for in a candidate, and we make our LCS and World Series picks.

No video stream this week.

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by | October 3, 2023 · 9:12 PM

Episode #290: Kapped

San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford (35) gestures to the crowd before his at bat during the first inning of his MLB baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023.

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

The firing of manager Gabe Kapler wasn’t unexpected, but his firing with three games left was. We speculate on why he was fired with three games left, and where the Giants go from here. This is a meaty, longer episode where we dive into the psychology of the firing, and whom they may hire as Kapler’s replacement. The Giants finished below average in almost every category, yet finished just below .500. That in itself is a testament to squeezing blood out of a stone, but at the same time, the Giants were 13 games above .500 and only needed to finish with a barely sub-.500 record from that point to make the playoffs. Miami and Arizona made the playoffs with a mere 84 wins while the Giants had 79. That’s only a 5 game differential. Just one extra win a month. Baseball is cruel. We also give our postseason picks, reminisce about Brandon Crawford’s career, and we’ll be back in a week or two to talk playoffs and free agency. This is gonna get weird!

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by | September 22, 2023 · 5:00 PM

Episode #289: The Fat Lady Has Sung

San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford may play his next and last game in a Giants uniform when he’s eligible to come off the IL on Sunday, October 1. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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

Welp, that’s it. The Giants are all but mathematically eliminated from postseason contention after losing 3 of 4 in Colorado, both games in Arizona and the first game in LA. They are also under .500 with 9 games remaining against the Dodgers and Padres and have a very good chance at finishing the season with more losses than wins, something that seemed unlikely when they were 13 games above .500 and 2.5 games back of the Dodgers in July. This has been one of the biggest second half collapses by the Giants that we can remember. It was fueled by poor hitting, mediocre pitching, no speed, and poor defense. For some odd reason, it also manifested itself on the road, where the Giants have won only 5 of their last 31 games, their worst stretch since 1902. Yeah, that’s historic. We talk about what went wrong, and how the Giants really had to TRY to not get into the postseason. Think about it. Even going 10-21 in those road games would have them in a spot right now. Heck 13-18 would have put them 5 games in the lead along with Philly right now. It’s just incredible how this team has imploded. Even the national perspective has shunned the style of Giants ball (see Tom Verducci’s article in SI.com). Also, Brandon Craword goes back on the IL for the fourth time, and is eligible to come off and play on October 1, their last game of the season. Let’s all go to Oracle and send him off in a positive way, should this be the end of his Giants’ career. Man, what this season could have been.

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by | September 1, 2022 · 3:45 PM

Episode #262: When the Lights Go Out in the City

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 31: San Francisco Giants’ Joc Peterson backpedals into the dugout jawing the whole way with home plate umpire Adrian Johnson after a call strike three during an MLB game against the San Diego Padres, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in San Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

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

Not a good week. At all. The Giants are in the midst of a 7-game losing streak, including sweeps at Minnesota and at home against the Padres. At 10 1/2 games back of a playoff spot, tied with Arizona now, with 32 games left, the season is over. What went wrong? Who’s to blame? What can they do? The only goals left are to have a winning month, get close to .500, and see what the young bucks have in their tanks. 2022 is turning out to be an extremely disappointing season for a team that set a franchise record with 107 wins last year. Come commiserate with us!

No video stream this week.

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by | November 18, 2021 · 2:34 PM

Episode #244: Winter is Coming

We talked a lot about Buster Posey, hardware that the Giants have earned, free agency, and apparently we can’t count. (photo Getty Images)

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Eric and Chad talk about all of the hardware Giants personnel have earned so far, who’s signed and accepted offers, and who the Giants should be in the market for. We also re-visit Buster’s retirement.

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