Tag Archives: mlb

by | May 15, 2024 · 5:43 PM

Episode #300: Are You Not Entertained?!

Gerard Butler is excited for our 300th episode!

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

Ok. Full transparency. I started the podcast by opening with a clip of Russell Crowe bellowing, “Are you not entertained?!” to honor our 300th episode. I forgot that clip is not from the movie “300.” It’s Gladiator. Eric, Willie, and I talk about the milestone that is our 300th episode, how the podcast got started, and a few interesting podcasting stats. Then we came to visit the hospital that is the current SF Giants clubhouse. Lee, Soler, Conforto, Winn, Slater, Ahmed, Murphy…all injured. There are 7 players on the current roster that were playing for Sacramento less than two weeks ago. And they have to compete with the All Star Dodgers? But hey, they just signed Curt Casali and an outfielder from the Mexican league! This team is certainly not performing the way we expected, and things could get much worse with all of these injuries. The good news is they are only 2.5 games out of the third wild card spot.

From the bottom of our orange hearts, THANK YOU for continuing to listen to TortureCast. We don’t get paid, we do this out of love for baseball and the Giants. If you didn’t listen, we wouldn’t speak.

On to the next 100 episodes!

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by | April 26, 2024 · 11:04 PM

Episode #299: Something Snells Around Here

Blake Snell’s ERA is a whopping 11.57 with the Giants before heading to the injured list. Photo by MLB.

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

Well, that didn’t take long. Blake Snell gets rocked in his first three outings then goes on the IL with an adductor strain. The boys chat about our biggest surprises and biggest disappointments in the first 26 games of the season, which finds the Giants just under .500. At least they haven’t lost the division in the month of April. Our surprises include Conforto and Hicks, but aside from Snell, our biggest disappointments so far are the bullpen and Austin Slater. Also, the Giants welcome in the Pirates and Joey Bart this weekend after they traded Bart to the Bucs in early April. He’s off to a hot start with 3 bombs in 26 ABs. He hit only 11 homers with the Giants in 5 years. Go figure. 

Chad is going out to sea on an expedition for work, but we’ll be back in a couple of weeks for the big 300!

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by | April 2, 2024 · 4:45 PM

Episode #298: Confortoable

Michael Conforto blasts a solo homerun (his 3rd in 5 games) at Dodger Stadium in a loss to the Dodgers on April 1, 2024. Photo by MLB.

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

The season is officially underway, and Chad and Eric review the first five games of the Giants’ 2024 season. Despite the 2-3 start, there are a lot of positives to take away with the hitting of Lee, Conforto, Chapman, and Wade, and the starts by Webb, Harrison, Hicks, and Winn. However, the bullpen has been the worst in the majors to start the young season, having given up 20 earned runs in just 18 innings. Although there will be a correction to the mean, if the pen doesn’t smooth things out quickly, it could lead to some Pepto nights for Giants fans. 

Eric was a guest on “The Cast for….” check it out here!

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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 25, 2024 · 5:07 PM

Food Tasting at Oracle Park!

Chad reviews some of the new food offerings at Oracle Park for the 2024 San Francisco Giants season.

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Oracle Park for their Media Open House last week. The Giants’ organization knows that the only reason so many media show up for this is the free food…it’s literally a free lunch. But, many of us pseudo-media (and media) types also share their thoughts on what’s tasty and what’s not, which gets the word out, and potentially hypes up the offerings.

Enjoy this short video where I chomp through eight offerings (mostly new). They include the Crab sandwich, Cove crab noodles, “Baby Bull” sandwich, onion rings, Fuku spicy chicken sandwich and their chicken tenders, bacon cheesburger, a baseball mitt sundae, and strawberry milk tea. I didn’t have the time or stomach capacity to taste the vegan sausage or the go-to Tony’s Pizza, but those were low on my list anyway.

Enjoy! Also, don’t forget about our 2024 Season Preview show coming out on Monday!

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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 | January 12, 2024 · 11:06 PM

Episode #294: Stop Bogarting all the FAs, Dodgers!

Jung Hoo Lee was signed and introduced by the Giants in December. Since then, they’ve traded for Robbie Ray and signed Jordan Hicks.

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

We break in the new year by reflecting on the signings of Jung Hoo Lee, Jordan Hicks, and the trade for Robbie Ray. Bye Disco and Haniger, we barely knew ya! The Giants avoid arbitration with three key players, but will probably face an arbiter in February with JD Davis. The need is obvious: at least a healthy starting pitcher and some power, but the Dodgers are apparently cornering the market on everyone! There is still hope with several key free agents still available. Let’s just hope Farhan can actually make some of these happen or it’s going to be a very long year.

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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!

No video stream this week.

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