Tag Archives: podcast

by | May 7, 2013 · 10:13 AM

Episode 47: The Rod Beck Episode

RIP Shooter. You were a good one. We tip our glass.

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WTF GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!!!!!

Willie and Chad kept this podcast much shorter than usual, mostly because Willie wanted to throw himself out of his apartment window after that crushing, epic, utterly pathetic choke-job the Warriors pulled in San Antonio. They blow a 16 point lead with less than 4 minutes left!! Then leave Ginobli THAT WIDE OPEN for a 3 pointer with 3 seconds left in double OT!!!!??

But, we digress and get back to talking Giants baseball and their tonic that was a 6 game winning streak.

Talking Points

  • Giants have now swept every other team in the NL west, mental edge from here on out?
  • 0.5 ahead of COL, 3rd best record in NL after tonight’s loss
  • After 32 games last year, they were 15-17 and 6 GB of LA

The Week in Review

  • Cain won his first start!
  • Panda caught fire, Scutero hitting again, Posey getting back to normal Posey

The Big Question

  • Vogelsong: 7.20 ERA after 6 starts. Can he work through this?
  • You can review Chad’s article about Vogelsong’s struggles.

Armchair Manager

  • Do they do anything about Vogelsong right now? No, we agree to wait until the All Star Break, then they may need outside help.

Tweet At Me, Bruh

  • Chad: Wendy Thurm @hangingsliders: Well, at least the #Dodgers will be in last place in a few minutes. So there’s that.
  • Willie: KingEyeballKing: @TortureCast Walk off HR in the bottom of the 10th, or as the Giants call it: just another day at the yard.

Our New Favorite Guy

  • Willie: Guillermo Quiroz
  • Chad: Hunter Pence…on fiare

We Should Hate This Guy

  • Chad: Spurs and refs and who was assigned to cover Ginobli
  • Willie: God, if he wins us games like Mark Jackson says, then this one is on him

Why We Will Win It All

  • Chad: When the starting pitching turns it around
  • Willie: Offense never goes quietly and we’re in every game no matter what.

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by | May 2, 2013 · 9:55 AM

Episode 46: The Kirk Rueter Episode

Woody being Woody

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We welcome Eric Nathanson to the show. The man behind 2outhits.com and a Giants fan out of…ahem, Chicago?! We start out the show trying to understand how such a die-hard Giants fan developed this way WITHOUT EVER HAVING BEEN TO SAN FRANCISCO! Willie also tests both Eric and Chad’s knowledge with a little Giants trivia.

Talking Points

  • What the hell is going on?! The sky is falling!! 5 losses in a row!

The Week in Review

  • Lost 2/3 to AZ, swept by SD. 4 out of those 5 could’ve easily been wins, have only been outscored by 7 runs over the 5 game losing streak (3 went extra innings)

The Big Question

  • Vogelsong and Cain? Can they right the ship quickly?
  • You can review Chad’s article about Vogelsong’s struggles.

Armchair Manager

  • Is it time to send Hector down? Could we use some bullpen depth?
  • Should Marco be moved down in the lineup?

Tweet At Me, Bruh

  • Chad: Jason Collins ‏@jasoncollins344hAll the support I have received today is truly inspirational. I knew that I was choosing the road less traveled but I’m not walking it alone
  • Willie: MLB: “Everybody knows somebody who’s gay. If you can’t deal with it in 2013, you need to go somewhere and hide in a cave.” – @LaTroyHawkins32
  • Eric: @pourmecoffee: Gay people play sports. You can deal with this America. I believe in you.

Our New Favorite Guy

  • Willie: Timmy: getting back into his stride perhaps? Lotsa Ks, less wild and finally accepting of Posey perhaps?
  • Chad: Bumgarner: 1.87 ERA, 3-0 sub 1 WHIP, country bumpkin can PITCH!
  • Ben: Brandon Crawford: Seriously, Matt Kemp WISHES he was as gifted a hitter as Brandon Crawford.
  • Eric: Hunter Pence: That guy plays every play like it’s his last. And how can you not love the stilted motions?
  • Honorary Mention: Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers: Look, we’re all San Franciscans here (well, some honorary). This should be pretty obvious.

We Should Hate This Guy

  • Chad: I’m abstaining for positive energy and kharma for the team
  • Willie: Chris Broussard – slamming Jason Collins on the air as not a christian because he’s gay. Nice job being a bigot, homey. Good luck with that.
  • Ben: Almost anybody who writes in the comments section.
  • Eric: I have the same hate for Broussard, but love for Giants

Why We Will Win It All

  • Chad: If we stop playing like shit
  • Willie: We are getting the slump out of the way early. After 5 straight losses we’re only 2 GB and still above the Dodgers. Suck on that.
  • Ben: Depth depth depth.  Also, Nick Noonan.
  • Eric: Bruce Bochy is the best in the biz in a short series.

We want to thank Eric Nathanson for joining us on this extra-long, but thought-provoking episode of Torturecast! Don’t forget to follow him @2outhits on Twitter!

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

We also have a new TortureCast Mug for sale on Zazzle!

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by | April 29, 2013 · 12:46 PM

The Vogelsong Enigma

Vogelsong is struggling to return to 2011-2012 form. And he hates cereal bowls a lot. (photo: dailyrepublic.com)

We love the game face. We love the bull-dog determination. We love the playoff performances last year that helped them win it all.

But everything has gone south for Ryan Vogelsong so far this year. The question is, why?

I’m not going to pretend that I know, and I’m going to guess he would just called it an unlucky slump, and there is certainly some truth to that. I’m not trying to single Vogey out in this article, as Cain is worth of one as well (so that may be coming soon). However, Vogelsong is that guy we all pull for, the underdog, and I want to at least consider why this may be happening.

In a stunning turn of events for the first 25 games of the season, the Giants are second to LAST in starting staff ERA at 4.27 and only ahead of the team that just swept them (SD at 5.33). This is abhorrent, Twilight zonish, perplexing. This staff is supposed to be part of the NL-elite, not within the neighborhood of the Padres or Rockies. Of course Cain and Vogey are the two main culprits, with ERAs of 6.59 and 6.23, respectively. Only Bumgarner is keeping the Giants from the cellar of this statistic, with a sparkling 1.87 ERA.

Back to Mr. Game Face’s statistical breakdown:

Vogelsong has a .303 batting average against and has allowed 10 BB and 7 HR in 30.1 IP, while his WHIP is almost as high as my cholesterol at 1.55.  He gave up 17 HR ALL SEASON last year in 189.2 IP and only 8 HR by the all star break when he had 110.2 IP.

Why so many big flys?

Clearly when batters start hitting the ball out of the park with more frequency than a Kardashian getting fat, they are not being fooled. Hitters are making contact more often with pitches in the strike zone, and more alarming, is the BABIP has skyrocketed into 2012 Timmy territory from .284 to .330. Homeruns per nine IP is a video-game like 2.08, almost triple what he allowed last year, and approximately 1 out of 5 fly balls have traveled over the fence, just a bewildering statistic. Most of the other metrics (K%, BB% and pitch selection) have not changed dramatically, and the problem seems to be isolated in not being able to fool opposing hitters as often with balls in the strike zone. This may be correlated with a drop in the timing differential between his fastball and changeup, two pitches that make up 60% of his pitches delivered. His fastball is 1.4 MPH slower this year (89.4 vs 90.8),  and the change up, ironically, is slightly faster by 0.4 MPH, which makes the timing differential an average 1.8 MPH smaller, which is a sizeable 23% difference. The lowered chance of throwing opposing hitters’ timing off will only serve to hurt Vogelsong in the long run.

I’m not hitting the panic button yet, and neither should Giants fans; it’s only 5 starts, for crying out loud. He did tail off for the last 2 months of the regular season last year, but we can’t say it’s the start of his decline connected to this year, as he had a stellar playoff run. If tossing bowls of cereal across his kitchen gets him motivated, then lets all hope he has stock in Crate and Barrel and a good maid service.

– Chad

Stats that will alleviate your panic:

  • Giants are only 2 games back of AZ/COL
  • After 25 games last year, the Giants were 2 games worse at 12-13 and 5 GB of LAD.
  • The Giants have lost all 5 of Cain’s starts; surely that will turnaround (right?)
  • Giants are second in batting average in the NL at .267
  • Giants are second in batting average in the NL with runners in scoring position
  • Torres won’t EVER do that again
  • Scutaro won’t EVER do that again
  • Ok, those last 2 aren’t stats

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by | February 9, 2013 · 12:52 AM

SF Giants Media Day

We had unprecedented access (well, at least for us amateurs) to the Giants players today for “Media Day” at AT&T Park. Willie and I were able to make it up to the park for the 2 hour speed-dating session with the players and had more access than we could have imagined.

Currently, I’m editing videos of the players that I interviewed, and they’ll be posted throughout the wee hours of the night, as you sleep, or at least, after you drank yourself to sleep, still bitter of the 49ers Super Bowl loss.

I keed.

We have video interviews of Sergio Romo, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelson, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Barry Zito, Brian Sabean, and maybe even the custodian.

We hope you enjoy the onslaught, we did.

Chad

 

 

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by | February 2, 2013 · 9:38 PM

Episode 43.5: The Bryan Srabian Episode

We interview Bryan Srabian, Social Media Director of the San Francisco Giants

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Willie, Ben and I had the delightful opportunity (did I just use the word, “delightful?”) to interview the Social Media Director for the San Francisco Giants, Bryan Srabian. We could have easily talked to him for many hours (and we wanted to), but we still squeezed in about 50 minutes of very interesting talk about how social media is used as a marketing tool for the Giants and other Major League teams.

We hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as we did!

You can follow Bryan Srabian on Twitter @srabe.

Chad

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by | October 14, 2012 · 10:16 AM

Episode 39: The Roberto Kelly Playoff Special

Didn’t think this would be happening. Courtesy of The City Graphics.

The three of us finally get together since they clinched the NL West, and it appeared that this would be a post-mortem episode they way the Cincinnatti series started. Alas, the black and orange comeback kids have extended their season against another magical comeback team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Willie, Chad and Ben review the NLDS, criticize Dusty Baker for his managerial moves or non-moves in Game 5, and discuss how the Giants won the series, despite getting out-hit and out-pitched.

All 3 of us predict the Giants will beat the Cardinals in 6, but Chad thinks the series may go 9 games due to the nature of both teams’ inability to quit.

With magic on both sides, it may be Harry Potter vs. Voldemort.

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by | March 2, 2012 · 9:16 AM

MLB Expanded Playoffs: A “Historical” Perspective

I don’t consider myself a purist, I can handle change in this timeless game of baseball. At least they still wood bats (*cough* DH *cough*). I am a proponent of the current wild card system, even if it did come a year too late for the Giants.

For those of you that may have missed the news, MLB is on the precipice of approving the expansion of the playoffs this year. Each league would add one wild card team, meaning 10 out of the 30 teams would make the playoffs. Okay, that’s still the smallest percentage making the playoffs of any of the 4 major sports, doesn’t sound ground breaking yet. Here’s the catch: each pair of wild card teams in each league would have a one game playoff. One game? Seriously? After 162? If they are tied, fine, go at it. We’ve seen one game playoffs to determine division champs and wildcards before.

To look at the potential variability and inequity of a one game playoff, I looked at the past 17 seasons in which we have had the wild card playoff system (implemented in 1994, but that season was canceled). I added the hypothetical team that would have qualified for the second wild card in each league. I then determined the number of games back the second wild card team would have been that year:

============================================

How the Playoffs Might Have Been – Hypothetical Wild Card Matchup History

2011 Rays v Red Sox(1 GB), Cards* v Braves (1GB)
2010 Yankees v Boston (6 GB), Braves v Padres (1GB)
2009 Red Sox v Rangers (8 GB), Rockies v Giants (4 GB)
2008 Red Sox v Yankees (6 GB), Brewers v Mets (1 GB)
2007 Yankees v Tigers/Mariners (6 GB), Rockies v Padres (tied)
2006 Tigers v Angels (6 GB), Dodgers v Phillies (3 GB)
2005 Red Sox v Indians (2 GB), Astros v Phillies (1 GB)
2004 Red Sox* v A’s (7 GB), Astros v Giants (1 GB)
2003 Red Sox v Mariners (2 GB), Marlins* v Astros (4 GB)
2002 Angels* v Red Sox/Mariners (6 GB), Giants v Dodgers (3 GB)
2001 A’s v Twins (17 GB!!), Cards v Giants (3 GB)
2000 Mariners v Indians (1 GB), Mets v Dodgers (8 GB)
1999 Red Sox v A’s (7 GB), Mets v Reds (1 GB)
1998 Red Sox v Angels (7 GB), Cubs v Giants (tied – actual one game playoff)
1997 Yankees v Angels (12 GB), Marlins* v Mets/Dodgers (2 GB)
1996 Orioles v Red Sox/White Sox/Mariners (3 GB), Dodgers v Expos (2 GB)
1995 Yankees v Angels (1 GB), Rockies v Astros (1 GB) shortened season!

“higher” wild card seed listed first

* denotes WS Champ

============================================

Some very interesting things come out in the wash, but frankly, that’s some dirty water coming out, tinged with the joyous tears of Bud Selig at the thought of raking in a few extra bucks for additional playoff stretch drives and the 2 additional do-or-die games. Although the majority of the additional wild card teams were within 3 games of the “first” wild card team (3.9 games back average over both leagues), there are extreme examples of a vast chasm between the two. Let’s start with 2001. The Seattle Mariners tore up the league that year with an MLB -best 116 wins, the most since the 162 game schedule expansion and the best winning percentage by any team since 1954. The A’s fell 14 games short of that mark with a still impressive 102 wins and filled in as the wild card. If this new system was in place then, the A’s would have hosted the Twins in a one game playoff. The Twins had 85 wins…17 GAMES behind the A’s! Do you think the average baseball fan would have bought a Twins victory in that hypothetical situation as dogma that the Twins deserved to go over the A’s after 162? Of course not. This system enables this possibility, and it will happen at some point. This example is the fodder against those who claim they like this system, and if you want to avoid a one game playoff, just “win your division” and stop whining. Clearly division series can match up teams with large gaps in their regular season records, but at least they have 5 games to settle it, not one.

There are more examples of historically large record differences since 1995. The Yanks would have played the Angels in 1997 (12 game difference), 8 games would have separated the Mets and Dodgers in 2000 and the Red Sox and Rangers in 2009. A 7 game differential would have occurred 3 times, 6 games 5 times.

The funny thing is, as a Giants fan, the team would have historically benefited from this new system. Yes, their 2002 NL Championship may have never have happened after facing the Dodgers in a one game playoff, but the Giants would have gained a one game playoff 3 additional times since 2001 (‘01 v Cards, ‘04 v Astros, ‘09 v Rockies; They did play an actual one game playoff for the wildcard vs the Cubs in 1998 after finishing in a tie…I needed quite a few beers after Gaetti’s HR). On paper I would have taken that deal.

Five World Champs have been wild cards, including the 2004 Red Sox. Could you imagine if the Curse was never nixed if they had lost to the A’s in a one game playoff that year (even though they were 7 games better)? The Cardinals may have never won last year, perhaps the Angels in 2002 (actually, that’s fine by me), the Marlins in ‘03 (thanks Pudge) and ‘97.

I’m also not sure why Selig and Co. are pushing to get this in this year, when the end of the regular season and playoff schedules are set, and the leagues are still unbalanced. Why not just wait until 2013 when the Astros move to the AL West and the schedule can accommodate the extra playoff game? I am unequivocally against this new system. Rather, I’m for the extension of the division series to 7 games instead, much like the NBA converted to a while back.

Then again, maybe the Giants will be that lucky second wild card this year?

– Chad

 

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by | February 13, 2012 · 12:13 AM

Episode 19: “One Less Double-Double”

Line-ups and tigers and burgers, oh my! Chad, Willie, and Ben talk counting calories, notable birthdays, FanFest, Posey and the catcher situation, and of course, Timmy’s dietary habits!

Plus: Chad still hates Eli Manning, Johnny Velvet has a birthday (someone warn the post-game reporter), and Ben completely loses it explaining why we will win it all.

Don’t forget to check out our AWESOME new intro! Thanks to Ashkon (@ashkonmusic) and Bailey (@baileymuzik) for letting us use their awesome collab track “Feelin’ Like A Giant”.  It’s an all-new TortureCast, just in time for an all-new season of Your San Francisco Giants!

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by | January 30, 2012 · 8:56 AM

Episode 18: “Fried Plantains and Ketchup”

Three consecutive episodes means we have a streak going, folks!  Willie, Ben, and Chad get together to talk Brandon Belt’s talent, psychological properties, and food preferences, as well as talking new Giants Clay Hensley and Ryan Theriot.  We talk Cody Ross’s new contract, Lincecum’s extension, and Prince Fielder.

During our customary ending segments, Willie loves the Red Sox, Ben says hats will make us win, and Chad hates on a Giant.  What?!  Take a trip into Bizarro World with this week’s TortureCast!

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by | September 8, 2011 · 10:38 PM

Hey Bro, Can You Spare Any Runs?

By Chad King

I consider myself a die-hard Giants fan in every sense of the term, except perhaps I don’t spend quite as much time watching every game that I can due to necessary maintenance of my offspring and the fact that they usurp control of the remote control to my gorgeous HD television for such quality programming usually revolving around some mythical blue dog or dancing robot. Tangent aside, no matter how much I thought I knew about the “historical” lack of offense this year, I really had no idea how truly historical it, in fact, is.

“You don’t get it, this guy to my right doesn’t give me jack to work with.”

“You don’t get it, this guy to my right doesn’t give me jack to work with.”

Baseball-reference.com elucidated any uncertainties I had about this historical run drought. The Giants franchise has been around since 1883, 2011 being their 129th season. This year marks the second-lowest production in franchise history of runs per game at 3.38 per. Although 1902 was lower (2.87), may I remind you that this was during the height of the dead-ball era. The Giants hit 6 homeruns that year. You read that right, 6 homeruns by the team…in 140 games.

All I heard last year, especially during the playoffs, is how dreadful the Giants’ offense was. Although I concur, I think all Giants fans would take last year’s production over this year, which was a whopping 27% higher (4.3 runs per game), ranking a mediocre 43rd lowest in Giants franchise history. We had no idea how good we had it.

Unprecedented doesn’t even begin to coin the term for offensive futility. Other metrics go hand in hand with lack of run production, of course. The Giants are hitting .238 this year, third lowest in franchise, dangerously close to the .237 clip produced in the dreadful 100 loss season of 1985 that I care not to recall from my childhood.

Something I also learned in my research for this post. Baseball has had remarkably stable rules since 1900, and statistics are somewhat comparable to those of the modern era (a few skew aside, of course), and is coined the “modern era.” Did you know that the four-ball walk wasn’t even instituted until 1889? Clearly walks inflate .OBP, so when one throws out pre-1900 OBP, the 2011 Giants clip of .300 is fourth-lowest in franchise history.

“Hey Charlie, how ya doin’? By the way, got any runs you can spare a bro?”

“Hey Charlie, how ya doin’? By the way, got any runs you can spare a bro?”

With the Giants all but mathematically eliminated from the postseason, I wonder what Brian Sabean is thinking at this point? Is he lamenting the disabled list that reads like an obituary, populated with some of the better bats (Posey, F. Sanchez, Sandoval, etc.), chalking this year’s inadequacies to bad luck? Is he regretting the Zito albatross of a contract? Will he potentially gift wrap one of our premier pitchers for two or more above-average bats for 2012? Or, is he satisfied with last season, frustrated with what he couldn’t control in 2011, and ready to wipe the slate clean and start over with effectively the same team (sans Beltran) in 2012?

An interesting offseason it will be.

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