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.
No video stream this week.
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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.
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!
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.
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!
Former Giants’ first baseman Will Clark, had his #22 retired at Oracle Park on Saturday, July 29, 2022.
You can download the episode here, or stream it below!
The boys talk about Will Clark’s #22 retirement ceremony, the Giants’ recent skid, Chad’s interview with Logan Webb, who’s game to be acquired or traded away by tomorrow, and should the Giants buy or sell or do nothing? We also take a look at the Dodgers series and the final 60 games of the season.
Check out the Giants’ in park video tribute to Will Clark below:
Chad recorded Will Clark’s entire post-ceremony Q&A below:
We talked a lot about Buster Posey, hardware that the Giants have earned, free agency, and apparently we can’t count. (photo Getty Images)
You can download the episode here, or stream it below!
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.
You can download the episode here, or stream it below!
Buster Posey has retired.
We’ll have a special Buster podcast in a few days, but until then, here is his press conference from earlier today. It’s about an hour, and it starts with a statement by Buster himself. the middle of it includes Larry Baer, Farhan Zaidi and others, but you can fast forward that to get to the Q&A the media had with Buster. And, if you really hang around, we’ve included a bunch of Buster Posey career highlights at the end…..thanks everyone, and thank you, Buster Posey.
You can also watch Buster’s press conference on YouTube below:
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Giants’ Austin Slater takes a look at the very last pitch of the 2020 season. It was somehow called a strike, along with at least a dozen more like it. This pitch is a microcosm of the last week of the season that saw the Giants fall flat on their face, losing 3 in a row, 4 of 5 to miss the playoffs by a tiebreaker with the Brewers.
You can download the episode here, or stream it below (video a bit more down)!
One game. One hit. One play. Essentially, if the Giants had one fewer mistake or one more rally over this entire 60 game season, they would be in the postseason. Yes, they exceeded expectations, but this is a bit painful to see them lose 3 in a row to close out 2020.
Chad, Eric and Willie give the eulogy for the 2020 Giants’ season. They were as close as you could get to not only getting into the playoffs, but having a chance to knock off the Dodgers as well. Instead, that honor will go to the 29-31 Milwaukee Brewers, who had the tiebreaker (intradivisional record) over the Giants by one game. The NL West is far superior to the central, but the central will see four of their teams in the playoffs, a record, of course.
Yes, there were mistakes…many mistakes that cost the Giants ultimately. Namely, in the last week, they lost their last three games and four of five. That’s not playoff-caliber baseball. They blew a 2-run save on Friday night against the Padres, blew numerous chances with the bases loaded on Thursday against the Rockies, and committed a crucial error that led to three unearned runs in the finale that they only lost by a single run. Then, umpire Rob Drake didn’t help things by taking away four ABs in the final two innings from the Giants with some horrendous strike calls. Poor Austin Slater!
We choose our Giants’ MVPs, talk a little about the future, make our first round playoff picks, and essentially, had a group therapy session. If you need some therapy after the way this season ended, we’re here for you. Take a seat on the couch and let 100 minutes of Giants’ therapy wash over you.
Video of episode #209 will be posted later down below
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The TortureCast 