We had no one else to name this episode for
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Willie is out but Chad and Ben discuss the All Star Game, Timmy’s No-No and the second half of the season.
Tag Archives: scutaro
The Padres Are Not Like Anne Hathaway
Let me explain.
Remember that horrible movie from 2001, “Princess Diaries?” Yeah, the Padres are just discovering that they are some long-lost royal blood line and just needed a little make up, hair, and braces removed to be noticed.
Well, they have my attention.
They are sitting just a half game back of the Giants, and two games behind the first-place Diamondbacks, whom they just swept. This is not a typo. I thought my iPhone was crapping out on me, so I referred to my desktop. Same standings. I triple-checked that it wasn’t 2010. Yep.
An alternate title to this post was, “The Padres are Like Your Ugly Ex-Girlfriend From High School,” but I thought it was a little harsh for a tag line. Therefore, you can send me your hate mail now, but of course, you’ve had to have read this far, so hell, I just thank you for taking the time out of your day to do so. We haven’t seen the Padres over .500 since 2010 when the Giants were battling them down to last day of the season to seal that fateful ride to their first San Francisco World Series Championship. So, we forgot about them. Dumped them after the season since we had our shiny new rings and Tiffany-made trophy. The Padres became an afterthought, left to their single life of living with their parents and getting on and off Weight Watchers about as often as Pablo Sandoval fractures small bones in his appendages. But alas, they have pulled off the transformation, without the 90 second movie-montage.
Wait, I’m comparing the Padres to a woman?
Back on track for a moment. The Giants blew a golden opportunity on Saturday, but two walks and an error in the 9th tend to lose ballgames for you. That win would have secured a winning road trip, and what a tough road trip it was. Instead, they played flat yesterday, and couldn’t pick up Lincecum and is technically-qualifying “quality start.” With the starting pitching woes this year, the offense has been their saving grace, and we’ve mentioned it many times before, but there’s only so long the Giants can overachieve with their run production while their number 1, 2 and 3 batters are all out. Pagan might require surgery, and Marco just may “tough it out” and live with a deformed finger, and Panda, well, he…never mind. Let’s just say he has a “slim” lead in NL All-Star voting and leave it at that. Although they hit .315 on the last roadie, that level cannot be sustained. The pitching will have to return, and let’s hope Zito can extend his home dominance (4-1, 1.94) tonight against the Friars.
Otherwise, the Giants will be looking at three teams above them.
Chad
PS – All three of us will be in the press box during tonight’s game versus the Padres, so expect the twitter account (@Torturecast) to blow up. At least one of us will be at the pre-game Bochy press conference. Any questions you’d like to ask him? Send them our way!
PPS – Giants are 2-0 when we’re in the press box
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Episode 49: The Javier Lopez Episode
I’m not entirely sure why Javier Lopez is applying sunscreen in a SF Giants media photo shoot…but I can’t look away….
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Yeah, we missed a show, but they went 1-6 that week and would’ve had to have recorded the show on Zoloft. So, we skipped it. This week was a little better….
Oh, and by the way, Chad will be covering the A’s-Giants game on Thursday, 5/30 (12:45pm) from the press box, so be sure to tune in for sober tweets during the game.
Talking Points
- Giants have been scuffling. Now in second place, 1 back of AZ
- Last year, after 51 games, Giants were 27-24, 5.5 GB of LAD, 1 game back of what they are now: 28-23
- Discuss my Uncle’s memorial game
- Giants have gone 5-8 since our last show…
The Week in Review
- Injuries: Broken pinkie for Vogelsong, out 6-8 weeks
- Injuries: Casilla out with leg surgery to remove a cyst from his tibia. Expected to return after the ASG
- Rosario sent down to AAA to make room for Kickham’s start tomorrow
- Pagan’s inside the park homer walk off
The Big Question
- Is Kickham the right choice to replace Vogelsong?
Tweet At Me, Bruh
- Willie: @djp4cal: “Booing Posey is like booing America.”
- Chad: @williedills: “Memorial game for my uncle. Asked for it an he came through! #knbrfan @ AT&T Park http://instagram.com/p/Zygo6WpK-b/”
- Ben: @Sfgiants (tweet from #AskBelt)
Our New Favorite Guy
- Chad: Flannery: looked like he was going to score with Pagan
- Willie: Buster Posey
We Should Hate This Guy
- Willie: Whoever invented the A’s/Giants hat
- Chad: Alfonso Marquez
Why We Will Win It All
- Chad: Because AZ and COL can’t sustain this
- Willie: Our pitching can’t stay this bad. This is not reality
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We also have a new TortureCast Mug for sale on Zazzle!
Filed under Episodes
Episode 48: The Pablo Sandoval Episode
Panda Pinkomonium
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Hey, the Giants are in first, the Dodgers in last. What else is there to be happy about?!
Talking Points
- Giants have second best record in NL, in first place, Dodgers in last, took 3/4 from 1st place Braves
- Giants rotation getting better, but still 12th in NL for starters (4.25 ERA)
- Zito (3-1, 2.75 ERA) and Bumgarner (4-1, 2.18 ERA) have remained mostly issue-free, but Lincecum (3-2, 4.07 ERA) hasn’t achieved true consistency and Vogelsong (1-3, 7.78 ERA) has one quality start in seven appearances.
- Cain won his first two May starts, yielding three runs over 15 1/3 innings. That’s a 1.76 ERA.
The Week in Review
- Lost 2/3 vs Philly, won 3/4 from ATL
- Giants now have the BEST BA in the NL at .266, 3rd in runs, 3rd in RBI
The Big Question
- Can Lincecum perform like this again? 7 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits. Vintage.
- Giants ASG dark horse, go!
Armchair Manager
- Should Gaudin move up in depth? 21 IP, 1.27 ERA, 21K, 15H, .195 BAA
Tweet At Me, Bruh
- Willie: kyleconaway: Hey @Williedills, I love you and all, but your #Giants can go straight to hell. #GoBraves #TomahawkChop4Life
- Chad: “Thomas Todd @HammerheadT @chadk21 @williedills @friedduck @TortureCast Damn, why didn’t we think of that?” That’s right, we’re on YOUTUBE!
Our New Favorite Guy
- Panda and his pink fingernails and homeruns
- Scutaro finding his groove again
We Should Hate This Guy
- Chad: Matt Kemp…BUT IT’S SO HARD (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/matt-kemp-gives-fan-hat-shoes-jersey_n_3231485.html)
- Willie: Melky Cabrera of course, wish we could boo the hell out him but oh well.
Why We Will Win It All
- Chad: Giants will make a deadline deal to solidify their rotation if Vogey doesn’t come around
- We have bullets in the chamber besides who we have right now. If we need a move to solidify, wherever that may be, it will happen
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
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Filed under Episodes
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.
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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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!
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
Filed under Articles
Episode 44: The Willie McCovey Episode
Stretch
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It’s been a while, but the boys are back with the first podcast of the 2013 regular season.
Talking Points
- Giants return with 21 of 25 members from the 2012 WS team
- Surprise guys who made the team, Nick Noonan and Guillermo Quiroz
- We talk a bit about our amazing experience at Media Day in February, and the opportunity to interview many of the Giants players. (if you missed it, go to our YouTube channel for the treasure trove of video interviews with Posey, Lincecum, Belt, Crawford, Zito, Romo, Bochy)
The Week in Review
- Giants first week of the 2013 season and they go 4-3, taking 2 of 3 from LA and losing the last 2 to StL, and winning the first one from Colorado.
- Pence is HAWT: 3 HRs in the first 7 games, .292
- Lots of cold hitters: Scutaro, Posey, Belt, Torres all under .200
The Big Question
- Any concern about Cain or Vogelsong or Lincecum? Nahhhh
Armchair Manager
- Would you have pulled Cain earlier on Sunday?
Tweet At Me, Bruh
- Chad: “Bay Area Sports Guy @BASportsGuy Get me some shots of sad cheerleaders, stat! AND Wendy Thurm @hangingsliders: Obligatory sad cheerleader photo dot tumblr”
- Willie: @Nicolevolgelsong is now following us, we win
Our New Favorite Guy
- Willie: Chad Gaudin – great pickup, really good stuff and looks like he’ll be a fixture in the pen this year
- Chad: NICK NOONAN! first hit and fun name
- Ben: Brandon Crawford, Honorary Mention: Aubrey Huff
We Should Hate This Guy
- Chad: The designer for the Giants WS Gold jerseys…SF logo on a HOME jersey?
- Willie: Clayton Kershaw
- Ben: Jose Castillo
Why We Will Win It All
- Chad: Because they have home gold jerseys with the SF on the chest
- Willie: This team should be better with no Huff, Torres back and Lincecum should at least be better than last year, full season of Pence and Zito having a resurgence
- Ben: SMALL SAMPLE SIZE
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Filed under Episodes
Episode 43: The Dave Dravecky Episode
This dude is inspirational and will forever be a Giant
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We welcome in the new year with our first TortureCast of 2013. Unfortunately, Ben couldn’t make tonight’s recording, but Willie and Chad discussed the recent deals to avoid arbitration for Posey, Pence, Blanco, Arias, and Mijares. We also bitch about the BBWAA and the injustice of not a single player being voted into the Hall of Fame, as well as pimping FanFest on Feb 9, the excitement of pitchers and catchers reporting on Feb 12, a banana in an unfortunate hole, and we dream about the possibility of Bruce Bochy driving Jim Harbaugh down Market Street with another championship trophy for THE City.
Talking Points
- Buster Posey ($8m) and Hunter Pence ($13.8m) sign one year deals to avoid arbitration
- Giants control Posey through 2016 and will probably seek a long-term deal sometime this year
- Other Giants that signed one year deals to avoid arbitration: Arias ($925k), Blanco ($1.35m), Jose Mijares ($1.8m)
- Only arbitration-eligible player left is Romo, who filed for $4.5 million and the Giants countered with $2.675 million
- BBWAA chose not to vote in Bonds and Clemens, in fact, NO ONE made it in
Coming Up
- FanFest is Feb 9 at AT&T Park
- We will be interviewing the Giants “Social Media Consigliere,” Bryan Srabian this Saturday to talk to him about his job and FanFest!
- Pitchers and catchers report Feb 12!
Tweet At Me, Bruh
- SFG10032: @TortureCast – Turns out Hunter Pence is a pretty hardcore Blizzard gamer. Pretty cool. http://t.co/ZZK9rsab
We Should Hate This Guy
- Willie and Chad dish out serious hate for the BBWAA who “made a stand” against the PED users. It’s an F-ing game, and you are not holier than any of these athletes that you help to create. Baseball ignored the issue, you voted them as MVP and Cy Youngs, STFU.
Why We Will Win It All
- Willie – Wrapping up the last big pieces from last year and didn’t fall in love with guys who won’t help, Sabean is making all the right moves and there’s no reason to think he won’t make the right moves at the trade deadline either.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
We also have a new TortureCast Mug for sale on Zazzle!
Episode 42: The Jackie Robinson/Hot Stove Episode
it burns…like a Brian Wilson non-tender
We shake off the World Series hangover with an episode to review the Giants’ moves in the offseason thus far, and we even challenged ourselves with listening to our season preview episode that we recorded at The Public House (at AT&T Park) with Thomas and Danny from Two Guys, a Glove and a Coke Bottle.
Talking Points
- Scu-Scu-Scutaro signs 3 yrs/$20 – We all like this one, even if he sucks at age 40
- Pagan signs 4 yrs/$40m – Thank the baseball gods that he signed one day before Victorino signed with Boston for 3/$39m!
- Affeldt signs 3y/$18m – Quality signing, he likes the stability of the Giants
- Pence will be signed, probably for $13-$14m in arbitration, Giants not seeking long term contract, though
- Torres is Back! 1 yr, $2m
- Blanco is arbitration eligible, probably won’t cost that much
- Sabean and Bochy contracts extended through 2014
- Dodgers with the largest payroll in MLB history at $225m
- Melky gets 2/$16m from Blue Jays who are loading up for a run at it
The BIG Question
- What will happen with Brian Wilson? We all concur that the Giants had to make the business decision that they did, and that frankly, Wilson is being a whiny douche if he’s hurt by their non-tender. He doesn’t deserve $7 million for a year after his second Tommy John. In fact, he earned $8.5 million last year for two appearances before he went on the shelf. Suck it up, sign an incentive-laden contract with the Giants and we’ll all move along as a happy family.
Revisiting our 2012 Pre-Season Predictions with GiantsPod (4/1/12 @ Public House)
- Chad put out an over/under of 92.5 wins for the Giants and EVERYONE LAUGHED AT HIM
- The group reset the over/under to 87.5 wins, and everyone took the over, except the self-titled “realist” Thomas
- Chad also put the over/under for games Freddy Sanchez plays at 100 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
- What does Crawford have to hit to be worth it?we all said .230, he hit .248 and played dazzling D down the stretch, I say he surpassed expectation
- Thomas says Blanco will not be on the roster by the All Star break
- Hamate bone was a freak injury – thomas
- Danny says now that steroids are over…
- Danny says top offensive player won’t be Posey or Pablo
- How high would we go for Cain extension? The highest we said was 125 over 5, he got 127 for 6 with an option for 7 that could bring it to 141
- Willie wanted to win a WS and defend with the exact same team. Well, he’s pretty much getting his wish
- Why will the Giants win it all? (asked in April, 2012)
- Willie predicted that the Giants would win it all because they weren’t going to have a freak injury
- Ben – rotation getting better
- Michael (from The Grubby Glove) – Dbacks won’t come together, Bumgarner steps up big time, says division winner
- Chad – dumb luck!!! hahhaha
- Danny – second wild card
- Thomas – “we won’t, I’m a realist”
Tweet At Me, Bruh
- Bryan Murphy @Every6thDay: Obviously, the Giants will have to raise ticket prices significantly to afford Andres Torres, but that’s what happens w/ a break-even team.”
- “Miss Erin @Love4PatTheBat: Brian Patrick Wilson, you quit your pouting and come back to those who love you and tolerate your insanity! @BrianWilson38 #SFGiants”
Our New Favorite Guy
- Chad – Brian Sabean for signing Pagan a day before Victorino signed with the Red Sox
- Willie – Duane Kuiper for his joke during the parade, asking Affeldt to take a swing after he called a homer for Pablo and say Swing and a miss!
We Should Hate This Guy
- Willie – Magic Johnson, go muck up basketball if you’re gonna get all ridiculous in a sport, although basketball is pretty screwed up already
Why We Will Win It All
- Chad – They’ve brought the gang back (mostly)
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