Tag Archives: TortureCast

by | July 20, 2015 · 6:12 PM

SF Giants thoughts and notes

Getty Images/Rob Carr

Getty Images/Rob Carr

Much like Willie has his stream of consciousness posts after we cover a game in the press box, I’m going to share some thoughts and notes about the San Francisco Giants today.

It’s been a while since I’ve (Eric) popped in for a post so let’s see what’s been going on and what’s coming up for the Giants

  • Heading in to Monday night’s game against the Padres the Giants have won 6 straight and are now 49-43. They closed out the 1st half with a sweep of the Phillies. After the break they came out swinging and swept the D-Backs in Arizona behind 35 hits and 16 runs of offense.
  • It’s not just pitching for the Giants anymore. Right now they lead the NL in hits (866) and batting average (.272). They are second in on-base pct. (.373), and third in slugging pct. (.407) and runs scored (393).
  • It extends to the road as well. The Giants rank first in the NL on the road in runs per game (4.82), batting average (.278), OBP (.334), slugging pct. (.428), and OPS (.762).
  • Buster Posey has been red-hot lately. He’s had a hit in 17 of his last 18 games and is 15-for-26 (.577) with runners in scoring position during that time. He’s driven in 24 runs in those situations during that time.
  • Hunter Pence has also been a key contributor lately. Since his most recent return from the DL, Pence is batting .333 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. He’s tied with Mike Trout for the most runs driven in during that time.
  • There’s a great piece on Fox Sports by Owen Watson exploring Matt Duffy and how he’s one of the best rookies in baseball this season.
  • If you missed it last week Jonah Keri of Grantland looked at how the Giants have the best infield in baseball with homegrown talent.
  • We’ve all seen lately that Angel Pagan has lost a step or two out in center field. There’s talk on social media about moving him to LF but Bruce Bochy has said that a move like that will not happen during the season. Personally I think the Giants are better with Gregor Blanco in center, but that won’t happen as long as Pagan is “healthy”. Maybe we’ll see a DL stint for him once Nori Aoki returns.
  • Speaking of Aoki, we heard on Twitter earlier today that he’s beginning his rehab assignment in Sacramento tomorrow. And he could be back as early as the weekend series against the A’s.
  • Looking ahead the Giants play their next 5 series against teams currently under .500. At the moment they sit 3.5 games back of the Dodgers for the division and 1 game back of the Cubs for the Wild Card.
  • I’m standing by my pick of the Giants winning the NL West. I wouldn’t be surprised if they catch them for the division lead by the first week of August.
  • Tim Hudosn is back tonight and Jean Machi has been DFA’d to clear room for him. That’s probably the end for the Giants resident fart master.

There’s probably more to get into and I’ll be back later this week during the Giants off day Thursday with some more thoughts about the boys.

You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or check out our YouTube channel.

-Eric

@2outhits

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by | May 15, 2015 · 4:12 PM

Hunter Pence is back

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

 

The long nightmare is over. Hunter Pence is returning to right field fo the San Francisco Giants. This Andrew Baggarly tweet rolled across the ol’ Twitter timeline Friday afternoon.

That is great news for all of us. The world is just a better place with Hunter Pence in the starting lineup. His hustle helps the Giants get through soe rough times. It will be great to see him charging hard through first base and sliding around the outfield.

Hunter Pence is back.

The Giants did a great job of fighting to have a .500ish record while he was injured. Having him back for 2 in Cincinnatti and then a home series with the Dodgers could be a launching point for this team. Or it could not. But he’s such a positive force on that field and in the clubhouse that it has to be a boost for the team. Hunter Pence is back. So who gets sent down to make room for Pence on the roster? John Shea says it’s going to be a catcher.

If I had a vote. It be fun to have a vote, wouldn’t it? I’d send down Hector Sanchez. The addition of Andrew Susac catching to give Buster Posey some days at first is working out just fine. There’s no need to carry 3 catchers anymore. The bullpen is set right now so shuffling around isn’t needed. The real shuffle happens when “It’s Travis Ishikawa” comes back to the team. But that’s another day.

With Pence returning to the lineup Saturday night here’s the batting order I’d love to see on a regular basis. Brandon Belt has been in a funk with a lot of the swing and miss lately. Maybe moving to 6th and lenghtening the Giants lineup will get him going again. Make it happen Boch.

Aoki LF
Panik 2B
Pagan CF
Posey C
Pence RF
Belt 1B
Duffy 3B
Crawford SS
Pitcher

On Posey first base days you can just slot Susac in for Belt. You’ll also note that I have Matt Duffy in the lineup. He should be playing everyday. But that’s a whole other post I don’t have in me right now. Today’s news is all sunshine and roses.

Hunter Pence is back.

-Eric
@2outhits

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by | April 13, 2015 · 1:21 AM

The Good, The Bad, & What’s Next?

Nori Aoki of the San Francisco Giants. TortureCast.com

Ezra Shaw/ Getty Images

Week one of the 2015 season is in the books and the San Francisco Giants are coming home after 7 games on the road to start it all up. They are limping back to AT&T Park after dropping their 3rd straight game to the San Diego Padres under the bright sunshine at Petco Park. They sit at 3-4 and are last in the division, but remember it’s early and they only sit 1.5 games back. This is no repeat of the torrid start from last season.

Each week I’m going to take a look back at the good and the not so good of the previous week. Don’t worry though, I won’t leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. I’ll always look ahead to the upcoming week ahead for the Giants. So let’s roll this baby out and bring you my new weekly look at the Giants. Continue reading →

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by | April 5, 2015 · 2:10 PM

SF Giants preview: The other guys

Matt Duffy of the San Francisco Giants

Photo via USA TODAY Sports

Well here we are. The 2015 San Francisco Giants season is upon us. I thought I’d take this time to preview the season and throw out some predictions. I’m sure you’ve read the “big boy” publications and what they forecast for the season so I’m not going to even mention the fact that none of them are giving the Giants a chance to do big things this season.

Nope. Won’t mention it at all. That whole odd year thing? I won’t mention that either.

I’ve already previewed the starting rotation and the regulars. Here are some links.

Part 1: The rotation

Part 2: The regulars

For the part 3 I’m going to take a pass at the other guys. It’s time to take a look at the Giants bullpen and bench players.

The bullpen

It’s been reported over many Giants outlets that the team will carry 13 pitchers to start the season. If that is the case, here’s the guys that will be in the pen. Continue reading →

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by | April 3, 2015 · 7:43 PM

SF Giants preview: The regulars

Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants

Photo via AP Images

Well here we are. The 2015 San Francisco Giants season is upon us. I thought I’d take this time to preview the season and throw out some predictions. I’m sure you’ve read the “big boy” publications and what they forecast for the season so I’m not going to even mention the fact that none of them are giving the Giants a chance to do big things this season.

Nope. Won’t mention it at all. That whole odd year thing? I won’t mention that either.

I previewed the starting rotation yesterday. Today I’m looking at the starting 8. Well, truthfully, it’s the starting 9. Even though Hunter Pence is out until sometime during April, I’m going to include him here. It’s not like he won’t be back and frankly we all love him.

So here are the starters. I’m not going to go by batting order because Bruce Bochy has already said that he will mix it up. Some days Angel Pagan will hit 3rd, others he’ll hit 5th. I’m going to go around the diamond starting with LF and ending with the catcher position. I’m choosing which stats from last season I want to highlight with each player because, well, I can do that. So sit back and enjoy a look at this year’s Giants starters. All slash lines are batting average, on base percentage, and then slugging percentage.

Nori Aoki

2014 (w/ Royals): .285/.349/.360, 132 G, 549 PA, 22 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 63 R, 43 BB, 17 SB

It looks like Aoki is the new leadoff man. He’s entering his 4th year in the league. Nori is 1 of 2 new starts for the Giants this season. If he’s going to be in that role I’d love to see those walks improve. After 2 years with the Brewers he was on the AL champion Royals last season. You may remember them. I’m not sold on his arm out in LF. In fact, “noodle arm” is a term I’ve used to describe him on multiple occasions throughout spring training. But he’s not here for his defense. Aoki rarely strikes out and can be a key if he shoots the gap towards triples alley. If he does that, he made lead the league in triples this season. Continue reading →

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by | April 2, 2015 · 9:00 PM

SF Giants preview: The starting rotation

Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants

Photo credit: NBC

Well here we are. The 2015 San Francisco Giants season is upon us. I thought I’d take this time to preview the season and throw out some predictions. I’m sure you’ve read the “big boy” publications and what they forecast for the season so I’m not going to even mention the fact that none of them are giving the Giants a chance to do big things this season.

Nope. Won’t mention it at all. That whole odd year thing? I won’t mention that either.

Since I tend to get wordy and long-winded I’m going to break this up in to 3 different parts. This one is all about the starting rotation, next will be the regular lineup, and finally I’ll close with the bullpen/bench players. I’m cheating a little bit because I’m trying to give the Giants some time to make their final roster decisions. The longer I put off the bench/bullpen, the better chance there is that we will actually know who’s made the cut.

I also want to note that I don’t have 2015 projections up for the guys. I’m sure Ben Lee or Chad King may have something like that, but not me. It’s not that I hate all the new stats, I’m just not the guy that’s going to give them to you. Think of me as the scout type that is holding on to the eye test, even if it’s to my own detriment. Also, I’m throwing out all the spring stats because frankly, they are ugly.

So without further ado, I present part 1, the starting rotation.

Madison Bumgarner

2014: 18-10, 2.98 ERA, 33 Starts, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 43 BB, 219 K, 217.1 IP

The ace of the staff. What more can be said about the job he did for the Giants in 2014? Well, probably volumes of work, but that’s not what I’m here for today. The biggest question mark is how Bumgarner will respond this season after compiling 270 total innings between the regular season and playoffs a year ago. His previous high was 2012 when he tossed 223.1 innings. He followed that with just over 200 innings in 2013 while posting his lowest career ERA (2.77) in 31 starts. Continue reading →

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by | March 24, 2015 · 12:19 AM

Episode 81: Can’t Have Sissy Hands

Stream this podcast below:

[audio http://torturecast.podomatic.com/enclosure/2015-03-24T00_10_18-07_00.mp3]

or, download it here

Spring Training has not been kind to the Giants. They own the worst record, by far, in all of MLB. Hunter Pence got broke, and Bochy is actually worried about his team’s performance.

Chad, Ben and Eric try and talk each other down from the ledge, and bring some levity to the foreboding results from the Giants’ practice games thus far.

Hey, it’s an odd year, afterall.

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by | March 6, 2015 · 12:13 PM

A “Black” Day for Giants Fans

Hunter Pence says he can’t come his hair now that his arm is in a cast. I don’t think we’ll notice. Photo: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs’ minor league pitcher, Corey Black, feels absolutely sick about hitting Hunter Pence in yesterday’s Cactus League action in Scottsdale. In a tweet he sent out yesterday, Black said, “Lost for words. Hope you heal fast. Hitting someone is never a good feeling. Hurting someone is even worse.” Classy move. Even more classy was Hunter’s response, “It happens my friends. Thanks for the concern, it’s part of the game we love. No slowing down!” There’s been a lot of love and support from Giants fans thrown Hunter’s way, but apparently there have been a few Giants fans that aren’t too happy with Black.

I get it, knee jerk reaction. I for one, was pretty upset when I heard the news, as Hunter will most likely miss opening day and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks with a “non-displaced fracture of the left ulna bone.” In an interview today, Pence was pretty upbeat and even mentioned that the timing is right for this injury. He’s right from the perspective of “better now than in July.” He also said that he’s a “very fast healer,” and is hoping to be back before that 6 week timeline.

At least Hunter’s positive about the situation, and it’s not his throwing arm that’s injured.

Interesting note: Both Black and Pence share the same agent, but they’ve never met.

So, the Giants will have to rely more upon Blanco to fill in until Pence is one hunter percent. 🙂

Hunter has proven himself as the Giants’ “Iron Man,” but every superhero has his weakness.

Oh, and I’m a scientist by day, and don’t believe in this even/odd year thing. This may have finally made me a believer. I just realized that the guy who took Pence out is named “Black.” The guy replacing Pence is named “Blanco.” Maybe this shit is real, bro.

#oddyearconspiracy

Get well, Hunter!

– Chad @chadk21

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by | February 11, 2015 · 10:15 AM

Giants vs 49ers Chevron Charity Shootout at Pebble Beach

 

Matt Cain tees off on the third hole at Pebble Beach on 2/10/15.

Matt Cain tees off on the third hole at Pebble Beach on 2/10/15.

Yesterday exceeded my own expectations. Pebble Beach was gracious enough to let our non-golf-covering outfit cover the shootout yesterday, as we do cover the Giants. The PGA also threw in a “behind the ropes” pass, which enabled me to essentially mingle and walk with the players during their five hole shootout, which gave me the opportunity to capture some great photos of all of the Giants and 49ers playing in the event, which included Buster Posey, Matt Cain, Bruce Bochy, Javier Lopez, Duane Kuiper, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Brent Jones, Dwight Clark and Harris Barton.

My favorite moment of the day was the group “Buster Hug.” As KNBR’s Brian Murphy roasted all of the players, he had nothing bad to say about Buster, so he just happened to mention that he might be best known for the “Buster Hug.” Following that, Jerry Rice and eventually most of the Giants and 49ers embraced him. The video is below:

The weather was as impeccable as the jovial attitude along the course. I was able to interview Steve Young and chat with Cain, Bochy, Rice and others. Most of the questions by all the media were light and engaging to match the atmosphere. Probably the most engaging personality out there was Jerry Rice. The Hall of Famer danced, smoked a cigar, and mingled with  fans all day long. Buster was his usual reserved self and really didn’t talk that much, even to his partner, Matt Cain.

You can view the initial photo gallery over on our Facebook page. No, you don’t need a Facebook account to view them, but if you have one, would you give us a “like” while you’re there?

Here’s a video of Buster teeing off with an iron at 17, just because

Speaking of the tournament, Cain and Posey took the first hole (there were four teams of two), but the 49ers won it in the end during a chip-off at the 18th hole courtesy of Dwight Clark’s chip that ended up closest to the hole. Serendipity helped out as the chip off happened to occur right in front of where I had been standing, so below is a video of Cain and Posey’s chips. There are more videos and photos to come.

-Chad

Bruce Bochy puts for par on the second hole at Pebble Beach

Bruce Bochy puts for par on the second hole at Pebble Beach

Javier Lopez uses an iron to drive towards the green at Pebble Beach

Javier Lopez uses an iron to drive towards the green at Pebble Beach

Buster Posey tees off on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.

Buster Posey tees off on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.

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Video

Interviews with 8 SF Giants at Media Day

Today we were able to snag interviews with eight Giants at Media Day at AT&T Park, including Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Matt Cain, Brandon Crawford, Travis Ishikawa, Joe Panik and Casey McGehee. Some of the players we had exclusive time with, others we shared questions with other reporters.

We’ll also be covering the Giants vs. 49ers charity shootout at Pebble Beach on Tuesday, 2/10!

All 8 interviews are below separately, the first one however, is the master playlist, and here is the playlist directly on YouTube.

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by | February 6, 2015 · 5:04 PM