Tag Archives: Willy Adames

Episode #328: 2025 Post Mortem

Willy Adames smiles as he rounds the bases after hitting his 30th homerun of the season on the last day of the season, becoming the first Giant to hit 30 homers since Barry Bonds in 2004. Adames also won the Willie Mac award on Friday night.

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Chad and Eric conduct a partial autopsy on the corpse of the 2025 San Francisco Giants, but before that, there’s a long conversation about who the Giants are going to replace Bob Melvin with. That’s right, after signing Melvin to an extension on July 1, the Giants parted ways with Melvin and now will search for their next skipper. No, it won’t be Bruce Bochy, who just ended his tenure as manager with the Rangers. So much went wrong for the Giants this year, but in the end, they missed the playoffs by just 3 games (they were 2 games back, but Mets held the tiebreaker over Giants). Heck, Ryan Walker blew three saves (all losses) in the last two weeks of the season alone! There are many other games to point to. The Giants are close, tantalizingly close, but they need more. Buster Posey said in this morning’s interview that they can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results, thus the Melvin dismissal. Hey, Willy Adames became the first Giant to hit 30 homers since Bonds in 2004, and we talk about the playoffs and give our predictions. Anyone but the Dodgers, right?

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Episode #327: Eliminated

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We strung out this episode because during the recording, the Giants blew a 5-run lead they had in the 7th against the Cardinals, then Ryan Walker came in and failed to close out a 1-run lead, allowing 2 runs in the 9th. We waited out the episode to watch Wilmer Flores feebly strike out with the tying run on second to end the game and their official and mathematical hopes for the playoffs as they were eliminated. But, before coughing up their largest lead of the season, Eric and I break down what went wrong in the last two weeks that saw their once bright and resuscitated playoff hopes get extinguished in such a quick fashion. They’ve now lost 9 of 11 and can only achieve a .500 season by winning their remaining four games. They are likely headed to another losing season. This also means that the Giants have only made the playoffs ONCE in the last nine seasons. That is just one more than the Pirates. Will Melvin be fired? Who will win the Willie Mac? Will Adames reach 30 homers when it seemed like a lock when he hit his 28th 13 games ago? We review the playoff races and talk a bit about the ABS coming to MLB next season. Next episode will record on Monday, the night before the playoffs start when we’ll give our playoff predictions. Alas, a Giants postseason will have to wait until at least next year.

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Episode #326: TortureCast live from Arizona, part 2!

Bryce Eldridge in his first MLB AB. Photo by Chad King.

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Chad and Eric were hopeful that their trip to Arizona would bear witness to the Giants leapfrogging the Mets into the third wild card position, but instead were witness to the final nail in the coffin to their postseason hopes. Although we did get to see Bryce Eldridge’s Major League debut, we also witnessed an 8-1 drubbing followed by a walk-off win for the Diamondbacks on a game which the Giants led by four runs. It was a frustrating experience, but it does give clarity to the fact that this team is not ready for the playoffs. We chat about the season that could have been and our experience at Chase Field. 

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Episode #325: TortureCast live from Arizona!

Patrick Bailey walked off the Dodgers with a 10th inning grand slam that put the Giants within 1/2 game of the Mets.

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Chad traveled down to Arizona to meet Eric for a couple of Giants games, but we wrapped up the last 10 games in a special live and in-person episode! We thank the Mets for their 8-games losing streak that enabled the Giants to get to within 1 1/2 games, despite the Giants going 4-5. And, our timing couldn’t be better because Bryce Eldridge has been called up and we should be seeing him the next two nights at Chase Field. Join us for a fun and rare episode!

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Episode #324: Just When We Thought We Were Out…

Al Pacino can’t believe the Giants are drawing us back in…

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…they pull us back in. Yes, we are all Al Pacino. The Giants have suddenly forgotten how to lose. In fact, they’ve only lost one of their last 11 games and suddenly find themselves two games above .500 and four games back of the Mets for the third wild card with 22 games to play. We are still in snowball’s-chance-in-hell territory, but it’s better than last week and the week before that. This remarkable surge has been powered by the long ball with the Giants homering in 17 straight games (and counting), breaking the SF record. The NY Giants record is 19. During that streak, they’ve hit 36 of their 150 homers which is 24%…in just over two weeks! Willie Adames hit four bombs this week and is only four away from 30 and would become the first Giant to do so since Barry Bonds. Devers hit five this week (including a HR trot that technically lasted an MLB-record 8+ minutes!) and has 30, 15 with each Boston and SF. Chad and Eric chat about this surge, talk about their realistic chances for making the playoffs, and reveal that they will be at Chase Field on September 15 and 16 to watch the Giants take on the Diamondbacks. We’ll even resurrect the bonusode!

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Episode #319: Coming Apart at the Seams

The Pirates celebrate their sweep over the Giants after a 2-1 victory in 10 innings on Wednesday, July 30. Photo by AP.

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After the Giants defeated the Dodgers on June 13, they were tied for first place in the NL West with LA and held the 4th best record in baseball. Since that time, they have been the worst team in baseball (yes, even worse than the Colorado Rockies), going 13-26 and plummeting out of the playoff race. They had an 0-6 homestand, something the Giants haven’t done since 1898! They’ve lost 12 of 14. They are nine games out of the west and six behind in the wild card. They also have the worst record since the Devers trade. So, what went wrong? How did one of the best teams in baseball in mid-June suddenly implode? You can certainly point to situational hitting. The Giants went 0-22 with runners in scoring position during the Mets sweep at home. Untimely bullpen moves seems to be Melvin’s calling card, yet he was signed to a one year extension in the middle of this slump. Pitching has gotten worse with a 4.35 team ERA during this stretch, and they’ve been outscored 4.9 to 3.7 on average. 

The silver lining to this is that the collapse happened so quickly, that Buster Posey could pivot from being buyers to sellers. They started the sale by trading fan-favorite Tyler Rogers to the Mets for three players. It’s a two-month rental for the Mets and there’s a good chance that the Giants re-sign Rogers for 2026. The deadline is this evening, so we’ll see if the Giants can fleece another desperate team for an arm and maybe this season won’t be a complete waste. The three of us break it down in this eulogy of the 2025 season.

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Episode #318: Almost Break Time

Patrick Bailey is greeted by Casey Schmitt as he crosses home plate after his walk-off inside-the-park homerun against the Phillies on Tuesday night.

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Patrick Bailey’s walk-off inside-the-park homerun on Tuesday night is something that will be burned into Giants’ lore for decades to come. Pagan’s similar feat happened 12 years ago, and we still talk about it. This one was better. We open the episode discussing Bailey’s round-tripper and how the Giants have picked themselves up after a horrific streak to end June. Getting swept at home by the Marlins and losing two of three to the lowly White Sox put them 9 games behind their rivals, but since then, they have won 6 of 8 and the Dodgers have lost 6 in a row, closing the gap to 5 games. Three Giants pitchers were selected to the All Star Game (Webb, Ray, Rodriguez) and the mid-summer classic will feature the ABS challenge system, which is eventually coming to the big leagues. Although Devers has been meddling in mediocrity since coming to SF (.225/2/9), Adames seems to be waking up, hitting .313 with a .910 OPS over the last 2 weeks. Justin Verlander is flummoxed, and although he isn’t having a great year, it’s not catastrophic. Even a pitcher with his stats (4.70 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) should have a couple of wins on a winning team. Yet, he is winless in 15 Giants starts. He’ll tie the MLB record if he doesn’t win his next start. However, the pen has blown 6 leads for him, and he has the second-worst run support of any starting pitcher in the bigs (26 runs in 15 starts). Heading into LA is big. The set up the rotation with Webb, Roupp, and Ray, but the Dodgers counter with May, Ohtani, and Yamamoto. They will be anywhere between 2 and 8 games back of the Dodgers after this series, a huge potential swing. 

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Episode #317: The Trade of the Decade?

Buster Posey stands next to his shiny new slugger, Rafael Devers, after the Boston Red Sox traded him to the Giants for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and two prospects. (AP Photo/Jeff Chui)

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In a truly stunning, out-of-left-field event, the Giants traded for slugger Rafael Devers. It really did come out of nowhere, but it’s genesis was the discontent that was brewing in Boston after Devers was not being treated like a franchise player, being promised third base, only to have Alex Bregman usurp it. The Giants gave up relatively little as a price for securing Devers for the next 8 1/2 years. This was not a rental, and often 2 month rentals end up costing teams a LOT more than what the Giants gave up. All told, the Giants traded away Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and two prospects. Even the AAV for Devers is under what the market would bear now and certainly what it will bear in several years. Devers is in the prime of his career at age 28. Buster Posey made this happen, and he is the man right now. Eric, Willie, and Chad discuss this blockbuster and can’t find a comp to it in recent Giants history. We are all excited, but if the Giants would just actually perform on the field. After briefly tying the Dodgers for first place in the NL West over the weekend, they have lost 4 in a row and 5 of 6 overall. Let’s hope they snap out of it with the help of their new shiny star.

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Episode #316: They’ve Won Every Game Since 315

Mike Yastrzemski gestures to the dugout after he reached second base on an double that drove in two runs in the eighth inning at Colorado to help the Giants win streak reach a season-tying high 7. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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It’s in the title. The Giants are on a 7-game winning streak, bookended with our recording of 315 during game 1 of the streak and tonight’s recording of 316 during the 7th game of the streak. They’re just 1/2 game back of LA and if they complete the sweep of the Rockies tomorrow, the Giants will go into Chavez Ravine tied for first. This incredible streak started with six consecutive one-run wins and eight consecutive one-run games overall, both franchise records. They haven’t lost since Buster Posey shook up the roster, DFA’ing LaMonte Wade Jr. and calling in some journeymen. Although the new guys haven’t contributed much statistically speaking, something has happened to their ability to come back and hold on to tight games, get knocks in clutch situations in between droughts of hits. Some may call it a lucky streak, but it also shows the strength of the pitching staff and their resolve. Either way, wins are wins, and the Giants are hot. Let’s hope it continues. Oh, and the pope was seen today wearing a White Sox hat, so that was cool.

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Episode #315: LaMonting Their Bats

First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. was DFA’d on June 4, 2025. He had a .352 on-base percentage in his first four seasons with the Giants, but that fell to .275 this season as the entire offense has struggled. (Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle)

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It must have been somewhat depressing or bittersweet for Buster Posey to make the decision to DFA LaMonte Wade Jr., a consistent player in this lineup that suited up with Posey for the 2021 season when they both performed well and won the NL West as teammates. Yet, it was a move they had to make. The Giants ranked last or near last in all offensive categories at first base. It also serves as a wake-up call for other players that are underperforming this year. The Giants also DFA’d catcher Sam Huff, which is a little puzzling considering he was the NL Pitcher of the Month’s (Robbie Ray) main backstop and brought up two journeymen from Sacramento and signed another free agent journeyman. The Giants were in an incredible streak of 16 games of scoring 4 runs or less, averaging only 2 during that streak, yet their team ERA was an unbelievable 1.77, making them a competitive 7-9. The moves worked, at least for game one, as the Giants roared back from a 5-0 deficit to clip the Padres 6-5 after two heart-wrenching extra-inning losses to their southern rivals. Eric and Chad break it down and even bring in some baseball superstitions that the Giants may want to consider going forward.

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