Just as we counted the Giants out last week after having lost 5 in a row and 7 of 8, including those 3 gut-wrenching 9th inning blown leads, the Giants turn it around and hammer out 6 straight wins (and counting) to get themselves right back in the wild card hunt at 14-16. Chad, Eric, and Willie get together to discuss each game of the week, Joey Bart's MLB debut (finally! boy can he rake!), Yaz's MVP consideration (he leads MLB in offensive WAR!) and sadly, the end to the reunion with Hunter Pence as he was designated for assignment after posting a miserable .096 average (5-52). We're going to miss The Reverend.

You can also check out the video of the podcast below, and join us on Facebook Live (mostly) every Monday afternoon as we review the week in Giants' baseball!

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Willie Dills joined Chad this week to talk about what may be the most depressing week in regular season TortureCast history. Not only did the Giants drop 7 of 8, but they blew three consecutive save opportunities. The first was the worst: a 5-run lead in the 9th (first time since 1929 a lead this big was blown in the 9th), the next night it was a 3-run 9th inning lead, and last night it was a walk off 2-run HR by the Angels. All 3 were blown by Trevor Gott, who is officially out as closer. However, the defense helped put Gott in the situations in 2 of the 3 blown saves. Adding salt to the wound in between was a 15-3 blowout loss to the A's. Sitting dead last in the NL West at 8-16, the Giants' playoff hopes have dwindled to a microscopic level.

BTW, where's Joey Bart?

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Somehow the baseball season is still pushing forward, despite the Cardinals are now the "infected" team. In fact, although the Giants have played 16 games, which is more than a quarter of the way through the season, the Cards have only played 5 games....FIVE.

The Giants went 3-5 since our last recording, but the main hurdle was Colorado, where they lost three of four, despite having late inning leads in two of those losses. They've split so far in LA, but Donnie Barrels (aka Donovan Solano) leads the league in hitting, and Yaz leads the majors in wins above replacement. The veterans of Pence, Pablo, and Crawford have not played well at all, and their pitching staff has a 5th worst ERA at 5.05. Surprisingly, their batting average is fifth. At 7-9, the Giants are barely out of the expanded playoff picture, and if they can survive the last 4 games of this hellacious 10 game roadie, they may not be in horrible shape. Eric and Chad chat about all of this and more in a brief episode 202.

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Although the Giants had an average week, it included a dramatic splash-hit walk off, another great comeback stalled by a bullpen that exploded, Chad got credentials to cover a game, and well, basically most of the Marlins have COVID-19 (and now the Cardinals, too), which is putting the MLB season in dire jeopardy due to the number of postponed games. Eric and Chad chat about all of this and more in a brief episode 201.

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Willie Dills Gregory and his two friends started this podcast on June 12, 2011. Nine years later, we've finally reached episode 200. However, that's with the caveat that if you add all of the bonusodes, season previews and interviews, it's really recording number 258. That said, it's something to celebrate, especially as we recorded during the Giants' home opener (which they sadly lost 5-3 to SD).

Chad, Eric and founder Willie Dills wax poetically over 90 minutes about the Marlins' COVID outbreak, the expanded playoffs, and the first series the Giants split against the Dodgers.

This episode, and all going forward, was streamed on Facebook Live. Check out our ugly mugs as we get through this episode! Hopefully baseball sticks around long enough to make it to the playoffs. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

@chadk21

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Honestly, we can't believe it. We are having a season preview episode. In July. Whatever. We'll take it.

Joining Chad and Eric are long standing podcast veterans including a founder of TortureCast, Willie "Dills" Gregory and a woman who has joined us for numerous season previews and drunken "bonusodes," Jennifer (formerly Cosgriff) Kent.

The four of us discuss the new rule changes, the potential roster, guess on the number of wins for the Giants, the World Series champs and even discuss the importance of Gabe Kapler and several Giants that took a knee during the National Anthem before the exhibition game against the A's.

We're almost to #200!

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We have a schedule! We also have injured players and others that might sit out this season. Chad and Eric discuss the first week of summer camp, the positive COVID cases, and more in this episode of TortureCast!

After months of frustrating negotiations...the owners and players failed to come to an agreement. But alas, MLB Commish Rob Manfred instituted a 60 game season, players agreed to the health protocols, and voila! We officially have a 2020 baseball season!

Here are the main points:

60 game season (40 against NL West, 20 against AL West)
Universal DH
In every extra inning, a runner starts the inning on second base
60 player pool; camp opens today, July 1
Season starts July 23 or 24
Trade deadline is Aug 31
30 man roster the first 2 weeks of the season, 28 the next 2 weeks, 26 the rest of the way
Playoffs remain the same (3 division winners, 2 wild cards in each league)
Separate COVID-19 injured list. A player has to test negative twice to resume play
Players and personnel not in game must be in stands, 6 feet apart


Eric and I talk about the ramifications these new rules have on the Giants, including who's going to be DH most of the time, the Giants actually have a shot at a playoff spot with so few games, how do they handle stats of runners scoring in extra innings, and much, much more.

We are so excited to actually discuss real baseball, but we hope that the season not only starts, but can come to a conclusion. There is serious worry about what the virus may do to halt the season. But, in the meantime, we're moving forward and will be back with an episode in mid-July and our annual season preview around July 22.

As noted in the photo above, Eric and I met up in Las Vegas last week, the first time we've seen each other in 7 years! We talked shop, drank, and caught up. We highly recommend "BEER PARK" at the Paris Hotel, a great outdoor venue. Next time, we'll make a podcast out of it.

@chadk21 & @2outhits

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Wow! What a change 24 hours can bring. After MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week that he's '100 percent' certain that a 2020 season would happen, he flipped yesterday and said he was not '100 percent' certain. This brought ire and backlash from the players, and quite honestly, the owners and Manfred don't look good to the public in this situation, despite their leverage. This (Tuesday) morning, Manfred and MLBPA chief Tony Clark had a secret meeting and emerged with a 'framework' for both sides to move forward on negotiating terms. Initial reports state that the season would be around 60-70 games, players would receive their full pro-rated salaries (which is what the owners were denying all along), and there would be a greatly expanded playoff...going to 16 teams from the current 10. Originally, expanded playoffs were to include 14 teams. In return, the players would agree to not filing any grievances against the owners about their reduced salaries due to the limited number of games.

Despite this great nugget of news that may bring us baseball at Oracle Park in July, it all stems on player safety and the hopes that the nation will not shut down again due to a second wave of the corona virus. We are already seeing many states spike in cases due to re-opening, and that is cause for concern.

Also, these events have impacts on sports betting. You can find our sponsor's (Sports Betting Dime) betting section here, has the odds for the MLB season to be played went from -300 to -165 after Manfred's statement yesterday. 

We also recap the seven players the Giants took in the draft, the Oracle Park bullpens are done, and sadly, Cy Young Award winner Mike McCormick passed away this week.

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Things are tough in the nation right now. From the pandemic to civil unrest, there are many more important things happening than a podcast about baseball and the Giants. Yet, Eric and I decided to go ahead with our recording, as we only do so every two weeks at this point. Perhaps our conversation can be a distraction from these troubling times.

There have been a few developments in the negotiations between the owners and players, but both sides seem to have their feet planted firmly. The owners want to pay the players much less than previously agreed to, with fewer games played, and the players want a prorated salary and more games. They are currently very far apart, and the chances of having a season seem to dwindle with every passing day. But, there is some hope that we'll see baseball some time this year. We also chat about Vegas reopening, bullpen completion and new dimensions at Oracle Park and more!

Chad
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