Pitchers Park Podcast - A San Francisco Giants Podcast

Wendy Thurm returns on the penultimate episode of the season to talk about what lies ahead for our favorite baseball team. But we also talk about what exactly went wrong this year and why 2016's weaknesses won't necessarily cause the 2017 season to start from behind.  Will new base coaches make a huge difference? Does the "final year" of Johnny Cueto's deal mean the Giants will treat the offseason...

KNBR and the Internet's Carmen Kiew brings her mega Giants fandom to this week's Chroncast to help Bryan and Doug breakdown the Giants-Cubs series and the season that was as well as look at what's next for San Francisco and everyone else still in the playoffs. We also try to figure out the biggest d-bags remaining in the playoff field. Is Bryce Harper the #1 seed? Jake Arrieta? Learn more about yo...

Despite a calamitous second half filled with failure and frustration, the Giants find themselves as the National League's second Wild Card. Recently, on this very podcast and on this very website, it's been said that this is the most dislikable Giants team in recent memory strictly because of their performance. Well now it's playoff time so we're all changing our tune, right? The Giants are good,...

You'll read many elegant tributes and tearful remembrances of Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez in the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime, Doug and I dedicate the opening of our show to exchanges our favorite memories of him and discussing his impact on the baseball world and what his loss serves to remind us of -- because death doesn't have to be the end of memories and those memories that...

The Giants get their first sweep of the second half and they finally have a memorable game in September that harkens back to successful seasons of yore. Do the next few weeks promise more of this sweeptastic Giants team or something more akin to the majority of the second half?  Meanwhile, Santiago Casilla's 8th blown save on Friday night means he's blown as many saves in a season for the Giants s...

You're probably wondering if we have any insights into the Giants' second half of doom, but the whole point of fandom, and in particular fan analysis (or fanalysis), is that there isn't any insight to be had, only educated guesses based on intense observation. To that end, we're looking at the Giants' collapse simply for what it is: losing. Lots and lots of losing. Does it matter why they're losin...

Doug's off this week, so it's Reuben who gets the start. It's our privilege to chat with Wendy Thurm from Sporting News. We cover the week that was -- the Giants nearly no-hit the Dodgers! -- and the week to come -- the Cubs might be so good that their goodness might very well be their undoing! -- and we answer some Twitter questions and consider the state of baseball writing in general.  What's w...

It's easy to lose perspective in the middle of a tailspin, but if you close your eyes and keep 'em shut real tight and tell yourself over and over again that the Giants are still in first place of the wild card, then you're sure to pull out of the spin. Okay, so maybe we don't know a whole lot about piloting aircraft and perhaps our advice was the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do in th...

The second half of the 2016 season hasn't been kind to our favorite baseballing squadron and there's no guarantee that their bad luck and bad play will "balance out" before the season ends. And yet, they're still in first place. Playoff hopes spring eternal. We look at what's gone right and wrong over this stretch that's seen the Giants lose a league-leading 18 out of 27 games and from that mess w...

The Giants go another week without losing the lead in the division despite their Second Half Stumble. That's the good news. Well, there's other good news, but first the really bad news. The Giants made trades. Lots of trades. And it cost them a lot in terms of players. Quantity and quality. And Matt Duffy, a shining beacon of scrappy hope, the hot corner of a homegrown infield. But alas... that is...

The Giants have their worst week of the season, a 1-7 run following the All-Star Game. But they're still in first place! They still have one of the best records in baseball! There's still awhole lot of talent on the team and time to turn it around! But it's also one of those things where the Giants have hit a bad stretch and you have to wonder if that run will stretch on for far too long. Will the...

The Giants were well-represented at this week's All-Star Game in San Diego, even though they were directly responsible for the National League's annihilation. We thought we'd recapture that same magic/trainwreck by making this week's show a group chat featuring some of the longest-tenured McCoven on the site. Learn how we all stumbled upon McCovey Chronicles! Learn what we think about some of the...

The Giants have the best record in baseball at the All-Star break and we're all very happy about that. Brandon Belt won vote for the final spot on the National League All-Star roster and we're all even happier about that. RIGHT? You had better be, because why not? Brandon Belt has come a long way. So, that just leaves the only real unpleasantness of the entire week: Brandon Crawford's omission. It...

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to complain about the All-Star Game selections, but after three world championships and an All-Giants 2012 All-Star Game, we could be forgiven for scrutinizing the glaring omissions of Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt from the festivities in San Diego. What gives with players around the league preferring Corey Seager to Brandon Crawford? He's won two world cha...

Wow, can you believe it? Thirty Chroncasts already. Where does the time go? Well, this week, it goes to discussing the Giants'  unlucky ace, Madison Bumgarner, whose two pitching losses equaled the Giants only two losses. But we also talk about how his dynamic presence at the plate as a hitter means his presence at this year's MLB Home Run Derby is *essential*. What are the Giants needs as the tra...

Minor Lines author Roger joins us to break down the Giants' 2016 draft, especially their #1 pick, switch-hitting outfielder Bryan Reynolds.  Was there an organizational philosophy at play with most of these picks, or was it simply "best available player"? Also, what kind of pitching depth might the new draftees provide? We also take a look at some of the burgeoning stars currently in the Giants' s...

We're back after a brief hiatus, and wouldn't you know it, the Giants are doing quite well for themselves. What June Swoon?  We go over all the games, celebrate the the short life of Splash 69 and discuss this awful t-shirt worn by Doug (you can't see it on the syndication stream -- you'll have to go to McCovey Chronicles.com to witness it). We also answer your Twitter questions and, surprisingly,...

You don't really believe that as soon as the Giants enter the month of June they become a collection of moronic, untalented, reprehensible baseball players in name only, do you? Well, if you did, you'd have ample evidence to back up your feelings. Over the past several years, the Giants have been... suboptimal in the month of June. June 2016 has been no exception, and we're only 5 games deep! Does...

The Giants had another winning week against the Rockies and the Padres. Grant Brisbee descends from Mt. Bloglympus to talk about everything working and everything that isn't -- namely, Matt Duffy and Javier Lopez. There's also some consideration as to which historical Giant is a home brewer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 5-1 week, the Giants have now won 9 out of their last 10 games, including a Sunday Night Baseball game. We talk about the dominant stretch by the top three starters and the sudden -- and welcome -- emergence/return to form of Matt Cain as a viable major league baseball player. Is Matt Cain back? And more importantly, does Matt Cain's potential "he's back-ness" mean that trading for rotatio...

The Giants avenge getting swept at home by the Diamondbacks in a 4-game series last month by sweeping the Diamondbacks in Arizona this past week, led by a dominant turn through the Giants' 40%-beleaguered rotation.  Does Matt Cain's recent success mean he's back? Did Jake Peavy not bursting into flames in either of his past two starts mean he's become slightly less flammable going forward? Are eit...

The Giants won 4 and lost 4, and the way they lost those 4 were bad enough to make you forget about those 4 wins. But that's why we're here: to remind you of the good times. Want more good times? We talk about Willie Mays! He's great. He's nothing but a basket of good memories. Less great but worth discussing is the possible return of Tim Lincecum. Remember him? We also answer your Twitter questio...

The Giants end a 4-2 week on a high note by snapping the Mets' winning streak, but there are definitely some questions about the back of the rotation and the bullpen. Maybe the organization doesn't want to focus on that too much, but the near-traumatic impact of a Jake Peavy or Matt Cain start makes it difficult for us here at the ol' Chroncast to focus on anything else about the team. Just how lo...

The second week of the season didn't hit the highs of week one but man oh man did the Giants get hit hard in week two. But there are some things worth talking about, like... Jeff Samardzija! And Johnny Cueto! And... and, um... uh... Derek Law! And very little else. EXCEPT, joining us this week for an overview of the Giants' minor league system is our own Roger. You know him from Minor Lines right...

It's the regular season now, and that means I am going to start looking really, really stupid as all my really, really stupid predictions start to be really, really disproven.  Doug and I look back on a 5-2 week that featured two near-sweeps and an historically great Giants-Dodgers game. Like, an all-timer. And it was nearly a top-10 Caining.  We also examine Brandon Belt's contract extension (and...