The McCovey Chroncast

First, it's important to remember that the views presented on the McCovey Chroncast do not reflect the views of Grant Brisbee, SB Nation, Vox Media, most of the commenters on this site, or (and especially) the San Francisco Giants... Now that that's out of the way... I'm back. And, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that I am at it again. Yes, I, the most negative human being ever born, have used portions of this podcast to be negative about the San Francisco Giants organization... in the form of swears. Don't worry, they're bleeped swears -- it's just one word in particular, used repeateldly -- and only directed at certain individuals in the abstract, as in, "this is what I say to people in the organization who want to use their second best hitter as a scapegoat for one of the worst seasons in franchise history." So, take from that what you will. But, beyond that, be prepared for the first 10 minutes or so to just be a lot of me talking at Sami and Doug as I catch myself up on the Giants after a long absence and finally get a platform to exhaust my dumb ideas. Oh, and there was a sound problem on my end regarding Sami & Doug's signal, so, they will sound a little soft. Also also, my new kitten is playing with her ball in the background for the first few minutes, if you're wondering what that batted ball sound in the background is all about. She never plays with that ball. She waited until I started recording. Haha, cats. They're the worst.  We also your Twitter questions, which all, conveniently, were variations on the same question. Oh, but before that, we try to figure out just where Tim Lincecum might be, since nobody can seem to find him.

This week, Sami and guest-host Joanne discuss Ryan Vogelsong’s triumphant return to the Bay Area to retire as a Giant. They defend his Giants' legacy against callous national writers who just don’t get it, as well as plotting a similar return for other Forever Giants. They also discuss the late-night shenanigans of the win over the Dodgers last week, as well as digging into some playoff expectations. Will the Giants make things difficult for the Rockies? Will they get a single win against the Dodgers? Odds are, no. But that doesn’t stop them from hoping! Even if everyone has long since stopped believing.

The Dodgers are coming to town, so this week, Sami and Doug talk about how bad the Dodgers have been lately to distract themselves from how bad the Giants have been this whole year, and to try to get everyone hyped up for the series. And it worked! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Will the Dodgers get to 100 wins? Will the Giants get to 100 losses? These are the hard-hitting questions facing 2017 Giants fans. Also, does Bruce Bochy hate Mac Williamson? Doug thinks so. And Sami continues to bemoan the lack home series against the Dodgers on weekends. Pablo’s hit-less streak was ended and the Giants even won two games. It’s better than the Dodgers’ week so we’ll take it. 

In this Labor Day edition of the McCovey Chroncast, Sami and Doug talk about the varying levels of suck associated with the San Francisco Giants. But also, some good things! Like Gorkys Hernandez’s defense and Madison Bumgarner’s home run. But then there are the bullpen implosions, injury updates and under-performing offense. It’s a mixed bag, really, but Doug comes through with a great recap of the thrilling Labor Day victory for the Sacramento River Cats' final game of the season! And, as always, we hear from you, the very much appreciated listeners!

To the surprise of no one, the San Francisco Giants were eliminated from contention in the National League West this weekend. Some hoped they'd last a little bit longer, others were ready for the inevitable. This week, Sami and Doug discuss the week that was, including the split series with the Phillies and a little bit of Hunter Strickland schadenfreude, and we answer a lot of your questions about the present and future of this terrible, terrible team. 

This week, Sami and Doug take a look back on what turned out to be a pretty successful and eventful week for the San Francisco Giants. We saw an injury to Brandon Belt, a triumphant return for Jarrett Parker, Ty Blach’s homer, George Kontos getting claimed off of waivers and a Panda reunion. Some good, some bad, but the Giants won four of the last seven games, so we will take it. Get better soon, Brandon. Wait, scratch that - just get better. No matter how long it takes you. You’re not missing much.

This week, we chat with Lana Berry about this weekend's Giants vs. Dodgers series and the Dodgers playoff hopes. Meanwhile, Sami and Doug discuss the continued fecklessness of the San Francisco Giants: including the trade of Eduardo Nunez, a possible return of Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt's misadventures in base-running, and the looming trade deadline. The Dodgers are very good and the Giants are not. It's a lot of fun for the whole family.   

If you ignore their record, the Giants are playing like a very good team right now with plenty to be excited about. While you care for your frightened dog(s), barbecue various meats, and enjoy America's independence from the Brits, join us as we bask in the good times of a six-game winning streak, the found money quality of new closer Sam Dyson, the coolness of Jae-gyun Hwang, and the fact that Buster Posey is, once again, America's starting catcher.  Has the mood changed with the Giants because of Ken Rosenthal's infamous report on the attitudes inside the clubhouse? Are we truly living in a Mouse Turds Era? Do you think anyone misheard "mouse turd" as "mustard"? Meanwhile, what's going on with the Giants' bullpen in general? We also answer your Twitter questions.  

Sixty episodes! Who would've thought we'd make it this far? Neither Doug nor I did, mainly because I am one of the main components of the entire endeavor, and this week will remind you why I'm such a liability: deep into the 'cast there's ~political discussion~. You might say, "Hey dingus, stick to baseball!" and we are sticking to baseball as this particular political discussion relates directly to the Giants. Before all that, though, we talk about how Barry Bonds should be on the air to tell more stories, where it all went wrong for the Giants, what we as fans can do to stomach the rest of this season, and fathom what the Giants might do in 2017 and beyond to right the ship. There are no easy answers, of course, and so like the team, we try to keep it interesting. We also play a quick game and answer your Twitter questions.  

Doug is off this week so instead it's just me and Roger talking prospects, the current state of the farm system, the current state of the international development, and Austin Slater's swing.  You can find our Minor Lines expert giving an in depth analysis of the Giants' top six picks in this year's draft and how it was both an atypical draft for the organization but also an exciting one. And what's the deal with the Giants' minor league system? Is it as much of a barren wasteland as it appears? And what are scouts around the league saying about the Giants? I'm an insecure fan and I need to know.

This is not, not, not, not an hour-long conversation about the beauty of Golden State Warriors basketball. Just wanted to get that out of the way right up front. There will be no references to Steph Curry's jumper or Klay Thompson's defense or Draymond Green's energy or Kevin Durant's completely dominant game or how they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and won a championship *in the Bay Area* for the first time in something, like. 40 years. But at least my writing all this stuff made you think about all that instead of the Giants for any extra time than was necessary. Because, you know, the Giants are still a thing. We *do* talk about how being a casual to intense fanatic of baseball does offer you some refuge during a long losing season, better than the other sports, in that there are other things to look forward to and focus on as the year slogs on. In this week's case, there's the MLB Draft, which Doug and I know very little about, *but* it's exciting to talk about nonetheless. We also discuss the goals of any organization as it relates to winning and losing and keeping Hunter Strickland around. And, of course, we answer your sharp Twitter questions.

The Giants are, of course, famously bad and unlikely to get better soon. What does that mean for the Chroncast? We think the franchise’s descent into Rebuilding Mode will bring about some of our best work, actually. And this week is definitely proof of that concept. I go in on Hunter Strickland, Doug comes up with an idea to monetize the podcast that will net him a million dollars, we come up with some truly exquisite punishments for various Giants players for being so bad and/or selfish, and, as always, we answer your Twitter questions.  Some additional warning: there are more swears than usual in this week’s episode, but no F words. 

We pack a lot into this week's hour and hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. First up, it turns out Buster Posey has beef with Brandon Belt. We get to the bottom of it without forgetting to stop to reflect on the Giants taking 2 out of 3 in St. Louis against Baseball's Greatest Team, the Cardinals. Always a pleasure to watch those wins. We also follow up on our trade proposal segment from a couple of episodes back: since the 2017 Giants are toast, how can they improve the team going forward? I nominated Joe Panik to be the player the Giants try to trade for prospects while Doug pitched Mark Melancon. Do you agree with our suggestions and/or rationale (probably not, and we're both definitely way wrong about what will actually happen, but it's fun to pose the question in this particular forum: an article on the site you're unlikely to read in the course of going to stream the latest Chroncast)? We also look ahead to this week's big series in Chicago, where the Giants will be helping the Cubs regain their mojo.  But most importantly, we bring back our Game segment and this week we've got a really fun one with some terrific answers. And, of course, we answer your Twitter questions. Oh, and one last thing: during the part of the podcast where we talk about who might play Buster Posey and Brandon Belt in a season of FX's Feud, I completely forgot -- despite specifically making a note to mention it -- that Uproxx's Brian Grubb had already submitted the best idea for how to cast each season of Feud on FX and so I must mention here because after you read the Grubb article, I think you'll agree that he's got the right idea.   

It should come as no surprise that the Buster Posey Death Watch has watched anything but the death of Buster Posey's baseball career. He's still pretty good! And he's hitting for more power than most Giants, which I think you'd agree are still struggling as a whole to hit for team power. We also look ahead at the Giants potentially bright future with their outfield. There are some interesting prospects down on the farm, so interesting, in fact, that following them might just be the best distraction from, you know... what's going on at the major league level. We also answer to excellent Twitter questions this week.

There's no logical explanation for the Bay Area media's intense scrutiny of Giants' first baseman Brandon Belt when the entire organization is currently in the midst of its worst start ever and every single player not named Brandon Belt (or Buster Posey) is performing well below the caliber of a Major League Baseball player, so we decide to come up with additional irrational reasons to dislike the guy. #BeltBash is all the rage and we here at the McCovey Chroncast didn't want to miss out on the fun. And you won't want to miss out on the fun that comes from our *two* guests this week, both from the site -- skyblue17 (Joanne) and sami. (Sami Higgins)! They get in on the #BeltBash, too, but also talk about their Giants fandom and what attracted them to this wacky website in the first place.  We also reflect on the career of Tim Lincecum, which really raised the question, "Is it better to burnout or fade away?" Also, last week was Willie Mays' birthday. We celebrate it in our own special way. And finally, as always, we answer your Twitter questions, but this week, we field the best #BeltBash from Twitter, too. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, we begin our proposals for rebuilding the Giants. You won't want to miss that discussion, unless you're steadfastily against the idea of the Giants tearing it all down, in which case, you'll still want to hate hear what we have to say about the Giants' new direction