Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Baseball Podcast
Updated 3 times a week on TheSportsVirus.com!
Our regular guest John Shea from the San Francisco Chronicle joins us to talk about Bruce Bochy, Matt Cain, the Giants bullpen and the left field situation in part 1 of our conversation.
Shea talked to The Sports Virus about Matt Cain’s hold on the #5 spot in the rotation: …“If they can find somebody better and Cain is struggling in May and June I’m sure they will. They’re not going to go on with his struggles forever. But, at the same time I think the last two starts by him have shown that maybe he is able to win and get outs with 88, 90, 91 miles per hour.”
We talk about the Giants Wild Card win over the Mets and look ahead to the NLDS against the Cubs with SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea.
Shea talked to The Sports Virus about the Giants unlikely October heroes:
… “Cody Ross in ’10, (Marco) Scutaro in ’12, (Travis) Ishikawa in ’14, now we have (Conor) Gillaspie in ’16. I mean, he was DEEP down on the depth chart at third base.”
We talk about the Giants struggles against the Padres, dealing with injuries to Brandon Crawford and Johnny Cueto and the end of the great career of Dodgers announcer Vin Scully with SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea.
Shea talked to The Sports Virus about the injuries to Brandon Crawford and Johnny Cueto against the Dodgers:
… “It’s just the wrong time for this to happen… It’s just not great for moral, not an emotional boost when you lose two key figures like that. But, on the positive side, neither is supposed to miss much time.”
After two more blown saves on the recent homestand against San Diego and St. Louis, it’s time for more Giants closer talk with SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea.
Shea examined the current closer situation with The Sports Virus:
… “I wish (Bruce) Bochy would have trusted Joe Nathan a little bit more a little bit earlier. Now he’s just kinda throwing darts against a wall and hope Derek Law sticks or (Hunter) Strickland comes back and sticks.”
We talk about the Giants offensive frustration with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 2 of our conversation.
Shea tells The Sports Virus about anger on field:
… “They’re not handling it well because they’re not bouncing back from being in a hole. They’re not digging themselves out…(Eduardo) Nunez just rockets a ball to third base for the third out. So, he throws down his helmet. He kicks his helmet…(Buster) Posey threw a bat about 30 yards late in the game Sunday. He grounded sharply to shortstop, right at the guy and he just fired it towards the Giants dugout. The frustration angle is hitting everybody on this team.”
We talk about the Giants series in Chicago with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 1 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus if the Giants might replace Santiago Casilla with Joe Nathan as the closer:
… “Joe Nathan looked really good Sunday and Santiago Casilla looked really bad Sunday. It’s easy to say, ‘just put in Nathan.’ Well, Nathan hasn’t really closed for awhile, he’s coming off his second Tommy John surgery, he’s 41. But, then again, look at Sunday. When you compare those guys who do you feel more comfortable with? I think this team would have a lot more confidence with Joe Nathan.”
We talk about clubhouse chemistry with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 2 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus also talked to Shea about how the Giants trade deadline deals for Matt Moore, Will Smith and Eduardo Nunez are working out so far:
… “I think they would have pulled the trigger on all three (trades) if they had to do it all over again. It’s all about those guys progressing and performing and producing. The front office did its part. They all have track records of succeeding.”
We talk about the Giants loss to the Dodgers in game 1 of their key series in LA with our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea in part 1 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus talked to Shea about the Dodgers overtaking the Giants in the standings:
… “Everybody stepped up…What have they had, 12, 13 starters this year? They’ve done just well enough to pull this crazy thing off.”
We talk about the Giants bullpen and the return of Hunter Pence as our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea joins us in part 2 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus talked to Shea about Jake Peavy moving to the bullpen:
… “You have to acknowledge he did it without a fight. On the other hand, is he suitable for that? I don’t know. (Barry) Zito wasn’t. (Tim) Hudson wasn’t. A lot of these guys at the end of the line are moved to the bullpen and everyone expects them to be in their prime again, like (Tim) Lincecum in 2012, just a super-duper reliever. It’s not that easy. It’s a whole different rhythm, a whole different timetable. You never know when you’re going to get called to pitch in a game…It’s a completely different lifestyle.”
We talk about the second half of the season for the Giants as our regular guest SF Chronicle Columnist John Shea joins us from San Diego in part 2 of our conversation.
The Sports Virus talked to Shea about San Francisco bench players coming through this season:
… “When (Hunter) Pence was lost last year the Giants were done. It was over. They never recovered from that. This year they lose him and don’t miss a beat and just roll into the All Star break…I think (Bruce) Bochy has a lot to do with this. It’s one of his best managerial efforts.”
<Connect With Us On Social 
Media>
