There wasn’t much to manage as the Giants were swept by the Yankees to open the season. But when moments did arrive, passivity followed.
San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman, second from left, Harrison Bader, and manager Tony Vitello , among others, look on as Heliot Ramos bats against the New York Yankees in the ninth inning of their Opening Night MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif.
, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. The Giants lost 7–0 in Vitello’s MLB debut as manager. It was a charming, baseball-guy quote and a sly nod to his lack of any professional baseball experience.What stood out in Tony Vitello’s first series as SF Giants’ manager?SF Giants flat again in Opening Day loss, shut out in second straight game to open seasonBecause Giants are the ones paying Vitello more than good money — he’s believed to be the highest-paid first-time manager in baseball history — and if the first three games of the season are any indication, they’re paying him to just sit around and watch the Giants “work.”It was just one game after the Opening Night debacle. It was just two games after a miserable one-hit dud on Friday. And it was just one series after a brutal sweep, scoring just a single run across three games against an impressive Yankees team.After Game 2, the rookie skipper actually wondered aloud if he got his guys “too fired up” before the series. It was a genuinely hilarious notion, given that he was hired in large part to counter Bob Melvin’s famously phlegmatic management style. But wait, too fired up? Where exactly was that blazing inferno of passion on the diamond? I won’t pretend to have watched every single agonizing inning without blinking, but did I somehow miss a sudden solar flare of positivity and excitement when I switched from the TV broadcast to the radio feed?What stood out in Tony Vitello’s first series as SF Giants’ manager?More than just Forever Giants have gone through San Francisco to CooperstownI don’t expect a manager to magically turn around an entire organization in three regular-season games. Is it crazy for me to expect him to actually do something? Games 1 and 2 provided little opportunity for managerial input. The lineup — which these days is unquestionably a collaborative effort — stank out loud. But it isn’t like Vitello had much to do beyond the obvious while getting blown out on Wednesday and Friday. But Saturday’s Game 3? Well, that was actually a competitive game for a few fleeting moments. And Vitello was just sitting there, getting paid good money to watch it happen. I want to give the guy some grace; there’s a requisite feeling-out period to any new gig. But at some point, you have to do something. Saturday seemed like a good day for that. Instead, Vitello decided not to pitch around Aaron Judge with the bases empty and lefty specialist Ryan Borucki on the mound in the fifth inning. It was a decision that was deeply questionable in the moment, to say the very least. Righties boast an .848 OPS against Borucki in his career; lefties are at .524. With two left-handers waiting behind Judge in the lineup, you don’t give Judge a thing to hit. Instead, Vitello watched Judge dent a parked ambulance with a no-doubt home run off a batting practice fastball.Two innings later, Vitello watched again as the Yankees brought in lefty reliever Tim Hill to face Jung Hoo Lee. Lee carries a career .596 OPS against lefties. But despite the Giants’ bench being stocked entirely with righties — including Jerar Encarnacion, who can ostensibly play the corner outfield in a pinch — Vitello sat on his hands and watched Lee strike out on three pitches. It’s so easy to question these decisions in hindsight, and it’s especially easy after three frustrating, futile losses. Being a manager is hard; being a blowhard columnist after a series that brought national indignity to the local nine is easy.Only one of the two is forgivable over the long run, and it’s not the former. It’s just three games — Vitello’s first three games. The Yankees came at the Giants with a wicked 1-2 at the top of their rotation, a hell of a pitcher in Will Warren to follow, a bullpen that is buck nasty, and, oh yeah, Judge, Bellinger, and Stanton in the middle of the lineup.But for someone who was already coming into the job with plenty of skepticism, leading a roster flawed enough to add premium fuel to that fire, has a second series of the season ever felt this desperately important?The Giants wanted V-Ball. Brash, confident, possibly irreverent, and out there, looking to make life hell for everyone who played San Francisco.Dear Abby: I'd barely moved in when this debris got thrown into my yardAsking Eric: Since I found the pictures of my wife, a new worry is gnawing at meWhat stood out in Tony Vitello's first series as SF Giants' manager?DA clears relative who killed rapper Lil Toro in Concord confrontationHarriette Cole: How can I possibly have this conversation with my new boyfriend?
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