Pro debut of new Giants manager Vitello, a losing one

 A story the other day pointed out how enthusiastically the Giants had bought into the philosophy of Tony Vitello, who before Wednesday had never managed a game in professional baseball, much less in the major leagues.

But as Vitello—and the rest of us—were reminded, there’s more to the game than understanding and enthusiasm.

Vitello’s debut as the unusual choice as manager of the San Francisco Giants hardly was what he or the franchise had envisioned when, a few months ago, he was hired off the University of Tennessee campus. The idea of General Manager Buster Posey was that Vitello, who had great success with undergraduates, would achieve similar success with the Giants. 

That eventually might take place, but the team’s first game with Vitello in charge was anything but a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees.  

A Giants-Yankees game belongs in the World Series, not the season opener. But since the majors have stepped away from tradition, maybe nothing makes sense anymore on the diamond. 

Other than the team with better pitching and better hitting will always win, as was the situation at Oracle Park on day one of San Francisco’s 2026 season.

We knew the Giants, as every other franchise, were not going to be undefeated in a 162-game schedule. With the hype and promotion, however, you believed they could at least make it through one game. Especially with All-Star Logan Webb pitching, but the Yankee power and Webb’s bewildering ineffectiveness had the Giants down 5-0 by the second inning. Adios.

Major League Baseball reportedly paid $80 million to have this game and a few others shown exclusively on Netflix, trying to persuade—force?—viewers to subscribe to the service.

If Bay Area fans were thus unable to watch unless they paid up, it might have been a blessing. 

There was skepticism among veteran baseball people when Posey and the Giants surprisingly selected Vitello. The game is one requiring skill, persistence, and experience. Then again, if you’re in the same league as the Dodgers and Shohei Otani, why not try a different approach?  Not that anything seems to work against the dreaded Dodgers. It is hard to say what was more discouraging on Wednesday, Webb, giving up nine hits in five innings, or the Giants recording only three hits, two off starter Max Fried.

Vitello did not attempt to gloss over the seemingly apparent problems of the Giants.

"Whichever phase you pick out,” said a forthright Vitello, “we just weren't as good as we're capable of being.”  

The capability may be the question mark. The Giants were virtually a .500 team in 2025, and you wonder with their personnel whether there will be much improvement. 

Even the manager pointed out the Giants were struggling with their baserunning, hitting, and—no question—pitching. 

The Giants-Yankees game started around 5:30 pm and ended around 8. By then, the Golden State Warriors already were on the court against the Washington Wizards at neighboring Chase Center.

Too much traffic, but at least some good news—the Warriors won. Unlike the Giants.