Things are going so bad for Tony Vitello in San Francisco that fans now think one of his coaches is actively sabotaging him
Former Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello is off to a dreadful start with the San Francisco Giants. Things are so bad, in fact, that some fans believe he’s being sabotaged by one of his own coaches.
To say that things are going bad for Tony Vitello and the San Francisco Giants would be an understatement.
The Giants have been one of the worst teams in MLB this season. They can’t score runs, and it seems like a new controversy is popping up every day.
And Vitello, who spent the previous eight seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols, looks more defeated each time he meets the media.
Is one of Tony Vitello’s coaches sabotaging him?
The latest controversy that Vitello is dealing with involves his third base coach Hector Borg, who is quickly developing a bad reputation.
Borg has had several inexplicably bad “send decisions” at third base this season, including a brutal gaffe on Wednesday during the Giants’ loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was such a bad send — shortstop Willy Adames was thrown out at home by a mile — that some folks in the San Francisco media are suggesting that Borg should be pulled off the field.
Adames’ odd post-game interview only added to the speculation that something is off with Borg.
If it was just that one mistake, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But Borg has been bad this season. Like, real bad.
Here’s a highlight reel of his mistakes (the Giants are among the league leaders in outs on the basepaths this season with 19…not good).
Maybe Borg is just not good at being a third base coach. Or maybe Borg is a baseball lifer who watched someone with zero big league experience get a manager’s job when he’s been grinding since 2004 — including lengthy stints in the Dominican Summer League — before getting a real chance in MLB. And maybe somewhere deep down, there’s some resentment toward Vitello because of that.
Again, maybe that’s not the case. Only Borg knows for sure. But I just don’t know how a third base coach is that bad at the big league level. It feels like something else is up.
Either way, it’s time for Vitello and the Giants to make a change at third base — there’s no reason a third base coach should be a national story for any MLB franchise.