Tony Vitello has Giants fans upset with him and it’s because of former Tennessee Vols outfielder Drew Gilbert
San Francisco Giants fans seemingly find a reason every day to be upset with manager Tony Vitello, who is in his first season with the team after eight eight seasons as Tennessee baseball’s head coach.
San Francisco Giants fans seem to find a new reason every day to be upset with manager Tony Vitello.
And Monday was no different.
Giants fans were miffed with Vitello on Monday night during a 16-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers because the former Tennessee head coach pinch hit former Vols outfielder Drew Gilbert for rookie Jonah Cox in the fifth inning with San Francisco down by six runs.
Cox was just called up from Double-A over the weekend.
Fans felt that Cox, who had been red hot in the minor leagues, should’ve received more than one at bat in the game.
Tony Vitello confirmed that Jonah Cox was not taken out of the game because of injury
There was some speculation during the game that Vitello took Cox out for Gilbert because of injury.
Vitello, though, confirmed after the game that Cox wasn’t taken out of the game because of injury.
Instead, Vitello was simply trying to create a spark with his team down six runs.
“No, he wasn’t (banged up),” said Vitello after the loss. “Obviously, it (pinch hitting for Cox) came a lot quicker than we thought it would. But playing behind there and hoping to get the leadoff man on and punch back as quick as possible with what the score was.”
Gilbert, who is hitting .231 with a .659 OPS, went 0-for-3 in his three at bats afer coming into the game for Cox.
At this point, it feels like nothing is going right for Vitello in the big leagues. The Giants have one of the worst records in baseball, and there are no signs that the franchise is on the verge of a turnaround this season under Vitello.
It’s safe to say that Giants fans are growing restless with the state of the team under the former Tennessee coach.