Giants manager Tony Vitello blamed himself for some of the decisions that went south in Thursday’s doubleheader sweep in Philadelphia.
Derik Hamilton/Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — General manager Zack Minasian wasn’t in Philadelphia for the San Francisco Giants’ horror show of a series, which included two walk-off losses in one day Thursday, but he felt the pain just as deeply as the players, staff and fans.
While some executives might wave away fan and media criticism for a rough series, even after getting shut out in the opener and giving away not one but two games of a doubleheader, Minasian gets the dissatisfaction with how this week unfolded going into Friday’s game at Tropicana Field.
“I wouldn’t want to tell anyone else how to think, I think everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and anyone who invests their time in this organization, I’m always going to have respect for that,” Minasian said of the high level of fan outrage this week. “I try not to make too much out of three games, that’s a small sample. I wish I was thick-skinned enough to say I don’t worry about it, but I think it’s just the nature of these positions. You’re always wanting to do better as a front office. We always want to make a positive impact. But I think a lot of it goes back to the fact that there is preparation, a lot of hard work and you just hope and are confident that things will turn.”
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How much input did the front office have in the big downer in Philly? Well, the front office and the analytics department are part of most conversations about strategy and lineups and planning. The front office is making the final decisions when it comes to personnel matters, such as adding Trevor McDonald as the extra player for the doubleheader Thursday.
That move is related to one of decisions that’s come in for some scrutiny: starting Adrian Houser in Game 2 rather than going with a bullpen game while an extra pitcher was on site. Using both Logan Webb and Houser on one day means that on Monday the club will have to call up a starter — there’s a strong chance it will be Carson Whisenhunt — to pitch against the Padres.
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“I think you go through every game and there’s conversations with the coaching staff on what’s best, short term, long term,” Minasian said. “We’ll always go back and review it, ‘Should this type of thing come up again, would we do it differently?’ It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback, but just because something doesn’t work out doesn’t mean it was the wrong thing to do. And sometimes some things work out that aren’t necessarily the right thing to do, so we have to constantly critique ourselves, stress-test our decisions and every individual, just making sure they’re doing everything they can do to help win games.”
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Is this an indication that there might be some changes afoot after a horrendous series and a lackluster 13-18 first month to the Giants’ season? The bullpen had been a real bright spot much of the way, unexpectedly so. Two blown saves in one day isn’t going to cause much of a shuffle.
“I give those guys a ton of credit,” Minasian said of the bullpen. “I think manager Tony (Vitello)’s done a great job, and I think he’s still trying to determine should we have these roles defined exactly? I think he would like to get to that.
“It’s a relatively inexperienced group. We’re asking them to step up, and they’ve stepped up, and more often than not, they’ve done a good job. There’s no way around it, you go into two games in the same day with the lead in the ninth inning and lose, it’s a tough pill to swallow. I think it’s a resilient group and still think that they’re going to improve.”
Giants manager Tony Vitello listens to general manager Zack Minasian during Vitello’s introductory news conference at Oracle Park in October. Minasian flew to Florida for the start of the series with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
When asked about the relievers’ nebulous roles and whether there might be fallout from Thursday, Vitello said, “I think those guys have been good for us. I think there are some guys that have solidified themselves in terms of being capable of getting us out of a jam or thrown into certain situations. Obviously, sometimes you lean towards matchups. All knowledge pushing forward is good knowledge.”
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One of the few bright spots that came out of Thursday’s games was Caleb Kilian’s continued strong work in relief. He’s positioning himself for more work in the late going.
“I’d trust him in any jam,” Vitello said. “He can get you three outs, and he can get you more than three outs.”
Vitello pointed to his own decision-making after Thursday’s games, but he’s not the only inexperienced member of the coaching staff. The front office was well aware that there would be bumps, especially early.
“I think Tony’s been great, the staff’s been great,” Minasian said. “Obviously, I wish we had more wins. Yesterday was a tough day, but it felt like the first week, 10 days was really tough. Then we started to play more up to who we all thought we were.
“You go into Philly and you have a rough series; it happens. I think guys are prepared. I think Tony’s formed a really good bond with the players, and I think everyone’s working together. There are peaks and valleys to every season. Hopefully, this is a valley and after that comes the peak.”
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Minasian said there is no timeline when it comes to becoming a big-league manager; he has worked with many of all experience levels in Texas, Milwaukee and now San Francisco. He noted every game has its own set of challenges and good managers never stop learning.
“Tony’s been great to work with,” Minasian said. “This means the world to him. I think you can see it. You can hear it in his voice, and I think he’s ready to win more and more games, and that’s his expectation.”
The front office, perhaps, might have pursued more sure-thing rotation options in the offseason. Tyler Mahle has been good in some starts, more vulnerable in others. Until righting himself after two quick homers Thursday, Houser has had an especially tough go of it, posting a 7.12 ERA after six starts.
“Hopefully there are some things that we’re able to help Houser out with that are going to help him in the long term,” Minasian said, “And Tyler was great against the Dodgers. He had a good start against the Phillies. … I think those two guys would be the first to tell you that their expectation is to be better than they’ve been and we feel like they can. I think their physical ability, from their velocity and some of the movement shapes on their stuff, those things all check the box. It’s just executing, tightening some things up and then just continuing to play good defense behind them.”