By Brian Murphy
The Jock Blog spent last week bitching and moaning about Netflix, and the Giants went 2-3 in the post-Netflix era as they start a seven-game homestead Thursday night, so what can we bitch and moan about now?
I know, I know — Casey Schmitt at first base, right?
How about we refrain from the bitch and moan mode and study some of new manager Tony Vitello’s tendencies so we can begin to learn what Giants baseball will look like under the college kid-turned-John McGraw.
New slogan: You Gotta Like These Regular Lineup Kids.
Whether it’s Buster Posey’s edict, or Tony V is a man of routine, the Giants made news by spending the first seven games starting the exact same position players at the exact same defensive spots. It’s a team of Cal Ripken, Juniors.
Heliot Ramos in left. Harrison Bader in center. Jung Hoo Lee in right. Rafael Devers at DH. Patrick Bailey in the crouch. Matt Chapman at third. Willy Adames at short. Luis Arraez at second. And the aforementioned Schmitt at first, until further notice.
Against a left-hander. Against a right-hander. At home. On the road. On a Sunday. On a Monday. In a night game. And a day game. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
(Wordsmiths have noted that such shampoo phrasing means, literally, that you would never stop washing your hair.)
They say eating fiber will make you regular, but fiber has nothing on Tony V and a lineup card.
It’s only seven games, and Dan Susac will start at catcher in the opener against the Mets, but still. Buster and Zack Minasian and their skipper Vitello are hellbent on giving Giants fans something they can count on — even if 2/3 of the crew is on the interstate at the plate.
By way of comparison, in the first seven games of 2023, when Gabe Kapler and Farhan Zaidi were running the show (and in fairness, Minasian was around), you’d already seen LaMonte Wade, Jr., J.D. Davis and David Villar at first base, Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford at shortstop and already seen Blake Sabol in left field, at first base and at catcher. Round and round she goes, where the defensive lineup stopped, nobody knows. The Giants went 3-4 in those first seven, for what it’s worth.
Clearly, lineup regularity is a priority for the Tony V Giants, even if it means Christian Koss, Jerar Encarnacion and Jared Oliva (and to a lesser extent, Susac) need to be dusted for cobwebs every 48 hours. What does this mean for you, the Giants fan? For one, you can buy a jersey at the team store with some degree of confidence. And two, these guys better hit a lot better in the coming weeks, or it’s going to be a lineup of regular dudes drowning below the Mendoza Line.
Other evidence indicates Tony V is more old school than new, including his lengthy leash of trust extended to Logan Webb on Monday night. Despite a turbulent third inning that included back-to-back walks, three runs plated by the Padres and a climbing pitch count, Vitello said the heck with the “third time through” crowd and let Webb crest 100 pitches and finish six innings. Holy 20th century starting pitching, Batman. Then again, Webb has proven through Bruce Bochy, Kapler and now Vitello to be one of the more reliable dudes in orange and black, so Vitello’s trust was well-placed. The Giants won, and Tony V and Webb grew a little closer.
The first two weeks of Tony V’s MLB life is a meat grinder. The big money Yankees swept his squad, and while the Giants regained footing with a series win at San Diego, here come the absolutely stacked Mets and Phillies lineups. In Tony V’s first four series, he’s facing three of MLB’s top four payrolls.
His answer is to run out his “guys” and keep tinkering to a minimum. The rest is up to his guys to reward the new guy’s faith.
