Vitello doesn't need to take blame for Giants' 0-2 start

Everything Tony Vitello says doesn’t require a deep-dive analysis.

Yes, we’re always in a heated search for the underlying meaning behind the smallest of verbiage, but it’ll be a long, long season if we drive down the route of nitpicking. Plus, he says too much for any media member or diehard fan to keep track of — or even care.

Every trembling breath and miniature movement that Vitello makes shouldn’t be placed under a microscope, nor should his usual word salads that feature obscure and oftentimes unrelated references.

No, San Francisco’s rookie manager — the professionally inexperienced one who became the first to ever jump straight to the helm of a big league dugout from the college level — shouldn’t lose his job after two games of underwhelming play from his team to open the regular season.

Despite getting shut out by the New York Yankees in both contests, the Giants still have lofty postseason aspirations and expectations with a core of highly-priced position players in their prime. Vitello’s big league virginity might’ve been erased this week, but an expected learning curve has yet to be climbed. There will be whacky pitching changes and questionable pinch-hit decisions that Giants’ fans will have to live with.

But he’s brand new to the big leagues — the brighter lights, the boujee dugouts, and the whole atmosphere of managing high-strung millionaires with families, not a roster of college kids he personally recruited with a few brain cells short.

And, of course, the media.

Following the Giants’ 3-0 loss at the hands of the Yankees on Friday afternoon, Vitello was peppered with questions from the Giants’ beat about why his offense hasn’t risen from their offseason-long slumber. Where has the energy snuck off to?

“I’d kind of put it on me a little bit,” Vitello told reporters after the game. “I got all fire and brimstone a few days ago and I think some good words were shared, but I also think as of right now it’s a little emotional in there and there are a lot of try-hards.”

Vitello is referring to a “fire and brimstone” speech that he gave to the Giants on Tuesday, a day before the Giants opened the MLB season against the Yankees in Netflix’s standalone Opening Night. He was under the impression that his words — apparently energetic as hell — might’ve stuck too much with his players, causing too much emotion and tension.

It was a puzzling description.

Quite dramatic, too.

The Giants certainly looked lifeless, especially offensively against New York’s ace Max Fried on Wednesday and young right-hander Cam Schlittler on Friday. But it’s — checks notes — a two-game sample size. There are quite a few more of these games that’ll be played, 160 of them. As the baseball adage says, it’s a marathon. Not a sprint.

Vitello’s postgame comments were lengthy enough that several players vacated the clubhouse before the media even made their entrance. The ones who stuck around pushed back on Vitello’s idea that emotions were running hot.

“We’re all major-league players,” said Robbie Ray, Wednesday’s starter who fired 5 ⅓ innings and allowed two earned runs. “We can handle the ups and downs. It’s one of those things that happened the first two games. It’s not ideal, but you’ve got 160 games left, so what are you gonna do with it?”

Patrick Bailey, Webb’s batterymate, echoed those thoughts by saying the players are responsible for their play. He was baffled when asked for a second time about the lack of offensive production, and if pressing was present at the plate.

“We play 162 games,” Bailey said. “Can you guys relax? I know you have to write your stories, but let’s relax a little bit, all right?”

He’s right.

And Vitello will be fine.

It’s not the end of the world, but perhaps a reminder for the first-year manager to pump the brakes — nobody is getting axed after two games. He’s their choice for manager, and deserves a crack at it.

But again, the dramatic statements with blame attached — when blame simply doesn’t exist yet — to himself is only hurting his still-developing image and trust with Giants’ fans. If Vitello is blaming himself on Day 2, what will the middle of July look like?

These faux pas and slip-ups are bound to happen and Vitello will — should — learn from them. But for now, he should r-e-l-a-x.