Analyzing Tony Vitello's early Giants season bench management
On "Giants Talk," co-hosts Cole Kuiper and Alex Pavlovic discuss how Tony Vitello could get more out of his bench this season.
Analyzing Tony Vitello's early Giants season bench management originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
It's easy to look at this game and go, "Willy was O for five, struck out three times."
Like he needed the day off after, at the end of all this, and he's played every game.
It's also hard when you're like trying to go for a sweep on a Sunday morning, and you know you have a day off on Monday to tell that guy like, "Hey, you need a day off."
Um- Yeah so I, but I think in general, there have been other times where he could find, he could find breathers for these guys, and I think the important point here is that he has basically iced his bench.
Like, there's only so much you can do in batting practice in You know, they try to simulate things as much as they can.
I don't know how many people have seen like the last few years, like you can take BP basically off of like a simulation of a pitcher.
Um- It's fascinating.
Yeah.
So you can simulate that as much as you can.
There's no substitute for actually getting on the field every once in a while.
Mm-hmm.
And I came into this game with Bruce Bochy, who was very aware of like, "Hey, so and so just hasn't played in a few days-" Mm-hmm and just needs, needs to like get out there and get some swings in.
And even if it's not You know, there were, there was a lot of left right stuff with like the Brandon's, but also there was an element of like, "Hey, Joaquin Arias just hasn't played in a while."
Mm-hmm.
Like he just needs to, he just needs to play.
so I, I think that's the importance here.
Christian Costa has seven at bats all year.
Four of them were in Baltimore after Arias got hurt.
So really if you take that injury out, like has barely been in the plans here.
didn't play in Cincinnati, didn't play in Washington.
They've put him on ice, and at some point they're gonna need him in like the eighth inning against like Tanner Scott or something.
And it's like, "Hey, we know you haven't played in a month."
and it's also just not great like use of your roster.
If you're gonna do that, just have a third catcher, so you can use- Yeah Sulak more often.
so I don't love that, and then I also think there have been a couple times where I would've hit for a lefty.
I, I think, you know, Drew Gilbert's two for 23 in his career against lefties.
he faced one in extra innings on Saturday, I think.
He faced one today in, in the ninth inning.
popped up on the first pitch, I think, right?
At- Yeah.
It was- At I, I was surprised he was cut swinging that fast on, yeah.
Yeah.
And like there are, I You know, there are times where there are moves they can make, whether it's Girard or Cost.
And, and now you have Will Brennan here too, so you can, you do have that extra glove, like if you don't want Girard to then be on defense in a close game.
Mm-hmm.
So, I That is, I think, a very fair criticism of, of him so far, and that might just be like, you know, the start here.
He's gonna have to figure that out, because, you can't get through a whole season with like this many guys playing this many innings.
It's just, we just see it.
Like, you have to at some point give these guys a breather, and at some point you have to get your bench involved as well.
