Tony Vitello’s odd Blade Tidwell answer shows he doesn’t get current SF Giants assignment

The SF Giants lost to the Houston Astros on Monday night, yet there were some positives to take away from the game. Starting pitcher Blade Tidwell had a great outing but manager Tony Vitello made an odd comment after the game when asked why he pulled his starter.

Tidwell pitched 5 and 2/3 strong innings, allowing just one earned run on one walk and four hits with six strikeouts. Yet, Vitello opted to remove Tidwell in favor of reliever JT Brubaker with two outs in the sixth.

It made sense on some level because Tidwell had thrown 96 pitches, but this wasn’t a situation like the other day when Vitello removed Landen Roupp after he walked three batters in a row.

There were two runners on base when Tidwell was pulled but he had just struck out Jose Altuve and was set to face Taylor Trammell who Tidwell had retired the first two times he came up in the lineup.

Here was the reasoning Vitello gave when asked why he chose to remove Tidwell in favor of Brubaker when it could have been a learning opportunity for the young starter: “We're kinda out of room for learning points...we're trying to win ballgames.”

Sure, the team should obviously be trying to win games but letting Tidwell try to get out of that jam on his own is going to mean a lot more for the Giants going forward than letting Brubaker, who is going to be a free agent after the season, walk a batter and then get out of it without allowing any damage.

Tidwell has a chance to be a future member of San Francisco’s rotation. He should be given every chance to prove himself in those tight situations. Who cares if he gives up a three-run home run? This season is already a wash and even if he fails he will learn from it and apply the lesson going forward.

Best case scenario he records a strikeout to end the inning, boosts his confidence, and gives himself the belief he needs the next time he is in a tough spot like that.

Giants should give young players longer leash going forward

One is reminded of a game in late July back in 2024 between the Giants and Colorado Rockies. Hayden Birdsong was in a jam in the fifth inning and was around 100 pitches. He was a young pitcher and manager Bob Melvin could have easily brought in a reliever, but he let Birdsong battle and he struck out veteran Charlie Blackmon to end the inning and qualify for a win.

It’s not completely analogous, but it was an instance where a manager let his young pitcher go compete and finish an inning. That stuff matters more at this point. Vitello and the Giants had their chance to win games early this year and be competitive but they failed in that effort.

Now is the time to let the young guys get opportunities that will help their growth going forward so that should be Vitello’s goal going forward, not wins and losses in a season that was lost a long time ago. 

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