Rookie manager Tony Vitello has attempted to shift the San Francisco Giants' focus toward a more positive second half of the season, but he has cautioned against viewing the upcoming All-Star break as a true reset for the team's abysmal performance. As of Monday, the Giants stood 15 games below .500 with a 37-52 record.
"With the way the first half has gone, it’d be great if the All-Star break actually split the season in half," Vitello said. "You might as well divide the season into halves and make sure we have a positive second half. Where that leaves us when you combine the two, you don’t have much control over it. But what’s in the past is in the past."
Vitello's message was delivered during a team meeting at Coors Field, intended to acknowledge the team's two All-Stars, Logan Webb and Luis Arraez. "He said something good the other day," Webb commented. "I think we were at the midway point and to try to sort of pretend like the first half didn’t happen, which obviously you can’t. But try to. Pretend you’re restarting the season a little bit. You’ve just got to put your head down and work and hope things will turn around."
The team showed a brief response, playing one of its cleaner games against the Colorado Rockies later that evening. However, this momentum proved fleeting. "I think the entire first half, we’ve kind of been looking around, like trying to place our finger on, OK, how’s our offense doing well, how is the pitching doing well, and we can’t seem to put together wins?" catcher Eric Haase stated. "I think it was just a good reminder: We’re not playing bad baseball — we’re just not winning."
This inconsistency was evident in the series finale against the Rockies, where the Giants hit four home runs but ultimately lost the lead due to bullpen struggles, returning home with a 2-4 record on their road trip and a second consecutive series loss. The team has not swept a series or won more than three games in a row this season.
Despite offensive improvements from players like Rafael Devers, who has hit 16 home runs with a .928 OPS since May began, wins have not consistently followed. The team anticipates potential roster changes before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Vitello expressed a desire for his team to exhibit more "attitude on the field" and an "attacking presence," even when facing setbacks. He specifically pointed to pitchers needing to throw more strikes, noting that only two teams in the league have a lower rate of pitches in the strike zone.
"We have a whole group of very hard-working players that want to win. I know the standings may not show it, but we do. We want to win," Webb said. "We’re trying our best to win. Not that it makes it any better. But I think when you do that and you have a group of talented players, things will turn around at some point. I don’t know when it will turn around. I can’t tell you that. But that’s the goal here."
Vitello's own self-assessment focused on general improvement. "Just improve," he said. "It can be a bunch of little different areas, but just improve."