The San Francisco Giants reached the All-Star break with a win, but nobody inside the clubhouse seemed interested in pretending the first 96 games were anything other than a hot mess.
At 41-55, the Giants are now barreling toward an Aug. 3 trade deadline that could push the front office into a fire sale. For a team that entered the season expecting to contend under first-year manager Tony Vitello, the opening stretch looks like a complete implosion.
Vitello did not try to dress it up.
Asked what he learned from the first 96 games, Vitello’s answer hinted at his big-league learning curve and the challenge of adjusting to the relentless pace of an MLB season.
“This is a grind like no other,” Vitello said. “I’m not playing, so it’s physical for the players. For us, it’s a little bit more mental. You got to find a way to separate every day.”
That has been easier said than done.
The Giants have been hurt by an inconsistent offense, a shaky pitching staff and a bullpen that has too often turned winnable games into soul-crushing losses.
Vitello admitted the Giants may have expected too much too early after a promising start.
“I think spring training was really good to us, and we expected to kind of take the world by storm to start the season, and it didn’t happen right away,” Vitello said. “There was early frustration right away and a multitude of other things, but those days are gone. All we got is the second half in front of us.”
Logan Webb, one of the few Giants who (almost) survived the first half with his credibility intact, was even more blunt.
“We haven’t put ourselves in a good position,” Webb said. “I think that’s pretty truthful, right? It’s not like we’ve played very well.”
The ace said the break should force some honest self-scouting.
“I think we all just have to take a step back, look in the mirror and see what we want to be as a team,” Webb said. “How do we want teams to view us when we come to town or they come to town?”
Webb said Vitello’s message has been clear from the beginning: the Giants were supposed to be the aggressor.
“Tony’s message, I think it’s been the message from the get-go, is like, kick some people in the teeth, right, or punch them in the mouth,” Webb said. “I don’t think we did a good job of that.”
That failure is why the next few weeks could get uncomfortable.
The Giants are sending the message that nearly everyone is available except Webb and Jung Hoo Lee. More realistic trade candidates include veterans and expiring contracts, with Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray among the names who could draw interest from contenders.
San Francisco would probably like to move Rafael Devers or Willy Adames, but both deals now look close to untradable. With bloated contracts stretching into the 2030s, neither player profiles as a clean deadline trade chip unless San Francisco is willing to eat significant money.
Webb is not ready to call the season over, pointing to the 2021 Braves team that erased a 10.5-game deficit at the All-Star break and won the World Series.
“I’m not saying that it’s gonna happen. I’m not promising that,” Webb said. “But it’s baseball, and it can happen.”
The first 96 games taught the Giants they are not nearly as close as they believed.
The second half will reveal whether that lesson came too late.
