This clown is making excuses for Rafael Devers

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello recently came under fire from fans after he defended Rafael Devers’ actions during the team’s 2-1 loss to the Miami Marlins. The skipper downplayed the incident, saying Devers’ reaction did not warrant a conversation and attributing it to the 29-year-old’s competitive nature.

“He was signaling over to us that he’s good to run,” manager Tony Vitello said. “We DH them the first game after the day off, just because [of] base running. A little bit of soreness in his leg, but he’s good to go. And so part of that, and then part of it too, competitively, is he wants to stay in the game.”

Rafael Devers found himself at the center of controversy after he appeared to refuse being removed from the game for pinch-runner Jonah Cox in the ninth inning. Cameras caught the $313.5 million star trying to wave Cox back to the dugout following the substitution.

Since the move had already been made official, first-base umpire Nate Tomlinson intervened, and Devers eventually returned to the dugout. Vitello’s defense of the Giants star only added to the fan backlash, with many taking to social media to voice their frustration.

“Showed Vitello up and this clown is up here making excuses for him. This experiment is about over.”

“Haven’t seen a Giants player show up the manager before like that.”

“I think its pretty clear at this point the players do not respect Vitello.”

“Vitello was made a fool and he compliments the m*****f***er. Top tier buffoonery.”

“They don’t respect Tony. If you don’t have respect as a manager, you can’t win. It’s time to find an interim manager.”

“It’s amazing what this guy can spin as a positive.”

Rafael Devers appeared visibly frustrated, brushing off attempts from teammates to greet him and even dodging a back tap from bench coach Jayce Tingler. Tony Vitello added that the move made strategic sense, with Cox offering significantly more speed on the bases and 27 stolen bases at Triple-A this season.

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Tony Vitello explains the decision to replace Rafael Devers with Jonah Cox

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello admitted there was some risk in taking Rafael Devers out of the game. If the Giants had tied the game, they would have been without one of their elite bats for the remainder of the game.

“I don’t have a problem with Rafi. It’s not like [Devers] can’t score on a double, [but] now you’re 2-2 [if we were to tie] you’d like to have what you think your best players are out on the field,” Tony Vitello said.

“In a perfect world, like to see Cox go get a bag at second … but at the very least, if you go down, you go down swinging with your fastest guy over there.”

Vitello also noted that during the road trip, Devers repeatedly mentioned that he feels healthy to run the bases, pointing to his success going from first to third base. However, in a one-run game, Vitello believed Jonah Coz would be the best choice.