Everything Tony Vitello said on a midweek win over Xavier

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with members of the media on Wednesday night following another midweek game against Xavier. Here’s a written transcript of the Vitello postgame press conference.

Up Next: Tennessee continues its homestand by welcoming St. Bonaventure to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this week for the final nonconference weekend series of the regular season.

On Austin Breedlove’s performance…

“Efficient with his pitches. He was forcing them to swing the bat, and they weren’t taking very comfortable swings at all. The fact he was able to do that, as tight as the game was, kind of gave everybody a sense of comfort that we’re not gonna be trying to piece things together in crazy fashion. We were able to play a full game, nine innings, so it was nice we got some guys involved. There’s plenty of guys we want to pitch. You’d kind of like to feel like you’re joystick-ing the deal on certain days. And again, fortunately we were able to kind of maintain that tight score there for a while.”

On if tonight was an example of Tegan Kuhns not being scared…

“Yeah, it was a good example. Frank [Anderson] and I were talking, he kind of comes in laughing and kind of looks at his teammates, which is fine if that’s kind of your personality, but you gotta go out there and get the job done. And right off the bat, he didn’t look sharp at all. And then, kind of where he’s probably been at his best since we’ve known who he is as a pitcher or a kid, is when the heat’s on a little bit. The heat was on due to his own self for the most part. But getting out of that was massive. It’s interesting, they put pressure on us, we were just able to… keeping it to one run was pretty amazing when you reflect on some of those innings.

On what’s contributed to the power for Andrew Fischer…

“I think just getting settled in. You’ve probably seen it with other athletes, some of them ours. Guys come in, and they want to put their stamp on things and announce their presence with authority, would be one way to say it, but he’s fully capable of doing about as much as anybody in the country with the bat, as long as he is being himself. [I] saw him going a little too fast at times earlier in the year. He is not doing that as much. And then also, people pitch around him. Part of it is he’s got a good eye, too, but people know he is a threat, so it’s not like they’re serving it up.”

On if it’s nice to have a cleaner game tonight…

“As a coach, you want things to go in a specific direction and do things well. There were a couple little things that weren’t really noticeable to the fans but went on that weren’t good for us that we’ll address in practice tomorrow, but I think the biggest thing is you want to end up with a win, one more run than the other team on the scoreboard. And each game’s got its own flow, whether it’s two pitchers getting into a rhythm, or the wind, or the turf being wet. There can be a variety of circumstances and for whatever reason, I don’t think tonight was meant to be an explosive offensive night. We just kind of had that one inning where things piled up for us a little bit.”

On if he’s surprised by how seamlessly and quickly the transfers have acclimated…

“Not with the kids that came out of the transfer portal. We’ve been very careful with that. We pretty much have just supplemented [ourselves] with those guys, so we were able to take our time and figure out which ones fit us, and those guys do that. Then with some of the guys exiting, guys like Reese Chapman, I mean there’s only one KT (Kavares Tears), but there was also only one Jordan Beck. There’s been a kind of nice sequence to who the next guy is. So, we’re blessed that the portal guys fit. We’re blessed our returners, like [Hunter] Ensley, are doing their thing or emerge into a bigger role and have done so well, like Marcus [Phillips] and Reese [Chapman]. And then, we’re very, very blessed with some of these freshmen that really like to play, and like I’ve said before, aren’t scared.”

On how he’s seen the returners welcome the new guys in and build chemistry off the bat…

“I don’t know, because it hasn’t been a loud deal. It’s been subtle, is the easiest way to say it, but it’s been consistent since August. A slow build of them building team chemistry. Last year, to be honest with you, it was just kind of right off the bat, it was like family. And everyone uses that word in recruiting, ‘family,’ but it ain’t true. I’ve seen and I’ve been. It ain’t true, but this group has had to work for it a little bit more. And I think they’re still growing into it.”

On what he saw from Thomas Crabtree in his start…

“Really sharp in the first inning. And I’ll tell you what, it’s not just him, it’s any pitcher, especially when it’s not a true start. It’s not the big leagues when you expect to go five or six, if you’re Max Scherzer. To go back out there and match that same level of intensity and throw every pitch on the screws like he did in the first inning, it’s tough to do. But he was sharp, and he just made the one mistake. The guy put a good swing on it and hit it to the right part of the ballpark for sure.”

On everyone having one mindset contributing to team chemistry…

“I think in the meetings that we’ve had and the times the team has been together, I think there’s a sense of maturity for the program. You know, if that makes sense. Over the years we’ve been building and trying to figure out how to navigate certain things and I think there’s a level of understanding of what the guys want to do, how to do it, what doesn’t work, what’s acceptable, what’s not. So, it makes sense that when you’re consistent with a company you own or an NBA team or anybody. When there’s consistency on who is the staff, who’s the support system. You can’t have the same player every year because of the eligibility. But you can have the same type of player. Like I said, Jordan Beck, Reese Chapman, KT [Kavares Tears]. So, I think there’s a little bit of that.”

On Alberto Osuna not being granted preliminary injunction in court….

“I got cut off last night. So, I wasn’t trying to offend anybody and say, abrasively, I wonder what you know. “But let’s just call what it is. I’m in a position where – first of all, I got my hands full with other stuff and I’m also not a lawyer. So, I literally don’t know. It’s probably embarrassing how much I don’t know. But I hadn’t heard a whole lot. And ultimately, decisions come down to the people that are in charge. Coach [Josh] Heupel makes the final decision for football program and stuff like that. But public opinion matters a lot.

And that’s my first experience here is we switched up what we were doing with the football coach because of public opinion period. And halfway through, you know, some people said the presidency was decided on a guy doing podcasts and adhering to the public opinion. And halfway through here we had havoc wreaked on our program because someone decides to tweet we’re giving a shortstop from Kansas a bunch of money when it’s not true. And I think you can find – I’d like [to] dig up the public record on what he was able to put together for himself, because he was a good player here. But everyone decides that’s true and it wreaked havoc. Players left and team chemistry was hurt and all kinds of other stuff. And so, public opinion can sway you in a negative way or a positive way. And I just haven’t heard a lot of that noise. I saw an ESPN article, which that’s not local. And someone said Coach [Rick] Neuheisel] had some comments. That’s not local.

I just don’t know if anyone has talked to the kid. If you talk to the kid, people are going to realize oh, at the very least we’re losing another guy like Kirby [Connell] that could really be embedded in the program. And ‘oh, maybe the guy went to junior college because he comes from a modest income’ and is bilingual. There are some things there that are a good story.

Again, whether it makes an impact or not, I don’t know. But that’s me defending myself and making sure you’re not saying I’m stupid for bunting or something like that because you guys are entitled to your opinion, too. In sports, it’s sway one thing or the other. Like, radio shows are so fun. Like, ‘what are they doing taking that guy out’? And, ‘why did Coach Vitello bring that guy in’. That’s what’s so fun about sports and what your guys’ duty is. But, when you talk about public opinion or why our country is so great is because the masses typically are looking out for what’s right, what’s fair, what’s consistent and what’s right. I know how I would attack it if I had a different job, but again, I’m not a lot of things. I’m, yeah, I’m not a lot of things.

That’s a whole other topic too. So, I’m not going to go on for 47 minutes about that one. So, hopefully that makes sense. I cut myself off too in one part, making it right.

Hey, I don’t have any guilt. We’ve never convinced this kid. He sought out advice from other people and made an educated decision. I’d like someone to ask him, is he still happy being in here even though he hasn’t got an at-bat yet? I’m curious to what that answer is too. He’s an interesting kid to talk to.

As far as making it right, that’s a very important phrase. That’s what I was getting at. We will make sure he gets his money’s worth for being here. He wants to be a coach. Our strength coach Q [Quentin Eberhardt] immediately took care of that kid when he was crying on the phone with the news he had. And we will make it worth his while. So, if you haven’t written a story yet, you will write a story when his time is done here and you’ll be able to follow his baseball career. Because we’re going to make sure it goes real, real well after this.”

On if there’s anything he’s looking for this weekend prior to the start of SEC play…

“We’re gonna have to beat a good team, you know? It’s different when it’s the same team. You should learn things. Last weekend was different, too. I was so fun. Fun tournament. But this weekend is a team that has won close games. They’ve got one big name pitcher, but it’s not a one-man staff. They’ve got an entire pitching staff that throw strikes. It’s not an SEC household name. If you follow basketball, you certainly know they’ve made the March Madness bracket before. But they’ve got a really good chance of making a different bracket come May. So, to beat a good team is really it, because we’ve gotten reps, and we’ve moved guys around and everything, and some guys have been banged up and they’re out, so other guys have got to fill in. So there’s … there’s plenty we’d like to learn if you really break it all down, but the biggest thing is beat a good team and, and the first goal is to win the series.”

On whether he knows the pitching plans for the weekend yet…

“No, but I know where you’re getting at, too. That’s my other little tangent I thought of earlier today. You guys all want to ask about Russell and, I want you to ask about the the other guy [Osuna]. Well, that’s … I’ve already kept you here for a couple extra minutes, anyway. That kid [Russell] is gonna pitch for about 12, 15 more years, so he’ll be fine. Another guy’s down to literally the last leg, if that’s a proper phrase. But, nah, we’ll go with what we’ve been doing. T-Frank was [possible Tuesday and Wednesday]. Xavier, kudos of them. Radford, same thing. We had T-Frank scrambling around down there. Combsy, same thing. So, fortunately we were not forced to use those guys. So it’ll look similar to going into last weekend. But no weekend’s the same. They’ve all got their own personality and kind of become their own thing, and we’ve got a blank canvas on Friday. We’ll see what we can put down on there.”

On what is says about Alberto Osuna to be coaching first base one day after being denied eligibility…

“He wants to coach. So, you know, he wants to get involved, too. If you pay attention. It’s kinda like Kirby [Connell]. One of the reasons why fans really started to fall in love with Kirby first was by our dugout, they noticed how active he is and how good of a teammate he is. And the kid’s got a big heart, and it makes sense. And … I don’t know, maybe I’ll let you be the one [to hear this first]. And Vance Honeycutt was … I’m gonna read it to the team first tomorrow, but Vance Honeycutt was the center fielder for North Carolina, arguably their best player. All-American kid, All-American player. And we were wavering on, ‘Hey, how far do we want to go with this thing,’ in recruiting, because there was some uncertainty there. And Drew Beam, who’s friends with Vance, asked him about Berto. And the things he said, if … if I was Berto, I would take that over a trophy or ring any day, what Honeycutt said about him. To me, that’s the ultimate thing, is to be a great teammate, but even better is for someone else to say that you’re a great teammate. That goes on a lifetime, and, not to be morbid, but it even goes on after your lifetime. Someone will break your home run record, if you’ve got that or anything else.”