ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Win Today Lose Tomorrow
Sometimes learning how to lose in this business can be just as hard as figuring out how to win.
For the folks actually living it — players, staff, coaches — Major League Baseball is a binary endeavor. The sun rises. A game happens. You win or lose. Either way, the sun sets.
Yes, there can be silver linings in defeats or sour tastes after victories, but more often than not, one's happiness (or lack thereof) is defined by the result. That's the case for all professional sports, but MLB's near-daily regular-season schedule takes the dynamic to the extreme. There are 162 opportunities to revel in the ups or wallow in the downs.
New Giants manager Tony Vitello is learning this very crucial lesson on the job.
Because in this business, best known for turning the University of Tennessee into a Division I powerhouse, the 47-year-old is accustomed to winning at a preposterous rate.
In Knoxville, Vitello went 341-131 across eight seasons at the helm. That's a .722 clip, which, converted to a big-league campaign, would be a 117-45 season.
But things are different now. In part, that's because his 9-13 Giants have stumbled out of the gate, but it's mostly because MLB teams simply don't go 127-35. Vitello has never won more than 60 games or lost more than 27 in a single season.
The last word: "It's been very difficult learning how to lose," Vitello admitted when asked about this aspect of his transition. "It's something that I was warned about from some of my friends. You have to deal with it the right way. Otherwise, it'll sink you." | 
