It didn’t take long for fireworks to shoot off at Lindsey Nelson Stadium last Saturday evening.
As Vols third baseman Trey Lipscomb recorded the third out in the top of the first inning against No. 24 Alabama, pitching coach Frank Anderson came flying out of the dugout, irate with the Crimson Tide dugout.
It was how the inning ending that sparked Anderson’s fuse despite Tennessee recording a 1-2-3 frame to start the game.
“Frank stood up in the middle of the inning,” Vitello said Thursday morning in his first media appearance since the incident. “I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was talking to one of the guys to the right of me about one of their pesky hitters. The leadoff guy. (Jim) Jarvis is pretty dang good. (Frank) was standing up. I believe we had it accurate that they were relaying pitches.”
With the Tide coaches relaying pitches to the hitters, Alabama’s Zane Denton hit a line drive right back up the middle that caught UT starter Chase Dollander on his pitching elbow. It left Dollander laying on the ground before he eventually exited for the remainder of the game.
Dollander was able to avoid the worse and didn’t suffer any type of break, but is now dealing with soreness and swelling.
Vitello admitted in hindsight that stealing signs is a part of the game and that Tennessee needs to do a better job of making sure they’re not tipping any signs or pitches.
“There is nothing in the rulebook that says it is illegal to do that,” Vitello said. “It is up to us — and Frank (Anderson) admitted the same thing — to make sure you are not tipping signs or the catcher’s hand is out to where people can see that. He was just defending his pitcher.
“In a weird combination of things, it spirals into a deal where we’ve got (Dollander) down on the ground in a lot of pain. That is where he was coming from and he was letting off some steam. That was my initial argument was this is an emotional moment. Coach Bohannon, who we know well, is well off in the distance. That is how that who deal started.”
Anderson’s ejection led to an ejection of Vitello, who continued to argue about Anderson’s ejection before eventually bumping into third base umpire Jeffrey Macias that triggered an automatic four-game suspension.
“(Anderson) is not allowed to threaten another coach the way that he was,” Vitello said. “My defense of Frank, which I am always going to defend Frank and at that moment I was out on the field to do what I can for (Dollander) which is not a lot. It was secondary to (our trainer). Then also my wheels are already spinning. You have to have a little bit of a cold heart in that moment. Who is our next pitcher?
“I will always defend Frank in that situation. My defense for him was he was blowing off some steam in an emotional situation. He has to call pitches. You don’t want the other team to know what is coming. You never want to see one of your kids hurt. You don’t want to see anyone get hurt on the other team either.”
Vitello sat out Sunday’s series finale before also sitting out Tuesday’s midweek game against Bellarmine. He’ll sit out the first two games of this weekend’s series against Florida to complete his suspension.
If sitting out Tuesday was miserable for the Vols’ head skipper, this weekend is going to be even worse as he has to watch Friday and Saturday’s game from the team hotel.
“I am not looking for sympathy,” Vitello said. “It is an automatic penalty. That is what it is and that is deserved and what I need to. But it ain’t fun. It is so different. You want to give input, too.”
Anderson’s suspension only lasted one game and he will be back in the fold against the Gators this weekend in Gainesville. He’ll help assistant coach Josh Elander continue to lead the team in the absence of Vitello.
Without Vitello, the Vols completed a series win over Alabama thanks to a 15-4 Sunday win over the Tide. They then defeated Bellarmine 9-3 on Tuesday.
“He was a catcher that would call a game,” Vitello said of Elander. “He runs certain parts of practice. It is no big deal. It is not a surprise. It is not uncomfortable to have him in charge of certain things. What it is, is finally a chance for Vol nation, which is obviously incredibly strong, to recognize what else we’ve got.
“Now, they know. Here is the guy that is beating up the roads and the phones for us recruiting but also is controlling a lot of the game. I think we have to hand the baton off to somebody, I know it is him. Obviously, Frank is capable, too. Frank likes being in his world. That is the pitching world and I don’t know if anybody is better.”
Game one on Friday night and game two on Saturday night are both scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. The series finale will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
