SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Nobody on the National League\u2019s worst team has had a worse week than Matt Chapman. To his credit, the veteran third baseman and leader in the Giants clubhouse stood at his locker and answered every question in a lengthy session Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The latest incident in a stretch to forget came in the ninth inning of Sunday\u2019s 5-2 loss to the Mets<\/a>, when the typically savvy base runner made an inexcusable mistake and ran into the first out.<\/p>\n Chapman took responsibility with reporters and in a private conversation with manager Tony Vitello. There was no missed or misinterpreted sign. No stat-padding or situational ignorance.<\/p>\n New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor tags out San Francisco Giants\u2019 Matt Chapman. AP<\/p>\n He just made a bad read.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I could do it over again, I would not elect to steal that base,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cI was paying attention. I just kind of made a bad decision there. If he was long to the plate and I steal second base, then maybe we\u2019re not talking about it, but I did and I got thrown out and it looks really ugly, on top of how things went yesterday and kind of transpired toward the end of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Trailing 5-2 against Mets closer Devin Williams, Chapman represented a meaningless run but could have been the start of a rally. Instead, it was snuffed out as quickly as it began.<\/p>\n San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello walking to the mound during a game. Getty Images<\/p>\n After reaching first to lead off the ninth, Chapman saw Williams was taking his time getting the ball to the plate. The Giants had already grounded into one double play, and Chapman saw an opportunity to potentially avoid another. Only it turned into another kind of rally killer.<\/p>\n \u201cI just picked a really bad time to do it,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cBecause he was really slow to the plate, and then when I stole, he sped up a bit and that looks really bad when you get thrown out making an out at second base, killing our rally. \u2026 I know that\u2019s completely my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n The display of personal accountability was especially important for Chapman, given his finger-pointing back-and-forth with Casey Schmitt<\/a> that was captured on camera in San Diego<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello holding a lineup card. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Even if only in terms of optics, it was a tad awkward that, in the aftermath of chiding his teammate for not catching a throw, the Gold Glove third baseman has made an uncharacteristic three errors in the five games since. Add on top his base running mistake, and it was hardly a banner week for one of the most respected players in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it doesn\u2019t look great when things like that happen and things get sloppy,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not something that this team is thinking about or I\u2019m thinking about. It\u2019s just something that happened and we\u2019ve moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a frustrating start to the season for just about all involved.<\/p>\n San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello argues with umpire Dave Rackley during a game against the New York Mets. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n According to Vitello, Chapman\u2019s frustrations boiling over on the mound in San Diego was only one of three similar incidents that have taken place.<\/p>\n The other two occurred behind closed doors and were only revealed by the manager, who put a positive spin on it, confirming that each happened before their three wins.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our best games have come when our guys have let loose a little bit \u2013 and coaches too \u2013 said what they think, do what they think is the right thing in the moment and go out there and just play,\u201d he said. \u201cAs opposed to being a little too careful. I\u2019d rather those moments come up than not.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Vitello didn\u2019t divulge too many other details besides describing the interactions as \u201cminor\u201d compared to the one between Chapman and Schmitt and that \u201ccuss words (were) involved.\u201d He confirmed that different team members spoke up each time.<\/p>\n \u201cOur guys did a good job of turning it into a real positive in a couple different ways,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cThe three times that I can remember that that\u2019s occurred, it\u2019s kind of brought our team closer together or it\u2019s gotten our team to play more free.\u201d<\/p>\n San Francisco\u2019s 3-7 start has been the worst in the NL, and worse yet, has included a 1-6 record in front of its home fans \u2014 outscored 24-5 over their final three losses to the Mets.<\/p>\n