SAN FRANCISCO -- Tony Vitello fully recognizes he is a most unconventional call-up to Major League Baseball, making the leap from the college coaching ranks at Tennessee to the San Francisco Giants while bypassing the minor league farm system.

Yet Vitello hardly seems fazed by the pressures of taking such a daunting path. "This is a challenge that has been presented to me," he said Thursday at his introductory news conference with the Giants.

He plans to get into spring training drills right away alongside his Giants team, throwing batting practice or hitting fungoes in an effort to help improve some fundamentals.

San Francisco's new manager , who is 47, makes it clear his own skills are a far cry from those of the players he will be leading after landing the job with no professional

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