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River Ave. Blues » Jason Giambi » Page 8

Giambi raking his way back into the lineup

August 13, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 20 Comments

Back when Jason Giambi was placed on the DL in early June, many Yankees fans turned on him. That they started winning some games at that point only made things worse. People were even saying ridiculous things, like Miguel Cairo being better for the team than Giambi. He hadn’t done a whole lot lately — of course, because of his injury — so people began to write him off, as Yankees fans are wont to do.

In 10 plate appearances since returning, Giambi has four hits, two of which were freakin’ crushed. On one of the six outs he’s made, he hustled his fat ass down the line and beat out a double play ball — one that he certainly wouldn’t have beat out last season.

The only question now is how to get him into the lineup regularly. Damon has been hitting .291/.395/.398 over the past month, which is just fine for a leadoff hitter — actually, it’s almost ideal. The power comes from other outlets, making Damon’s only job getting on base and swiping the occasional bag.

If you want both Damon and Giambi in the lineup, you have to sacrifice. You could put Giambi at DH and Damon in the outfield, but that means sitting Matsui (.350/.390/.667 in the past month), Melky (.361/.392/.597) or Abreu (.336/.395/.586). Another solution would be to play Giambi at first over Andy Phillips (.270/.303/.342). That would provide a significant offensive upgrade, but you’d be punting some valuable defense.

So we have the question: Do you play Giambi less, thereby reducing his potential impact? Or do you play him at first and hope his offense outweighs his defense?

Filed Under: Analysis Tagged With: Jason Giambi

Goodbye Cairo, Hello Giambi

August 1, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 6 Comments

Anyone else read Chad Jennings’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yanks blog? I seriously check it as often as I check Pete Abraham’s blog. He’s a pretty reasonable dude, too. For instance, in his latest post about what to do with Shelley Duncan when Giambi comes back:

I like Cairo, but I’d rather have a huge right-handed power threat than a utility infielder who’s going to hardly play. Especially when there’s another utility infielder who’s hardly going to play already on the roster.

Bravo, Chad. Bravo.

He also adds that Jason Giambi will be heading to Scranton for a rehab assignment:

Jason Giambi will make a rehab appearance with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Friday during the team’s double header against Buffalo. I haven’t heard whether he will play in both games, but it seems that he will.

According to the Yankees, Giambi will be reevaluated after Friday’s games to determine whether he remains with the Triple-A team or returns to New York.

Our team! It’s getting better!

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Jason Giambi

Giambi ready to rehab

July 25, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 17 Comments

According to Pete Abe, Giambi will begin his rehab assignment Friday in Tampa. He’ll play DH in the games on Friday and Saturday, after which he will be re-evaluated. Giambi hopes to be back in the Yanks lineup next week.

I really don’t understand the negative sentiment of Giambi’s return expressed by some Yankees fans. If he hits, the team will be better. That’s it. You can argue some chemistry factor, but it’s not like Giambi being in the lineup will make everyone else stop hitting.

Of course, how he plays depends on how healthy his heel is. But if he’s producing, he’ll help.

Filed Under: Injuries Tagged With: Jason Giambi

Injury updates: A-Rod, Giambi, Hughes

July 5, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 2 Comments

We’re still tied at five at the Stadium. I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time ragging on Kei Igawa later on, but let’s get to some more optimistic news.

A-Rod is to undergo an MRI today — though he was in the dugout, so maybe it happened already. We’ll update this section when we hear the results.
Update: From the YES postgame: MRI came back negative. Expect A-Rod to play tomorrow night.

Giambi is out of the boot and will be reevaluated. He’s got an MRI coming that will determine when he’ll be back (and boy could we use him).

Hughes is throwing BP today in Tampa, and is on target to start a rehab assignment soon:

I mentioned Hughes earlier, and there’s some good news on that front—he could start a rehab assignment next week. His ankle is healed, so now the biggest challenge for him is rebuilding his stamina. If he starts next week, he could be back in The Bronx before we flip the calendar, but expect a very deliberate, conservative plan for him.

All in all, we’re sitting on some decent news. Updates if any come later today.

News via Pete Abraham and Will Carroll.

Update by Mike: While we’re on the topic of injured players, I might as well mention this little tidbit from Kat O’Brien over at Newsday:

Jeff Karstens (broken leg) is not yet throwing batting practice, but is throwing from a mound.
…
Doug Mientkiewicz (broken wrist) and Darrell Rasner (fractured finger) are scheduled to go to Tampa at the All-Star break for further rehab.

Getting players healthy is always a good thing; even if no one has any friggin’ idea where they’ll play once they’re ready to do so.

Filed Under: Injuries Tagged With: Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Phil Hughes

Giambi not progressing much

June 29, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 3 Comments

According to the Daily News, Jason Giambi hasn’t made much progress in his quest to heal his torn plantar fascia. The report says he’s still wearing a boot. While the initial timetable put his return date at around the start of July, some less optimistic writers speculated that Giambi could miss the whole season. Right now, it’s not looking too good for the Yanks’ DH.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Jason Giambi

USAToday: Giambi may face suspension if…

June 14, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 3 Comments

Here’s a lesson Bud Selig wants you to learn: If you tell the truth, you will be suspended. If you talk about the black mark on baseball’s past in an honest and frank way, your comments will be lorded above you and used against you unless you cooperate.

In a story bound to ruffle some feathers, mine included, Bob Nightengale of USAToday reports that Bud Selig will suspend Jason Giambi next week if the slugger does not cooperate with the Senator Mitchell’s spineless steroid witch hunt. The relevant parts follow:

Commissioner Bud Selig is heading toward suspending Jason Giambi next week if the New York Yankees slugger does not cooperate with former Sen. George Mitchell’s investigation on steroid use, according to a high-ranking Major League Baseball official.

The official, who talked with Selig but has not been granted permission to speak publicly because of ongoing talks, said Selig wants Giambi’s decision by Tuesday.

Now, let’s review: Jason Giambi has never failed a steroid test under MLB’s rules; he has never broken MLB’s drug policy. While I do not at all condone his use of steroids as detailed in the BALCO Grand Jury testimony and Game of Shadows, this is outrageous. Bud Selig wants to suspend Jason Giambi because he had the guts to come forward and discuss steroid use in baseball on the record.

Selig is trying to use Giambi’s comments to give some weight to what everyone already thinks is a spineless investigation. The Mitchell Investigation has floundered. It has no subpoena power and is instead relying on players to volunteer information. Well, the players have just learned a lesson: If you volunteer information to someone other than Mitchell, be prepared to face the consequences.

The Players Association will file a grievance in this case, and they would probably win such a case. Selig is about to start down a dangerous path that could threaten nearly a decade of labor peace in baseball. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to pass.

Filed Under: STEROIDS! Tagged With: Jason Giambi

Giambi to the DL

May 31, 2007 by Joe Pawlikowski 7 Comments

We’ve been calling for it for weeks, and now it’s reality. Doctors found a “tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot.” He won’t even be checked out again for another three weeks.

No word yet on who will fill his role. Speculation early today was that Matt DeSalvo would be optioned back to AAA in favor of a reliever — likely Chris Britton. Does this change things? Would the Yankees consider carrying 13 pitchers to Fenway? It wouldn’t make much sense to me.

Right now, we’re looking at a handful of possibilities. I’ll list them in order of probability: Kevin Thompson, Andy Phillips, Shelly Duncan, Eric Duncan. Problem is, the latter three would have to be added to the 40-man roster. Though, that might not be a problem, since the team can likely stick Phil Hughes on the 60-day DL.

More as we hear it. Pete Abe speculates that this means Damon DHs more, meaning Melky in center. That would mean a KT call-up, since he’s the best option as a replacement outfielder. If Damon is going to continue playing the field, look for Phillips.

Update by Ben: And let me preemptively say that Bernie is not coming back. It’s not an option; it wouldn’t help the team; don’t even mention it.

Update by Joe: It’s Thompson.

Filed Under: Injuries Tagged With: Jason Giambi

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