05/13: Giambi to Start Tonight in Oakland
Posted by: Seamus
Amid rumors that he may be sent down to the minors or eventually traded or even released, Joe Torre has announced that Jason Giambi will be the starting DH for the Yankees tonight in Oakland. Torre said on "Mike and the Mad Dog" that the Yanks need to test him out for the next few days to see what Giambi still has left in him, meaning that he will probably be in the lineup for at least the next 4 or 5 games. Torre also has said that a horrible game or two at the plate will not cause Giambi to be immediately taken out of the lineup.
I have mixed feelings on this decision by Joe Torre. I want Giambi to get better and show everybody that he still has some talent left in him, but this also means taking playing time away from Bernie Williams, who is starting to warm up a bit at the plate. However, I do not think that a trip to the minors for Giambi would be the best solution either because in my opinion demoting a player is not the best way to "raise" a player's confidence level, especially a guy like Giambi who has taken so much pride in what he's done in the past.
Giambi will get a good test tonight with Rich Harden on the mound for the A's. If he can keep up with his fastball, he can keep up with anybody's. It is important to see if Giambi's problems are the result of a timing issue or a slow bat. Giambi is getting blown away by with fastballs that he used to drive into the upper deck.
One thing Giambi does do though is get on base. No matter how bad he hits during the season, you can always expect his on base percentage to be at or near .400. The fact that he draws walks leaves me to believe he does still have an eye at the plate. It's not like pitchers are pitching around him anymore. At least they shouldn't be.
Some people are saying that this move doesn't make sense because there isn't enough room in the order, especially with Ruben Sierra coming off the DL soon. That being said, can it really hurt to have another capable bat on the team? I don't know how optimistic I should be about Giambi, but if he does produce it will have a huge positive impact on the team.
I have mixed feelings on this decision by Joe Torre. I want Giambi to get better and show everybody that he still has some talent left in him, but this also means taking playing time away from Bernie Williams, who is starting to warm up a bit at the plate. However, I do not think that a trip to the minors for Giambi would be the best solution either because in my opinion demoting a player is not the best way to "raise" a player's confidence level, especially a guy like Giambi who has taken so much pride in what he's done in the past.
Giambi will get a good test tonight with Rich Harden on the mound for the A's. If he can keep up with his fastball, he can keep up with anybody's. It is important to see if Giambi's problems are the result of a timing issue or a slow bat. Giambi is getting blown away by with fastballs that he used to drive into the upper deck.
One thing Giambi does do though is get on base. No matter how bad he hits during the season, you can always expect his on base percentage to be at or near .400. The fact that he draws walks leaves me to believe he does still have an eye at the plate. It's not like pitchers are pitching around him anymore. At least they shouldn't be.
Some people are saying that this move doesn't make sense because there isn't enough room in the order, especially with Ruben Sierra coming off the DL soon. That being said, can it really hurt to have another capable bat on the team? I don't know how optimistic I should be about Giambi, but if he does produce it will have a huge positive impact on the team.
