A few updates from the general manager
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jul 25, 2007 
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Just spoke to Brian Cashman. Here are a few updates for you:
Phil Hughes: He will stay in rotation and start for Scranton on Sunday. “We want him to get his pitch count up and then we’ll evaluate where we stand on him,” Cashman said.
Joba Chamberlain: “Let’s let him enjoy AAA and we’ll see what happens. He’s starting tonight and he’s going to be in their rotation.” I asked him whether Chamberlain was a possibility for the major league bullpen. “Anything is possible,” Cashman said. “He needs to pitch in Triple-A right now.”
Jason Giambi: Cashman said The Big G will be the DH for Tampa on Friday and Saturday then be evaluated again. “It’s the first step in the process,” he said. “I have no idea how many games he’ll need.”
On the trade deadline: “It would be just words for me to say it’s picking up or it’s quiet. We’re all engaging each other trying to run into something that makes sense. That’s what will happen until Tuesday. Right now, I have nothing for you.”
we can only hope that Giambi aggrevates his foot in one of these rehab games. This lineup is starting to click and we don’t need to throw an all or nothing slugger into the mix.
If Giambi gets back he should sit on the bench. He’s not playing first base and if he’s the DH then Damon must sit.
Rob: How is Giambi an all-or-nothing slugger? He is one of the best OBP players in the game.
….does the picture have any significance ? he both looks and sounds very tight-lipped !….LOL !
Good deal Pete. Great that you got him on the record earlier than your competitors.
The Joba comment is interesting. My translation: If he pitches well in AAA, he will be in the Bronx before the season is over.
Hughes? I say he pitches a week from Saturday at the Stadium against the Royals.
Unless of course, he has problems getting the pitch count to 85-90 on Sunday.
i echo the sentiments of rob..i honestly do not feel giambi is a winning ballplayer.
If Giambi was healthy all year, is it reasonable to think he could have made, say, a five game difference in the standings?
I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
I wouldn’t be so quick to write off Giambi because a few guys have gotten hot. Down the stretch, its about having options. Giambi gives them another option.
If he is healthy, he is better than just about all the other options they have off the bench, at first base, or as DH.
I hope like heck he can come back and help this team.
Not having him hasn’t made this playoff chase any easier.
If he is rehabbing as a dh, that means he wont be comming
back to take Phillips spot.
The more quotes I here from Torre and Cash regarding Joba,
the more im convinced that he will be in the pen soon for
the yanks.
Pete:
That is a great photo of Cash – - – it really looks like his head is about to explode. How can someone watch baseball for a living and still be fish-belly pale. The pressure on these GMs must be unbelievable at this time of the year.
Of course, Cash could just read this blog and get a million great ideas!!!
When Giambi comes back either Phillips or Cabrera will sit. I do not necessarily think it should be that way – but I think those are the realistic choices. I’d rather see Cabrera in Center, Damon at DH and Giambi at first with Phillips available to replace Giambi when the team is leading than see Damon in center, Phillips at first and Giambi as the DH.
It is useless to speculate about anything Cashman says. He never tips his hand (as it should be).
jason giambi is an albatross of a contract that cashman would have voided if he could have. to say he would have made a 5 game different IMO is wrong, but then again im not the wise sage that you are
Pete,
I think you, Mark Feinsand and Tyler Kepner ought to pool your money and hire some kid to write you a Brian Cashman non-quote program. Basically, you enter into a computer any question you have and the computer chooses an answer from a list of pre-determind comments that in no way provide any indepth information whatsoever. You’ll save yourself a whole lot of time.
Mike C,
How do you know Pete hasn’t already done that?
“If Giambi was healthy all year, is it reasonable to think he could have made, say, a five game difference in the standings?”
five games is a lot, but considering just how awful 1B and DH was for so long, it’s probably close to that. maybe 3-4 games.
they were getting below replacement level production from 1B and DH for at least a month.
I’d be curious to see the batting averages of the rest of the lineup in games when Giambi plays vs. Cabrera. It SEEMS that when Giambi plays, the other hitters play a more passive, wait for the 3-run homer, type of game. Now that may be a complete illusion, which is why I’d be curious to see the actual stats.
Patrick Teale from Pinstripes Plus was just on WFAN with Mike Francesa. Francesa was quite enthusiastic about Teale and his work. Teale did not have any tips about when Joba C. might be on the big team but in his opinion he’s ready.
I’m not a big Giambino fan, but as a Yankee Fan, you gotta root for him to do well and return to 2005/2006 form. I agree with Peter, he’s not an “all or nothing hitter” – he’s a lifetime .290 hitter, .413 OBP, sees a lot of pitches. When he’s healthy, he provides another power threat in their lineup against righties. He should NOT touch a first basemen’s glove as Phillips is doing fine right now. And he can’t run a lick – it would be interesting to time him and Molina down first base!
Giambi might have been a 5 win (in half a season) player in his prime, but its laughable to think he would have been that valuable this season. He contributed just 1.1 wins above replacement before going to the DL.
I will be nice to get that .380-.400 OBP back into the lineup. Would be a massive improvement over Damon.
“jason giambi is an albatross of a contract that cashman would have voided if he could have. to say he would have made a 5 game different IMO is wrong, but then again im not the wise sage that you are”
sarcasm aside, what does his contract have to do with winning games?
it’s true the yankees would have liked to unload his contract, but they didn’t and he is still here. ignore the money, what does he add on the field? power and OBP.
if he’s healthy, he can help.
the problem is that he wasn’t healthy earlier this year.
I was fine and okay with Giambi at one point, but with all the distractions he creates, I am simply fed up with him.
Okay, okay, he did steroids, admitted it, faced the scrutiny, and came out relatively well. Sure, sure he performed last year and was an OBP machine, yada yada yada.
Then the positive test for amphetamines and then his plantar facias or whatever it is called.
This was a contract that I supported back in 2002, but now really wished there was some way out of it.
In my book, this guy is no better than Sheffield, Bonds, Palmiero, or any of the other roid monkeys that have scarred the game.
I just wish he’d go away.
Just making an observation, but that comment at 4:23 by “Peter” wasn’t really Peter. No line under his name and the date whereas the “real” Peter has the line.
hmmmm,
you might be right, but personally, i’d rather keep cheaters, liars, and and idiots out of pinstripes.
cashman got rid of one in Sheffield, let’s hope he can get rid of the second piece of $hit soon too.
And although Giambi can improve an offense if he’s hot, I have to believe Torre would play Damon in CF rather than Melky, and that means a big drop in defense, especially concerning runners advancing extra bases.
I think they should make Giambi the bat boy and nothing more. He can also clean the fromunda cheese from the jock straps of Jeter and A-Rod…the real athletes.
Why would you want to post on a Yankee site and sound like this:
“Yeah, to heck with Giambi and his monster OBP, we’ve got Shelley Duncan and his four game history of production!!”
Not to mention that rooting for anyone, let alone one of the players on your own team, to get injured is SICK SICK SICK.
Adam,
I guess if Giambi wasn’t entirely healthy in the first half is unreasonable to use this year’s VORP.
We should use Giambi’s past year first half VORP to try to evaluate how many more wins we should get if he wasn’t headed to DL
If Torre stays true to form, he will move Damon back to CF, and Melky becomes the 4th OF again. Especially if Damon sustains his recent uptick in performance.
Torre always stays with the veterans, and he seems perfectly comfortable giving up a ton of defense and team speed (Melky), in exchange for a major power presence (Giambi). He did this last year when Matsui and Sheffield returned from DL.
Lots of ifs. Who is to tell when Giambi actually returns and who knows for sure what moves Cash makes before 8/1.
If I had to bet, Damon returns to CF, Giambi becomes the DH, Phillips stays at 1B, and Duncan gets traded or sent back down. Giambi will be the primary DH with Damon, Matsui and Abreu also getting slotted in.
cash loos like he’s doing his best bubba clinton lip-biting impression.
i.. didn’t not … sign carl pavano…
cash looks like he’s doing his best bubba clinton lip-biting impression.
i.. didn’t not … sign carl pavano…
It’s laughable to think that Damon, Melky, or Duncan are “better options” than Giambi. I don’t care if he has to DH, OBP is the most important metric for a baseball player, and this is where Giambi excels. Not to even mention the auxillary benefits of his great eye, he simply makes less outs than the other guys.
Giambi’s OPS+ before he got hurt: 121, last 2 years he posted a 156 and a 154.
Damon, last 2 years: 113 and 120, and has posted a whopping – wait for it – 88. That’s 12% below league average.
Melky – 100 last year, right at the league average, and his OPS+ this year is 94 – 6% below the league average.
Now, for Duncan. He doesn’t even have a PECOTA card, for some reason, so that will tell you everything you need to know about his status as a prospect.
And for everyone who wants to spew nonsense like “their energy” and “their athleticism” and “their excitement” help the Yankees win games I respond with this: runs will baseball games, not vague unquantifiable intangibles, and Giambi creates more runs and makes less outs than those guys. He will and should start when he returns as DH. End of story.
Giambi is no longer a distraction. He is not close to any milestones (Bonds) and he does not look for trouble (Sheffield). His contract, while humungous, is an afterthought to the ARod drama.
If Giambi can still hit, he will help us make the playoffs when he returns. He’s been a great hitter for the last several years.
Yankees 22-29 with Giambi, 31-17 without him.
Meaningless.
That’s a little harsh, comparing Giambi to that racist headcase, Sheffield.
Yeah, Giambi took steriods (probably 40% of MLB players did from 1996 to 2003), but he’s tried to clean it up and has worked hard to comeback in 05 and 06. I agree that opening his mouth this year about steriod use was a distraction, but this guy seems to be well-liked in the duguout and is a natural leader.
There is no way that he is seen as the controversial and disruptive force that Sheffield was.
Is there any chance at all that Damon could get some significant time at 1B? If he goes back out to CF, you have a huge liability there and we all know Giambi cannot play 1B anymore.
River Ave Report,
Correllation does not imply causation. That’s like saying, “I wore blue pajamas last night, and then got an A on my test today. Therefore, the wearing blue pajamas caused me to get a good grade.”
It’s a logical fallacy. Giambi makes the Yankees better, end of story.
“Giambi might have been a 5 win (in half a season) player in his prime, but its laughable to think he would have been that valuable this season. He contributed just 1.1 wins above replacement before going to the DL.”
i agree with your point, but don’t you think the Yankees were getting WAY below replacement level from DH since he has been out?
i don’t think you can look at Damon’s WARP, b/c i assume they are counting him as a CFer still.
let’s say Damon was -1 as a DH and a semi-healthy Giambi would have been 2 WARP, that’s a 3 win swing.
Damon reminds me of that right fielder in little league
comming in to play first base in a blow out game.
DOESNT BELONG IN THE INFIELD.Keep him as a 4th outfielder.
Bob,
Not the end of story.
Who are you to say that your so called “vague, unquantifiable intangibles” don’t matter? That is like saying that Clemens’s clubhouse presence doesn’t matter.
Melky has played his butt off and has earned CF. The same can be said for Andy Phillips. The Yankees have a great thing going right now offensively and there is no reason to mess with that by bringing in guys who can’t run, clog up the bases, and use banned substances.
Plus, he actually has to hit consistently and we haven’t seen that all season.
Latham Joe:
I’m with you on Giambi not picking up a 1B mitt – he’s an E-3 waiting to happen.
And on your race between Giambi and Molina, they should run it under water: that might allow them to run a better time.
Bob from NJ:
You’re certainly correct about Giambi’s OBP, and his slugging % is pretty damn good, too. And yeah, when you hear a player has “energy” or “athleticism” or is a great guy in the clubhouse, my translation is this: He’s a .260 hitter with no power.
Bob from NJ,
Don’t you know that you can make statistics say whatever you want them to? Yes, Giambi has a great eye and is an OBP machine, but you cannot discount the success they have been having with this current lineup.
Say what you will about Melky’s offensive production (.280 hitter, limited power, handles the bat well, above average baserunner) but you cannot discount the job he does in CF. He has 10 outfield assists, prevents runners from taking extra bases (something they do with regularity off Damon) has a stronger arm and better range than Damon.
Everyone seems to forget that when Melky was in the lineup everyday last season, this team was winning. They were aggresive on the basepaths and manufactured runs as opposed to waiting for the three-run homerun. When Matsui and Sheffield returned for the playoff stretch run, the team reverted back to waiting for a bloop and blast. Newsflash: Any team with good starting pitching (ie, Detroit last year) will make it difficult to win that way. You need to take the extra base sac bunt when necessary and scratch acros runs.
Can Jason Giambi do any of those things? My guess is that Torre will find a way to get him 3 games a week at DH while rotating Phillips and the OF’s. So Bob, why don’t you sit on your PECOTA cards while you watch the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champions DVD and don’t be so quick to discount “energy, athleticism and excitement.”
Bob from NJ – “I wore blue pajamas last night, and then got an A on my test today. Therefore, the wearing blue pajamas caused me to get a good grade.”
While i’m not the biggest Giambi fan that makes no sense. Jason having even an average season *if* healthy has a direct effect on the Yankee’s offensive output. Blue PJ’s factor doesn’t…like a lucky jock it’s placebo and it’s tangible evidence is well..pretty un-tangible.
This may be stupid, but am I the only one that thinks the pic of Cash is simply a file photo and not taken today (by Pete)? Isn’t that a little black AP in the lower right corner?
Latham Joe,
I would agree with you on the “tried to work his way back” bit after he confessed and I think he did as much, but the dude tested positive for amphetamines last year. Amphetamines, even if not steroids, are banned substances, so he pretty muched slapped all his supporters in the face yet again.
“you might be right, but personally, i’d rather keep cheaters, liars, and and idiots out of pinstripes.”
that’s fine. that’s a perfectly valid way to way to feel and a legitimate reason to not want him on the team.
i am ok with that.
i am just arguing that on the field, he would most likely provide an upgrade at DH over Damon or Duncan.
IF healthy.
big IF.
We dont need more offensive production. We’re second in
runs scored in the league. With Giambi inserted in our
lineup our defense weekens. D WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Trade Damon and prospects for Garland. White Sox need a
center fielder.
Thank you SOS, someone lines it up nicely.
Sox wouldn’t take Damon’s contract. They’d be trading Garland to shed payroll.
Larry,
Giambi “clogs up the bases”? And this is a negative? This has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. Are you Steve Phillips, secretly posting? Don’t you realize clogging up the basepaths is by definition, a good thing? You realize how overrated speed, stolen bases, and athleticism are?
No, I can’t “make statistics say whatever I want them to say”, I simply looked them up on http://www.baseball-reference.com , you can do the same if you’re so inclined.
The fact is, Damon and Melky are performing below the league average, and Giambi was having a sub par season before he got hurt and was still performing 20% above the league average. No opinions, no manipulation, that is a fact.
And Melky is a league average center fielder – it’s not like he’s Ichiro out there. Granted, Damon is poor to quite poor in center, but where was I advocating that he play CF? Between him and Melky, it’s basically a toss up offensively, so stick Melky in CF and leave Damon on the bench.
And Limey Yankee,
Saying the Yankees have a better record without Giambi and therefore he shouldn’t play is a logical fallacy and is an idiotic thing to say. There’s 100 other variables, if you simply look at the numbers you see that he was way better than Melky, Damon, or Phillips before getting hurt and therefore *despite* losing him to injury we have played better.
Mike,
You sound like Joe Morgan. “Aggressive on the base paths” “manufacturing runs” “we were winning last year with Melky”.
As I pointed out, Melky was a league average player last year. He is even worse this year. I’m not sure what this is trying to prove, anyway. Damon and Giambi also played last year when Melky was playing. Read moneyball before spewing this nonsense, please.
Giambi adds more value to the Yankees than Damon, Melky, Duncan, or Phillips, easily. He creates more runs and wins. He should play everyday.
Giambi is GREAT for this team and our lineup is much better with giambi in for phillips or damon in for melky.
There is no arguing that Giambi’s offense is a bigger asset than many of our starting players that we send to bat each game. His OBP is higher than any player on the team, on average. To keep him out of the line is not only ludicrous, its idiotic.
And to put DAMON on the bench and keep MELKY out there is also crazy. I love Melky. I like him more than Damon. But he is no Johnny Damon. I don’t think i need to reference last season or 2004 for people to realize this.
Is that the same Garland who’s 7-7 on the year and just got shellacked by Boston?
Jason has a long track record of high OBP, which is what got us going on the last dynasty. Shelley Duncan, though he’s been very exciting, has a long track record of striking out, at least in the minors, though I don’t see this getting better on ML pitching and breaking pitches. Coupled with the imminent return of Phil Hughes, and possibly Karsten in ‘pen (?), we might be making the best acquisitions of any team.
“Fasten your seat belts; it’s gonna be a bumpy night.”
I like the way things are going right now, so of course, who’d want to mess it up? But the Yankees won’t be playing at this level forever. If, IF, Giambi is 100% healthy, as he was for a large part of last season, he will be a positive force on this team. He may clog up the base paths, but he is full of positive energy and by most accounts a great teammate. Joe will figure out some rotation and try to stay with the hot hand. That is what Joe does. He goes with the hot hand. He may start with the veteran, but he’ll defer to the guy on the streak. This will probably affect the Damon/Melky situation the most, because Giambi is not going to play the field; he got his injury playing the field and he got last year’s injury playing the field. The reason the Yankees had a 1B platoon is because Giambi wasn’t going to be playing the field.
The problem is Damon is finally coming around, so it complicates things. A week or so ago, Melky would be the odds-on favorite to be the everyday CF. Not so sure what’s going to happen now.
What I hope for, though, is that even with Giambi in the lineup they don’t abandon the more aggressive approach they’ve been taking. Take the homers as they come, but don’t play waiting for them.
It’s going to be interesting, to say the least.
Or Teixeira could fall in their laps, and then what???
I generally put quite a bit of stock in statistics.
That said, there is a reason why J.D. Drew got signed by the Red Sox and why the Sox are stuck with that albatross of a contract.
It’s the same reason why the Dodgers fell in love with Nancy Drew before Theo (granted that depodesta did get him but colletti still wanted him).
Nancy Drew – great numbers, especially OPS, etc.
Terrible ball player who I’d never want on my team.
Does that make statistics unimportant or invalid? No.
But they aren’t the end of the story.
I like Giambi and think he can add a lot of value.
Let’s wait and see how healthy he is before deciding how much/ where he should play and whose at bats to take.
Giambi is a DH, how does he weaken our defense? Wow. Leave Melky in center and sit Damon on the bench.
And how does it make sense to say, “We don’t need anymore offense, we need defense”?
2 points:
1. You can never have too much offense. Yes, we do need more offense.
2. If Giambi playing was a defensive downgrade (which it isn’t, because he is a DH) you would have to weigh how much lose on defense versus how much we lose on offense by playing him, versus who else would play. Yes, our offense is very good, and our defense is average. That does not mean that improving our defense is inherently more valuable than improving our offense. That makes no sense.
Bob,
You should allow yourself to get so sucked in to numbers in baseball. Do you think numbers anticipated the Cardinals winning it all last year?
The basic question I asking you is:
Why mess with something that is working better than anything else the Yankees have had all season?
And if you think speed and stolen bases aren’t important, you should get your head checked because I think you might have brain cancer.
Sorry Bob, on the first line “should” should have been “shouldn’t”. You know what I mean though.
Sorry, I was typing quickly.
2. If Giambi playing was a defensive downgrade (which it isn’t, because he is a DH) you would have to weigh how much the team loses on defense versus how much the team gains on offense by playing him. Of course, you do this by comparing who would play instead of Giambi, and what their offensive and defenseive contributions would be.
Yes, our offense is very good, and our defense is average. That does not mean that improving our defense is inherently more valuable than improving our offense. That makes no sense.
Dear God Bob,
Do you realize that you basically just wrote that Jose Reyes’s stolen bases don’t matter? And you’re talking about others saying dumb things. What did the doctor say?
Bob from Nj,
First of all, statistics can ALWAYS be manipulated into saying what you want them to say. Second of all, I have read Moneyball, enjoyed it very much, almost as much as I enjoyed watching the A’s win back to back World Series in 2004 and 2005. Oh that’s right, that didn’t happen. So while I may “sound like Joe Morgan,” (have you been reading too much FireJoeMorgan.com?) you clearly subscribe to the church of Bill James; statistics, statistics, stastics. If statistics are the be all and end all, then why are you so quick to dismiss the WIN-LOSS record when Giambi is in and out of the lineup. I’m not saying that it tells the whole story, but it is not simply a coincidence such as you described. If PECOTA and OPS+ and VORPs are always dead-on accurate then why isn’t baseball just simulated on a computer, or on the back of a PECOTA card? We already know what’s going to happen, right? For you to discount huslte and aggression (WHICH I UNDERSTAND DO NOT TELL THE WHOLE STORY EITHER) completely removes the human element of a game that is after all, played by humans.
Larry,
Actually, numbers *did not* anticipate the Cardinals winning the World Series. You know why? Because they were arguably the worst team in the playoffs. But the postseason is a very small sample, so anything can happen. If they could have played the playoffs a million times, the Cardinals would not have won more than 1 time out of 20. That’s what makes the game great.
And to answer your second question, why not give yourself the best chance of winning each game? Do you think Jeter, A Rod, Matsui, Posada are going to perform worse because Giambi is inserted in the line up? Do you think Pettitte is going to be on the mound saying, “Damn, if only Shelley Duncan was DHing I could concentrate better and have more bite on my cutter.” I would mess with a good thing because the Yankees would be an even better thing with Giambi.
As for speed and stolen bases, speed is obviously better than someone without speed, all else equal. The point is people tend to overrate fast guys and guys who steal bases. Guys who steal and get caught more than 20% of the time are hurting their team, this has been proven. Think about it, you need to be successful 4 out of 5 attempts just to break even. So Melky goes out there and steals 4 out of 5 bases, and it is just as valuable as fat, slow Giambi sitting on first humming to himself.
I agree with Bob on putting Giambi in the lineup. There is not doubt, no arguing whatsoever, that this team is better with Giambi in the lineup.
However, stolen bases, hit and runs, solid defense, and hustle are extremely important parts of the game.
Dave Roberts proved this to us in 2004. Let’s not forget the lessons we learn.
Giambi, though, will give more run production than those few stolen bases would create, thus he must be in the lineup.
All I know is, when Giambi was healthy last year (and in April of this year), he was a MONSTER.
Everybody has a short memory. The second half of last year, he was an offensive machine. He was as big a reason for the second half resurrgence of the Yankees than anybody last year.
In fact, one could argue that when he tore up his wrist in Seattle, after the Fenway Sweep, that was the beginning of the end for the Yankees. Their offense wasn’t the same (nor was Jason) the rest of the season.
Perhaps, Giambi’s wrist being torn up is why Joe forced Matsui and Sheffield (especially Sheffield) back in the lineup last year?
When he is healthy, he is a terrific offensive talent, and balances out this lineup very nicely.
The key word is “healthy”. I am sure he won’t be back until he proves he is healthy.
Only way for him to do that is to hit.
If he hits, I’d welcome him back with open arms.
As far as his contract, that’s an off-season question.
During the season, I want a healthy Jason Giambi helping this team win, if at all possible.
The off-season questions can be answered in the off-season. I could care less about that stuff now.
If statistics can “always be manipulated into saying what I want them to say” show me a statistic that says Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon are more valuable than Jason Giambi. Please.
As for why does their record with/without the player not matter, are you serious? Is that a joke? Well, maybe because there’s 100 factors outside of the player’s control. OPS is dependent only on the player himself, and not on his teammates. It’s idiocy to start comparing records. That’s like saying, “Scott Brosius was a better 3b than A Rod because he won World Series and A Rod didn’t.” It doesn’t make any sense to use team statistics to compare individual players, use individual statistics.
Larry, no one wrote that stolen bases don’t matter. Bob wrote that base stealing is less important than hitting.
No one expected the Cardinals to win the World Series because they won only 83 games! They only made the playoffs at all because their division was horrible. Then they rode some good luck (e.g., Jeff Weaver pitching great) to a championship. It happens. Incidentally, they’re 45-51 this season and 9 games out. Where did the excitement and leadership go?
No one will be happy if Giambi returns and can’t hit. But let’s say he’s back to his 2006 form. How can anyone be upset about that? He will get on base, hit for power, and drive in runs. He won’t even be replacing a good DH. Assuming he’s healthy, from a sheer “win the game” standpoint, what’s not to like?
If we have to play Giambi, I want him at 1B. I don’t want to screw with what we have in the outfield. Damon is hitting and stealing bases, Melky is hitting and stealing bases.
Andy is the odd man out, but I’d rather it be him than Melky.
Here’s another way to look at it. On August 1, a day after the trade deadline, if the Yankees add Jason Giambi, Phil Hughes and, perhaps, Joba Chamberlain to the roster, that’s about as good as it gets in adding reinforcements for the stretch run.
To add these guys, it costs the Yankees NOTHING. Name me another team that could fortify itself like this for the stretch run, without losing any players?
Thanks to Doreen for the “All About Eve” Bette Davis “fasten your seat belts…”
Bob,
Giambi playing leads to a defensive downgrade if Phillips or Melky is benched, and leaves the team without a lead-off hitter if Damon gets benched.
Also, walks for Giambi are less important than for a Jose Reyes type. If Giambi walks it takes 2 or 3 hits to score him. His station to station baserunning definitely can clog up a line-up. Yet his power is attractive.
What to do? I am comfortable with the team as is, but if Giambi is to play, he must DH, imo Melky needs to stay in Center and try Damon at first base. Phillips has played great but he is the most expendible.
IMO, you need Damon setting up this line-up. When he’s on, the offense runs through him. You also need Melky in Center. He keeps runners from going from first to third and thus keeps cheap runs off the board. Phillips is fine defensively and hitting well, but Damon at first would be the least downgrade, so that’s the move I think the Yanks should get.
Jim,
I agree with your thought. Ideally yes, Giambi would play first but he has proven he can’t stay healthy at firstbase. I say stick Damon there. But I agree that Melky must stay in center.
the thing with giambi is that they seem to play a different kind of baseball. how many world series have they won since he came to the team? discount energy and small ball all you want, but for me, i like seeing guys like melky, cano, phillips, and duncan get excited. and now arod is getting excited about doing well. the idea of superstars at every position really started with giambi’s contract, and that’s been killing us. if you’ve ever played a team sport, you realize that the team is greater than the sum of their parts. when they’re having fun, they play better. my hope is that if giambi has to come back, it’s duncan who goes down, or maybe gets traded to someone who’s looking for a cheap, young dh, like maybe the a’s, for prospects, or bullpen help. giambi’s a pinch hitter/spot dh starter.
Some of you keep mentioning Melky’s offensive stats,that
we should just put Damon in center and that solves that.
Did you take to account how many runs Melky must be saving?
When Damon was out there every hit was a double.Even in
yesterdays game Melky threw someone out trying to go to
third.
Everyone loves the long ball but you cant discount that
the defense went from worse to 4th and its helped us
keep teams from scoring on us.
Best case Damon and Giambi rotate at DH.
If you DH Giambi, you have to play Damon in CF or LF.
As big and slow as Giambi is, Giambi is a better first baseman than Damon is a center fielder. Giambi is good at scooping out bad throws. His biggest weakness is his inability to field bunts or make throws, something that a first baseman rarely has to do. So with his biggest weakness not being much of a factor, the only thing you really lose with Giambi is a whole lot of fielding range.
Damon has problems with his range AND he has possibly the worst outfield arm in the league.
Add to that the fact that Melky doesn’t hit coming off the bench. He needs to be a regular. If he’s not starting every day, he’s not going to hit for you.
Frankly, I’d like to stay with what we have now. But if Giambi comes back, they’re not going to make him a 17 million dollar pinch hitter. I think he hurts us LEAST at first because of the lack of disruption to the players who have been performing in their other positions.
And frankly, I would DFA Mientkiewicz. I’d rather have Andy. If we waive Andy because of Minky, that will seriously irritate the hell out of me.
Will –
Giambi is a fun guy. He’ll add to the fun. IF he’s healthy and hitting.
This game is always interesting. When everything was going poorly, you couldn’t name more than 3 Yankees everyone could agree on keeping. Now you can’t name 3 you’d get rid of (disregarding the bullpen, of course – the situation remains “stabily unstable” there).
SJ44 has it right. Other teams would KILL to add a Hughes, a Giambi and possibly a Chamberlain at the trade deadline, and it will cost the Yankees not a cent to do just that. Whatever else they do could be icing on the cake. Or excess. Or mean nothing at all. Another thing that makes this game interesting — you gotta play all the games.
By the way, if Randy 1 is out there and reading this: I have been trying very hard to read “Diamond Dollars.” Jiminee Crickett — it’s like a textbook! But, from what I could make sense of it (and I will try again, maybe in winter when the sun isn’t shining and there are fewer distractions) — the Yankees will be in better shape (financially) if they make a pennant race out of this going into September than if they had a huge lead and clinched early. So, even though the beginning of the season was horrible, it could turn out okay. (Of course, better if the playoffs are involved.) Right?
Insane that people want DH Giambi out of the lineup.
RC/27
Cabrera: 4.35
Damon: 4.17
Phillips: 5.01
Giambi: 5.79
RC/27 (2006)
Cabrera: 5.00
Damon: 6.19
Phillips: 3.78
Giambi: 7.71
Any word on Carl Pavano? Is he retired on flat ground?
I would DFA Mientkiewicz too, if only so I didn’t have to read any more stories or comments about his magical glove of scooping mastery, which saves us approximately 8.93 runs per game.
It would be a tragedy if Mientkiewicz got substantial playing time unless Phillips suddenly forgot how to hit or field.
This anti-Giambi stuff is mind-boggling. I’m concerned that he will come back and do nothing because he’s hurt/cooked. But what I can’t understand are the people who don’t want him to return even if he hits well!
There are no drawbacks to a player with a high OBP and who hits for power. None. It would be nice if Giambi also had speed and fielding ability, but he’s a great player with the walks and XBHs alone.
The Yankees do not suddenly forget how to play baseball when Giambi is in the lineup. They play better baseball because Giambi is around to get on base and hit home runs. With another great hitter in the lineup, they are less likely to rely on bad strategies like sac bunts or running into outs.
There’s a backlash against high OPS players like Giambi that I find bizarre. The key to a good offense is very simple: hitters who get on base and hit for power. But the anti-OPS people don’t like this simplicity, so they demand more bunting, base-stealing, and singles-hitting, even though these things will make their team lose more games.
The, “how many championships have they won with Giambi on the team” argument is foolish.
How bad has the pitching been the last 3-4 years. If Jason Giambi, instead of Tino Martinez, played on the Dynasty Teams, do you think he would not have a ring? Same goes for Arod.
When you are trotting out a shot Randy Johnson, a shot Jared Wright, and reclaimation projects out for post-season starts, its a little different than Clemens-Pettitte-Cone-Key-Wells-El Duque, etc.
Everyone on Giambi’s Side,
I guess what it boils down to for me is that I don’t like, support, or need to see the guy.
When it comes down to it, he has let me down and lied to his fans (mind you, I live in California near Oakland and used to adore the guy and watch him all the time) too many times for me to tolerate him anymore.
Add that to the fact that the Yankees are looking great offensively and I have a hard time convincing myself that he is a necessary addition, regardless of what he may or may not add.
My big issue with Giambi is his lack of versatility. He can’t hit to left or center field and he clogs up the basepaths by not being able to go first to third, second to home, or to second on a throw home. He doesn’t sacrifice (not that you’d ever ask someone with his power to) and frankly, when you play against teams with good pitching, you need to be able to do stuff like that.
The team is on a roll right now and Giambi coming back will change the game from an athletic running and spraying the ball around game to a station-to-station game with him in the heart of the order. Kind of like how we were playing great last year until Sheffield came back and we did what we could to jam him back into the lineup, like a square peg into a a round hole. Turns out, it was more like throwing a wrench into the gears.
Jim,
I think the anti-Giambi posters would agree with exactly what you are saying, though my reasons go beyond his play.
You guys, sadly, know nothing about baseball strategy.
Sacrificing, stealing, and trying to take extra bases in marginal situations is almost always a poor decision and lowers expected runs. Giambi’s lack of speed is almost immaterial. All else equal, yes, it would be better if he was faster. But speed is so overvalued in baseball today by “traditional” analysts and scouts. Look at Juan Pierre and his 74 OPS+ with a 5 year, $44 million contract. It’s a joke.
Larry,
If you don’t like him as a person, and don’t want to root for him, then fine. But there is no possible argument you can make that he is detrimental to the Yankees when he is playing. His OPS and RC/27 speak for themselves. These numbers cannot be “manipulated.”
And if I hear the phrase “clogging up the basepaths” in a pejorative sense again, I’m never going to return to this blog.
I really hope Giambi does not return.
We are a better team without him swinging for the fences.
I see Giambi coming back and Damon taking the bench.
Melky is hitting better than Damon and plays a better defense in the outfield.
IF Giambi struggles then he takes the bench and is our power hitter waiting in the wings late in the game.
The problem with Giambi coming back is Shelly has to go back down to AAA.
We don’t need Giambi but the Yanks aren’t going to pay his massive salary for him to sit in AAA or on the bench. He makes almost twice as much as Damon does, so expect Damon to sit a lot.
Phillips will be the 1st baseman and Giambi will go nowhere near 1st base.
Is Cashman wearing a hairpiece?
I’ve been reading that the White Sox are scouting the Yankee farm system, so the promotion of Joba and Kennedy may just be to try to trade one of them plus one of our relievers to the Sox for Garland.