that’s essentially what i mean by “light a fire under their butts”

girardi will not put up with mailing it in. it’s not in his nature. the next few weeks will be interesting in the same way waiting for fireworks to begin is interesting.

glad there is an afternoon game to get rid the hangover of a yankee loss and a red sox win which is no way to start off a sunday morning.

I really would. Here me out on this…..

There is no downside to waiving Giambi from the Yankees perspective. He isn’t going to hit like he did in 2006.

Honestly, he hasn’t been the same player since he blew out his wrist in Seattle in 2006. He’s a shell of his former self.

He can’t play first base. Matsui is the DH. So, where does he play? That’s of course, based on whether he hits and he isn’t hitting.

If the team is worried about a contending team in the AL picking him off the waiver wire, it won’t happen. The Red Sox, Blue Jays, Indians, Tigers and Mariners all have DH’s.

The Angels? If they pick him up, the Yankees are off the hook on his contract. Even if they do, does anybody really think he has so much left in the tank that he is going to make a difference in the race?

His presence on the roster creates a tremendous amount of inflexibilty.

Who will make up his production? Frankly, you don’t need his production as much in the Yankee lineup because you have other offensive players in it.

Instead of looking at his 2006 production, look at his production from the time he hurt his wrist in Seattle in August 2006 to right now. Its awful. To me, that’s the relevent part of his evaluation right now.

You need a real first baseman. That’s more important than hoping for Giambi’s production to increase.

I say, go get Minky from the Pirates and have him share time with Duncan at first base. For the overall betterment of the team, that’s a better combination than having Giambi on the roster.

Is it a bold and somewhat controversial move? Yes.

But, when you break it down, its a no lose move, except for the financial side of it, for the Yankees.

From a pure baseball perspective, knowing that even if he was productive, he is not going to be back next year (which is the case), it makes sense to cut bait with him now.

To me, the only thing waiting does is cost you more games until you have to do the inevitable with him.

Giambi posted a .971 OPS in 2006.
His OPS was over .900 last year before his bone spur.
Mind you, he MIGHT be done. I’m not ruling it out.
And if we had a 2009 AJax or Tabata available, that would be a different story.

But who replaces Giambi that might post a .850 OPS?
I don’t think Shelly as a RH batter can.
There is nothing in his history that indicates this.
Shelly is neither a good defender or baserunner.

It is not a question of loyalty or how much he gets paid.
It is not a question of Giambi being in Papi’s or Sori’s class.
The question is: What is a better alternative?
I’m just saying we need to give Jason enough time to PROVE HE IS DONE before we bench him, because the alternatives are just not that good.

It’s the same with Moose. Bench him? Well sure… if we have a better alternative. And maybe Rasner, or some other kid, can be better then Moose.

When we face LH pitching, I would put Ensberg at 1st and try Shelly in the OF instead of JD. But I don’t think this is a better option against RH pitching UNLESS we are sure. SURE… that Jason and JD are done. And we can’t know that for sure in APRIL!

Then give him a roster that offers that type of flexibility.

Two catchers in the lineup? Sorry but, that’s nuts.

If you want a flexible lineup, you need to have flexible players on the roster.

There is a big difference between Jason Giambi and Big Papi and Soriano. He doesn’t produce like those players and hasn’t for years.

We look at Giambi and think about what he was. We have to look at him at what he is now.

22 million dollars to draw walks? Sorry but, that’s not good enough.

The Red Sox and Cubs also have a lot of money invested in Ortiz and Soriano.

This is Giambi’s last year with the Yankees. The Yankees don’t have to wait on Giambi. Giambi has to get his butt in gear.

If not, there is no logical reason, other than financial, why he should be on the roster.

His presence on this roster clogs it and makes it a disjointed roster.

He’s only on it to hit. If he can’t hit, bye bye.

You go into the season with a roster. You put it together with the best of intentions. However, stuff happens once the season starts and you have to address the deficiencies.

Obviously, you can’t predict your starting first baseman (Giambi) is going to hit .130 and look totally done.

You can’t predict your leadoff man (Damon) would be hitting under .200 and looks like he is dogging it every night.

You can’t predict your backup middle infielder (Betemit) can’t see and ends up on the DL.

You can’t predict your starting catcher (Posada) gets hurt and can’t throw.

You can’t predict both your young guns (Hughes and Kennedy) would have 9 ERA’s right now.

The schedule? No doubt its an issue and this team looks very tired right now.

However, the above issues I have described are hurting them MUCH more than the schedule.

The question is, how do you address the problems?

Do you wait them out or do you proactively address as many of them as you can right now?

Frankly, I’m very patient with young players. I have ZERO patience with veteran players. None, zip, nada.

I have no loyalty to guys like Giambi and Damon. The organization has paid them a TON of money and have put up with all the BS. The steroid stuff, the lackadasical play, the “I may retire” talk, all of it.

Unlike Mike Mussina who has performed quite well in his entire career in pinstripes, both Giambi and Damon have taken a lot more than they have given to this organization. Especially in recent years.

I see no reason, other than financial, as to why the Yankees have to show these guys any loyalty.

If they can’t play, sit’em or waive them.

I know that sounds harsh. However, if you want to grow with young players, than you are going to have to show them that no matter your service time in the game, you are going to be held accountable for your play.

You draw an eight figure salary and play like a dog, you go to the bench or you go to the waiver wire.

If you are young and are timid in the strikezone? You work with the player to correct it. Whether that’s in AAA or at the major league level.

I don’t like dogs. IMO, there are some guys on this team who believe, for contractual reasons, they have a long leash.

I say, nip that problem in the bud now. That has to be dealt with immediately, IMO.

If not, it becomes a cancer inside the entire team.

We saw it last year. They let some guys slide WAY too long with their dog-like play.

Can’t do that this year.

I am a huge Girardi fan. Like the young pitchers, I think he is going to do very well down the line.

That said, if this was a Joe Torre-led team, and they performed in the dog fashion they performed like last night, we would be all over Torre and rightly so.

As I said earlier, I get that Girardi is mad. But, be mad for the right reasons and use Monday as more than just a day off.

Use it as Day One to fix a disjointed roster and send a message that dog play will not be tolerated.