There records are something I didn’t expect.

The Yanks are getting reimbursed by insurance for some or all of Pavano’s salary.

If they waive him or take him off the 40 man, they lose the insurance coverage and they actually have to pay him directly to do nothing for them.

That’s the reason he’s on the 40 still and will remain on it for the remainder of the season.

I’m personally of the belief that if and when Joba goes to the rotation, there needs to be a better setup man in his place than Hawkins or Farnsworth. I’m not convinced about Ohlendorf as a setup man yet. Closers are important throughout all of baseball for shutting down 1 inning of the game (we’ve been spoiled with Mariano because he can easily handle 2 or even 3 when needed in a pinch), but the setup man does the same thing, only it isn’t the last inning of the game. Hank says, “You don’t have a guy with a 100 MPH fastball and keep him a setup guy.” He might be right about that, but it sounds like he is belittling the setup role just a bit, whereas it really is gaining more and more importance as starters throughout all of baseball go shorter and shorter in games.

Again I ask: what is Freddy Garcia up to these days?

Of course there are variables that effect how to interpret these numbers. However, when as a DH, he may have faced fewer LH pitchers, which would make these numbers even more convincing.

Why is Giambi playing 1st? A number of reasons
1) Yes, he hits better when he plays the field.
2) Of all our 1B alternatives, none are 1Bman. They are ‘other’ position players who own a 1Bman glove. Shelly would be the closest to a 1Bman. Giambi has played the position his entire career.
3) None of the alternatives are particularly good on D.
4) While Giambi can’t jump and has little range, he is actualy good at scooping balls out of the dirt. We have already seen that this year, and he has saved numerous errors. Unfortunately, between ARod, Jetes abd Cano, we get A LOT of bad throws to first. The guy who can ‘scoop’ will save more runners then the guy who jumps higher/has more range.

But the MAIN reason is: To have the DH spot open for Matsui (or whomever).
But the REAL MAIN reason is: the Yankees NEED a ‘Good Giambi’ bat in this lineup.

In 2003, Giambi was Giambi, and had a .939 OPS.
In 2004, all hell broke loose. He lost weight (read: stopped using steroids), looked unhealthy, had an intestinal parasite, and a tumor, and God knows what else.
In 264 ABs, at the age of 33, he posted a .721 OPS. It was obvious without steroids and getting older, he was done. People were hoping the Yankees could cut him, or sue him, or run him over with a truck. The one thing everyone KNEW was that he was done.
In 2005, the next year, he posted a .975 OPS with 32 HRs.
In 2006, he posted a .971 OPS with 37 HRs and 113 RBI.
In 2007, In April, he had a .921 OPS and looked good. Then he developed the bone spur (very painful to even walk on) and that was his year. When he came back, Torre didn’t even play him 50% of the games, and was played in a very inconsistant manner, and never got going. His final OPS in 254 ABS was .790.

So…. what might we expect from Jason in 2008?
Well… we all SEE he is in good shape, and actually moving better then he has in years. He had a good ST, hitting with power and to all fields.

Now, after FORTY SIX ABs, he has a .571 OPS…. which really suks except compared to Cano’s .434 OPS after 77 ABS. He is 2nd in BBs with 2 HRs and continues to have a great eye at the plate.

So…. why is Giambi playing 1st?
Because there is no reason why he can’t post a .850 – .900 OPS with 25+ HRs. He is healthy, in a contract year, has a OBP .180 higher then his BA and is motivated in this contract year.

He is certainly not Giambi circa 2001 anymore.
He is obviously not young anymore.
But Shelly, at 28, (RH batter) has no history of success.
Ensberg (RH batter) has played 1B less then a dozen games.
Posada? Play both catchers in the same game? ARE YOU NUTS?
Betemin?

The only question is: Is Giambi our BEST OPTION RIGHT NOW at 1st base?
A month ago, certainly again RH pitching (80% of games), most here would have said yes.
He has done TERRIBLY after 46 ABs. We are all disappointed.
But you don’t just dump someone with his potential in April.
This team NEEDS a ‘Good Giambi’.
This team will do MUCH BETTER with a a ‘Good Giambi’.
He HAS hit a lot of balls hard.
He is not hitting dribblers or swinging at bat pitches.
He IS out of sync, getting under a number of pitches.

JD, Cano, IPK and Hughes have all sukked so far.
Jeter has a .762 OPS.
Posada has a .697 OPS.
A LOT OF OUR GUYS are off to a slow start.

Yes, Giambi’s age and circumstances make him the most likely in that group to fail.
But it is FAR TOO EARLY to make that determination yet.

I think Giambi will give us a .850+ OPS with 25 HRs if he plays regularly (against RH pitching).
But I may be wrong. He might be done.
But Girardi et al are not convinced yet.
So I assume he will continue to play for at least 2-3 weeks before anyone hits the panic button.
And I for one will root for him, and hope he gets his groove back because….

This team NEEDS a ‘Good Giambi’.

Sure they eat his salary, but he is taking up a roster spot and doing nothing anyway. Why have him around? Unless they are actually counting on him pitching this year??????????

Is that possible? Somebody help me out here!

Eugie,

yup and it makes absolutely no sense in this case, because what your doing now is effecting the whole middle end of your BP w/ him not in the rotation, it’s not going to happen now, but midseason it is most likely that Joba will be moving into the rotation.

Joba not in the rotation is effecting series matchups, how long can you go Beckett vs Moose or vs AJ Burnett. The biggest problem is how the staff is taxing the bullpen, Ohlendorf being forced into a long relief role which he has not been preped to do this season, Abaledejo same thing, Bruney had to pitch 2 innings in Tampa, Moose isn’t the only problem, the BP is a strength but you can’t keep reaching in it and putting it on Joba and Mo time after time. Sooner or later you need innings to save your BP.

Any of you read much about Montero’s fielding? I remember hearing he is a decent catcher but not as good behind the plate as Cervelli.

And as for the bullpen… Other guys besides Joba and Mo need to step up no matter what or this Yankee team goes nowhere whether Joba is in the bullpen or a starter. But from what we’ve seen, Bruney and Olendorf have looked very promising.