Giambi returns to Oakland with no regrets
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- January
- 7
Jason Giambi is happy to be back in Oakland, having signed a one-year deal with an option.
“I’m back here to win,” The Big G said. “I didn’t come here just to come back and be the prom queen again and ride through the floats.”
Giambi thanked the Steinbrenner family and Brian Cashman during his press conference and spoke fondly of the time he spent with the Yankees.
“When you’re with the Yankees, you’re like a traveling rock band,” Giambi said. “I played with basically 25 superstars in New York every day. They’re incredible guys and we had the time of our life.”
Giambi also noted he planned to “stay scruffy.”
The Yankees did the right thing to move on and you can’t argue against signing Mark Teixeira. But Giambi can still produce and he’ll probably prove to be very valuable to Oakland. Every clubhouse needs a character and the Yankees will miss his personality.
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on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 8:52 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Pete, I get the feeling you’ll miss him as much as anyone.
I remember being so excited when the Yankees signed him; it’s kind of amazing that the contract is up.
god bless the BIG G, hope he stays healthy and has a productive season, and gets a warm welcome back to the bronx.. im def. going to that game.
Good for Jason-hope he enjoys his time, as long as it doesn’t hurt the Yankees =D
What does he mean “be the prom queen AGAIN”? Is there something more to the gold thong story that we don’t know about?
Good guy, wish him the best. That Oakland clubhouse will be a hoot.
He’s there to win? Let’s see – his last two years in Oakland they won the wild card and won the division. and he left because another team offered him more money. They WERE winning and he left anyway. Now he’s back because no one else will have him.
We got swish, he has quite the personality.
Indeed, the onfield production should be better this year but the loss of Giambi and Moose is a real personality drain. The quirky quote output is going to be way down, I fear.
RIP little white board.
He seemed like a good guy. All the best, Jason.
I dunno, Tex seemed to be a good quote himself yesterday, and I remember Phil Coke was fun to listen to, as well.
Exerpt from a 11/29/07 article by Murray Chass in NY Times
“A longtime banker, the 92-year-old Pohlad is tied for 114th on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in the country with a fortune estimated at $3.1 billion.
He is the wealthiest baseball owner on the list, which also includes John Malone (Braves, tied for 188th, $2.4 billion), Mike Ilitch (Tigers, tied for 297th, $1.6 billion), and Tom Hicks (Rangers) and George Steinbrenner (Yankees, tied for 380th, $1.3 billion).
I know this was over one year ago, but I agree with Pete, the Yankees neither need to offer any excuses or apologies on how they spend their money, and some of these wealthier owners need to look in the mirror and see if they have the fans best interests in mind.
Agree with GB7 and others that contraction of some clubs not investing in their teams would help. It certainly would be one way of shortening the season so we’re not playing a WS in November!!!
By the way, is it true that Giambi buried the gold thong under the Yankees clubhouse in the New Stadium to impart luck???
Good riddance. Peter, you are the ultimate Giambi apologist.
Matsui’s wife, other then having a flat affect, is a quote machine.
Hey Now – Jason and his golden thong and just for men mustache were pretty ok in pinstripes. He never had that season everyone was hoping he would have, but he certainly had a lot of big hits. I for one will miss his him, and i might go see him play a few times in oakland.
But now i look forward to watching a real 1st baseman who will be able to turn a double play. I cant wait.
Good luck Giambino!
John:
Why so bitter and angry? Giambi was a fun guy and people on and around the team liked him. Is that wrong?
As I’ve written many, many times, what he did was wrong. But he did what many players did. He didn’t deserve to be executed at dawn for it..
The guy had a .373 OBP and drove in 96 runs. His 32 home runs were one fewer than Mark Teixeira hit. I’m not really sure he needs an apologist.
Good luck, Jason (just not against the Yanks). Now the Yanks will get to employ “the shift” on the Big G. I always hated that shift.
I wish the Big G nothing but the best at all times (except when playing the Yankees). He’s a stand up guy and I certainly will miss him.
Good luck Jason.
Chad Jennings has a good post about What Scranton’s pitching staff might look like.
http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/archive/2009/01/07/predicting-the-triple-a-pitching-staff.aspx
I remeber where I was when I found out that the Yanks signed Giambi. I was playing golf on the 16th hole of my club, when my partner ( Maz ) got a phone call got a call from Torre to say we signed him. I proceded to shank my 8 iron into the woods I was so excited, it cost us a few bucks. Not as much as i spent on the Giambi jersey.
But I didn’t put his name on it, so thank you Tex
Giambi could end up being a TREMENDOUS addition for Oakland, I really believe that.
I mean when you think about it –
Who would you take Giambi or Teixeira?
Basically they are the same guy –
Just one makes 22.5 million for 8 years, and the other 5.25 million for one year.
Oops. Sorry. Can I take those comments back?
I think I had an ESPN senior moment.
The one thing I won’t miss is Giambi’s defense, but Oakland needs Giambi’s bat and we got Tex.
I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.
this board’s reaction to Gammons comment (regarding Leigh) seems like an overaction.
far as the Yankees wanting Lowe. If they wanted Lowe (over Burnett) then Derrick Lowe would be a Yankee right now.
anyway, i still like Gammons. At least he have passion for the game.
boston’s gettin rocco
Tarheelyank: Good read, and I agree-what the heck do you do with Alan Horne?
Red Sox Close To Signing Baldelli
By Cork Gaines [January 7 at 8:28pm CST]
Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing Rocco Baldelli, with an announcement expected Thursday night.
The Boston Red Sox were close to signing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night. It is expected to be announced at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, where Baldelli will be honored.
The Boston Baseball Writers Dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening.
————————————————————
If this signing goes through, be prepared for a lot of chest pounding for Peter Troll….errr…Gammons. Good forbid that that Yanks sneak in on this one.
***Red Sox Close To Signing Baldelli
By Cork Gaines [January 7 at 8:28pm CST]
Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing Rocco Baldelli, with an announcement expected Thursday night***
***The Boston Red Sox were close to signing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli on Wednesday night. It is expected to be announced at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, where Baldelli will be honored***
The Boston Baseball Writers Dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening.
“I remeber where I was when I found out that the Yanks signed Giambi. I was playing golf on the 16th hole of my club, when my partner ( Maz ) got a phone call got a call from Torre to say we signed him. I proceded to shank my 8 iron into the woods I was so excited, it cost us a few bucks. Not as much as i spent on the Giambi jersey”
Mazzilii ?
Unbelievable BC beats my Heels then loses to Harvard. I guess they outsmarted them.
the red sox close to signin baldelli
or as he was referred to as ” the Italian Stallion “
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808263372897
Ah, good times. Good times.
But then, just 2 days later, he came off the *bench* and won the game for us.
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808283381883
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808283382172
I’ll miss the mustache.
as a personality i will really miss jason. he brought some fun to the team when it seemed very stuffy. from the hysterical facial hair to the crying when he was signed, jason’s personality came as advertised.
while his steroid outing and injuries hurt his legacy with the team, i think was able to remain as fan favorite.
Gammons called Mark Teixeira Scott Boras’ “ultimate client” and that Teixeira is “very well-programmed.”
He notes that there was a lot of “testiness” between Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in Texas and Gammons wonders how Teixeira will handle the high expectations that come with playing in New York
It’s no accident that all the players love Giambi. He’s obviously a great guy and good person.
Early on, Giambi had a tough time winning over fans because of replacing Tino but he eventually found his place with Yankee fans.
He’ll do well coming full circle with Oakland.
Nobody will miss his feeble attempts at playing first base or those “Nightmare On Elm Street” moments when he tries throwing to second base.
Tarheel: Ah, but Syracuse won so all is right in the world.
I wish Jason the best of luck. Except against us that is.
And how funny would it be if we swooped in and signed Rocco.
aron-baka
This is already well covered. It is a load of bull.
Being quotable and a “good guy” doesn’t win many games. Between the lack of defense and those 6 week long slumps, there were a lot of lost games.
While I won’t miss his defense and his inability to take advantage of the shift by hitting the ball to LF, Giambi seemed like a great guy and a good teammate. I hope that he finds success (except all but the Yankees) and happiness in OAK.
The book Moneyball has been a huge point of controversy since it was published.
Most of the attention and controversy on that book has focused on the use of statistics in baseball vs. scouting. That was the big firestorm that most people associate with that book.
But that’s not the main point of that book at all. The main point of the book has little to do with statistics.
The message of Moneyball is about the importance of finding inefficiencies in the market for talent. By inefficiencies what I mean is looking for types of talent which the market is undervaluing at any one point in time. These inefficiencies could be from trends at any one time, scouting philosophies, etc.
When the book was written the types of talent that were being undervalued (according to Beane’s belief) were young players who were strong in their skills for getting on base.
I bring this up because Beane’s signing Giambi is a continuation of that same philosophy of finding market inefficiencies.
Since moneyball was written the types of player beane valued has come to be valued widely by all of baseball. There’s no longer a market inefficiency there.
Now you can make a real argument that it’s the exact opposite talent that’s being undervalued – it’s not the young college aged draftees that moneyball described – it’s older player who hit for power and get on base but don’t play very good defense. Players like burrell and giambi. That’s where the market inefficiencies are – that’s where the values are.
It’s very interesting to see Beane use the same philosophy of talent acquisition to sign a very different kind of player.
College of Charleston giving The Tar Heels a hard time right now. GB are you a fan?
jennifer
sorry i didnt know
“Nobody will miss his feeble attempts at playing first base or those “Nightmare On Elm Street” moments when he tries throwing to second base.”
There you go again, GB – trying to top Nick in the “funniest blogger” department.
CB: Very interesting.
I’ve always thought that one issue with Beane was that he never seemed to be willing to sing the ‘big name’, the type A free agent that could put his team over the top, but who knows, maybe I’m completely misguided.
It wouldn’t be the first time.
Tarheelyank
January 7th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
College of Charleston giving The Tar Heels a hard time right now. GB are you a fan?
————————————————————
Not really. I’m not much into college sports, and I live in Savannah, Georgia. I go to the River Dogs games in Savannah, and take a cruiser up the Atlantic coast (30 miles) and dock to watch the kids play there. The only college sports I pay any attention to at all any more are the Notre Dame teams…I grew up about 10 miles from there.
Uh ohh. Red Sox close to signing Baldelli. So, since the Pirates wanted him too, does that make the Red Sox an evil big money corp who takes good players away from smaller teams because they can?
Good luck Jason and thanks for your time in pinstripes.
i agree with you best friend
Tex’s New Best Friend
Great point. I hope the Pirates owner complains about the evil Red soxs.
Im a HUGE UNC fan, and they cant stop the 3 point shoot thats why BC won and thats why COC is only down by 12 they have hit 8 3’s already.
Well I think that Rocco and Tex are about on the same level.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Just kidding!
im happy for jason and ill miss him, just not his glove lol
im glad he got to sign with an okay team, the A’s won around 75 games last year, he’s lucky he didnt get stuck on the padres or royals
Laura – With this pitching staff, how can we lose?
January 7th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
“Nobody will miss his feeble attempts at playing first base or those “Nightmare On Elm Street” moments when he tries throwing to second base.”
There you go again, GB – trying to top Nick in the “funniest blogger” department.
————————————————————
Not intentionally, Laura. It’s just every time Singleton and Kay would say, “There’s a two bouncer to Giambi at first….”, I closed my eyes. If there was a runner on first, I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, held my breath and put my hands over my eyes. I was too scared to even peek through my fingers. What a horrible way to watch a game.
No GUYS you have it all wrong, it makes Theo a very smart owner who puts pieces in place for his team to win. Peter Gammons will come on soon and say how that signing was very smart and that Rocco is a better fit than TEX
When the yanks put the shift on Giambi, watch him lay a nice bunt down to the left…
haha.. I agree Donnie, Gammon’s will praise this for the whole year, and i bet its on the beginning of espns highlights
ray-
Peter is that you?
Seriously what is wrong with Peter? Has he lost his marbles. Give an sox fan truth serum (although you might not have to) and ask them who they think is a better pitcher; AJ or Penny. I bet you 95% would say AJ, and they’d all say they’d rather have AJ.
ray (sox fan)
January 7th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Well I think that Rocco and Tex are about on the same level.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Just kidding!
————————————————————
I guess this will put Ellsbury on the trading block, now. How about a trade….Ellsbury for Igawa with Boston picking up part of Ellsbury’s salary?
watching the reply of the Hot Stove, its funny how Giambi kept on mentioning Cano.
GB
I’m envious of you watching the River Dogs. The Heels just built a new baseball stadium. 5min away it will be nice to take the kids there. The Durham Bulls are real close as well. It’s a nice ballpark. I got to see Scranton win the international cup game last year. Hughes was dominating. 12 k in 5 innings.
AAron- The red soxs are building the way a small market, low revenue team should.
Do the Red Sox even consider ever adding an African-American to their team? Ever? Even as a hispanic player, Ortiz must feel like he walked into a klan meeting every time he comes to the park.
Donnie,
Can you beleive BC lost to Harvard?
Jennifer
you have stumped me, what are you talking about
Except when the A’s are playing the Yanks, I for one will be rooting for the Giambino. At least he had the courtesy and common sense to give the team that drafted him a break and not hold them over a barrel for a few million dollars that he really doesn’t need. I wish we could say the same about Andrew Eugene Pettitte.
No not at all, that has to be the biggest upset of the year so far and that should be a kick in the butt for UNC knowing they lost to a team who lost to HARVARD.
he had 2 bad years due to injury, but when healthy he produced and 5 real good (some were great) seasons out of 7 on that contract was a pretty good deal. he earned his money here and the Yankees falling short wasn’t because of him. he was a real gentleman and a great personality in the media, well worth his contract and when he returns to Yankee Stadium he’ll get a big hand from me.
Thanks G.
“What a horrible way to watch a game.”
I know. Jason was all thumbs at 1B. Tex is a substantial improvement.
jennifer
January 7th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
ray-
“Peter is that you? Seriously what is wrong with Peter? Has he lost his marbles. Give an sox fan truth serum (although you might not have to) and ask them who they think is a better pitcher; AJ or Penny. I bet you 95% would say AJ, and they’d all say they’d rather have AJ.”
Sorry Jennifer, I had a “Gammons” moment.
I entirely agree with you. I live in the midst of sox country and I can’t think of anyone who would say that Penny at this point in his career is as good as AJ.
I mentioned in the earlier thread that I think Gammons is trying to put a pretty face on the fact that the Yankees have had a much better offseason this year than the Red Sox.
Guys like Giambi made watching the Yankees all the more the fun because of his personality and enthusiasm. For all the criticism of the Yankees being businesslike, Giambi helped disprove that.
smart move by the Sox, he will be a cost effective 4th OF as Drew will get hurt and Ellsbury may struggle from time to time….
The dumpster diving is kicking into high gear, hope the Yanks are not done and have saved a few pesos for the odd deal
Aaron- I was only joking. You mentioned the Rocco signing. So I just commented that they are acting the way a small market low revenue team should. Obviously they aren’t a low revenue team.
Good luck to Jason. A good quote but an adventure at 1st base.
The Just For Men he used on the stache might help with the grey showing up in the beard.
Tarheelyank
January 7th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
GB
I’m envious of you watching the River Dogs. The Heels just built a new baseball stadium. 5min away it will be nice to take the kids there. The Durham Bulls are real close as well. It’s a nice ballpark. I got to see Scranton win the international cup game last year. Hughes was dominating. 12 k in 5 innings.
————————————————————
It’s great. I live two blocks from Grayson Stadium in Savannah. When I go to the park, I watch the games, but, use my laptop to watch the Yanks on the internet with a wireless connection. Those kids on the 2008 were fun to watch. Tyson had a close rein on them and they came to the park, did their work and talked to the fans, especcially the kids. Never saw them refuse an autograph. Tyson is going to be an outstanding coach and manager in the majors for somebody soon.
oo ok , haha.. you made me nervous..
“I guess this will put Ellsbury on the trading block, now. How about a trade….Ellsbury for Igawa with Boston picking up part of Ellsbury’s salary?”
GB7, make it Joba or CC instead of Igawa and you have a deal!
LMAO
ray,
you gotta throw in Lar Anderson and Justin Masterson, along with Ellsbury. LOL
FROM:
Tex’s New Best Friend
January 7th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Uh ohh. Red Sox close to signing Baldelli. So, since the Pirates wanted him too, does that make the Red Sox an evil big money corp who takes good players away from smaller teams because they can?
——————————
And they should never be allowed to forget what horrors they bestowed on the Pirates !
Laura – With this pitching staff, how can we lose?
January 7th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
“What a horrible way to watch a game.”
I know. Jason was all thumbs at 1B. Tex is a substantial improvement.
————————————————————
That’s not exactly how I would have described it, Laura, but, after all, this is a family oriented blog.
I still can’t get over the Sox swooping in and taking Rocco away from the Pirates.
Sox are supposedly close on Smoltz, too.
Ed – American League, prepare to be scared! CC, Aj, and MT!!
January 7th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
ray,
“you gotta throw in Lar Anderson and Justin Masterson, along with Ellsbury. LOL”
Ed, you and GB drive a hard bargain. I’m surprised Cashman hasn’t hired you guys!
ray,
ray (sox fan)
January 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
“I guess this will put Ellsbury on the trading block, now. How about a trade….Ellsbury for Igawa with Boston picking up part of Ellsbury’s salary?”
GB7, make it Joba or CC instead of Igawa and you have a deal!
LMAO
————————————————————
Are you kidding me? I’m offering a 15 game winner for a platoon center fielder. Let’s not get greedy, Luccino.
Can you believe those big bad Red Soxs beating up on the small market team.
Now watch Gammons will write an article about how stealth the red soxs were swooping in and signing Rocco right under the Pirates nose.
See you know what the Red Soxs problem is; and it occurred during the Arod almost trade. They seem to announce to the world what moves they are looking to make.
When Alex almost went to the soxs you had various players going on tv saying how great Alex would be a short stop, etc. The Yankees swooped in out of nowhere and snapped up Alex right under their nose.
With Tex, you knew the Yankees would be in the background, but I don’t believe anyone knew that Cash went to meet Tex in DC, I think we thought he met with him when he went to Vegas. Well apparently we now know that Cash was in contact with Boras regarding Tex the entire time. The Red soxs seemed to let the media through their shill Gammons every move they made.
GB,
Harold Reynolds is crazy for suggesting Pettitte to the Mets.
“Are you kidding me? I’m offering a 15 game winner”
Um..GB…being a 15 game winner in Little League doesn’t count here!
“Um..GB…being a 15 game winner in Little League doesn’t count here!”
shh…yes it does. LOL.
I’m going to miss The Giambino and for all the good and bad that was him, for all the ugliness at firstbase the past few years, he wore his pinstripes with a great sense of pride….Everything written and spoken about indicates that he was a great teammate….That in the end says it all…..
OH AND JASON GIAMBI WAS THE ULTIMATE CURSE, WE DIDNT WIN ANYTHING WITH HIM, AND NOW WITH THE CURSE GONE, THE WORLD SERIES IS OURS!
Giambi and Moose were two guys I really wanted them to get rings for.
ray (sox fan)
January 7th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
“Are you kidding me? I’m offering a 15 game winner”
Um..GB…being a 15 game winner in Little League doesn’t count here!
————————————————————
Well, yeah, but you have to realize that I just got through reading Scott Boras’ new Book, “How To Outslicker The Red Sox: Or How To Be Not Completely Honest”.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. SOX ARE CLOSE TO SIGNING SMOLTZ AND BALDELI. CASH, PULL A TEIXIERA MOVE AND SIGN BOTH OF THEM.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/01/baldelli_close.html
SORRY FORGOT TO GIVE LINK
Smoltz to Red Sox!!!! We are done
Give Glavine whatever he wants, the Sox just signed a 42 year old starter, we MUST respond.
On another note, please tell me these rumors for trading for Randy Winn aren’t true. We don’t need him, especially for Nady, who is a one year, under league average, great offensive right fielder.
PAT M
January 7th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I’m going to miss The Giambino and for all the good and bad that was him, for all the ugliness at firstbase the past few years, he wore his pinstripes with a great sense of pride….Everything written and spoken about indicates that he was a great teammate….That in the end says it all…..
————————————————————
The real pity is that Giambi had the power to reach any seat in any park. His problem was he turned into Kevin Maas or Ken Phelps, and fell in love with the short porch. He turned into a .245-.250 hitter and should have been a .310 hitter with 35-40 homers a year….Alex Rodriguez numbers, year after year. I could have dealt with the errors with that offense. Even in Oakland, he wasn’t that bad of a fielder, and he was great at digging throws out of the dirt. He quit even being able to do that in NY.
Why is nothing posting on here?
Giambi returns to Oakland with no regrets……..and no rings……………
Does anybody share my enthusiasm in our current roster, despite it’s logjams at certain positions. What you call logjams, I call depth. God knows we will need it. Everyone cries over Nady/Swisher/Damon, but if we let one of them go and somebody goes down, we will wish we had whomever we traded. Just keep the roster where it is. The only addition should be a #5 and a lefty reliever, both of which can be filled from within, though FA candidates do pose better options.
I agree JoeyA, but I don’t wanna see a youngin in the 5th spot gain.. Hughes could use a minor league stint again.. he’s still young
Maybe the Sox will sign Nomar…………He’s always hurt……
Baldelli to Boston is a good risk for them only if the cost is low. If he works out fine for a year they can give him more time or money with an option or an extension later.
Smoltz is old and he’s been hurt. He’s not the mid-late 90’s Smoltz anymore. We had Randy Johnson at this stage in his career. He’ll win more than he loses but he I’m guessing won’t be much better than Andy was for us last year.
He can be good but …. “we’re done”? I think not. Unless most of our rotation gets hurt again, but if that happens we’re in trouble regardless of how Smoltz does.
Wait … JoeyA you were just being sarcastic, right?
I get it.
GB7,,I share the same the same seniments as you do about Jason….Man I remember those playoff games against the Yanks he was a walking double and he dug out every throw…He wasn’t that bad with the mitt until the past few years when he became a major liability at first…Mattingly did get him to drive the ball to all fields but he quickly reverted back to trying to yank everything down the line and began to pull off the outside fastball…..He’ll do alright back in Oakland…..
rotoworld.com reports Smoltz is calling the Braves tomorrow morning to let them know he is joining the Sox.
My question is why in the world would Smoltz leave the Braves after spending his entire career with one team and in one league. He now has to learn a new league and recover from his injury in a whole new enviornment.
It doesn’t make much logical sense.
I have to wonder what Theo’s been smoking…
I personally can’t see Smoltz not returning to the Braves, if the offers are equal. The Braves need starting pitching and had money coming off their payroll.
Supposedly he isn’t going to pitch til June 1 but I’m still mad we couldn’t get him for the stretch run. Sox just added a great veteran to a a strong staff. Asleep at the wheel Cash.
sox showing no faith in their youth..
Yeah after 20 years playing in one place why leave? Why doesn’t Gammons talk about how hurtful that must be for Braves fans.
It really doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you just retire? He has made 130 million in his career, it isn’t like he needs the money. And what will the soxs sign him for $5? Talk about ruining your legacy.
2nd best game for me at Yankee Stadium, Saturday April 29th, 2006. Toronto Blue Jays. Bottom of the 1st, Josh Towers pitching. Arod on base, Sheffield on base. Giambi cracks his 321st career home run high into the upper decks in right field. Right to me!
Respect The Giambino!!!
I like the move if I’m a Sox fan. Smoltz is a great pitcher. If he rehabs as planned, he can be dynamite.
I just don’t see the logic in a 42 year old HOF’er who was with one team his whole career packing up and going to the toughest division in baseball for a pitcher.
i really think…we should go for Sheets.the guy is an ace with amazing stuff.take the risk Cashman
I’ll give it to you guys that Smoltz is old and hurt but the guy has had an ERA over 4.00 twice in his career. Once in his rookie season. And the guy has pitched for 20 seasons!
You can’t act like getting Smoltz won’t have an effect on us, it will. Baldelli? No biggie.
Al from BK -
You can’t possibly be serious. Cash is asleep at the wheel? Are you rip van winkle? Did you just miss the last month?
im guessing this means lowe is going to the mets?
PAT M
January 7th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
GB7,,I share the same the same seniments as you do about Jason….Man I remember those playoff games against the Yanks he was a walking double and he dug out every throw…He wasn’t that bad with the mitt until the past few years when he became a major liability at first…Mattingly did get him to drive the ball to all fields but he quickly reverted back to trying to yank everything down the line and began to pull off the outside fastball…..He’ll do alright back in Oakland…..
————————————————————
Yep. Not sure how the steroid business will affect the voting, but, he was on the way to the HOF until his second year in NY.
As already pointed out; He pitched 20 years in the NL East. Now in likely his last season of his career he has to learn a new league, new team. Very likely it won’t be pretty.
So he’s gonna talk to the Braves in the morning but some are 100% sure he’s signing with the Sox AFTER that?
i can see Smoltz getting destroyed in the AL East. weird decision
Just wanted to comment on some things mentioned in prior threads.
*Gammons’ comment on Leigh Teixeira is sexist and demeaning, nevermind that she should have been off-limits. Low blow by Pete.
* LOL at the Yankees wanting Lowe more than AJ. They pursued AJ they way they always pursue players they want. I don’t know what Pete’s point is here.
* I hope Swisher isn’t traded. I heard Michael Kay say that the Yankees love him – I’d like to keep him.
*Hal – he’s absolutely competitive and has his father’s drive to win. What he doesn’t have is his father’s huge need to be in the spotlight. He lets his GM do the job that he was hired to do – talk about positive asset allocation! I mean if Hal didn’t trust Brian enough to do things, he may just as well have not re-signed him and tried to do the job himself.
**That blurb about Cash splicing a video together to the tune of Texeira’s favorite Twisted Sister song is classic Cash. These little things do count – players like the personal touch (who in real life does not?). Cash is good guy to deal with and he’s an assset in this regard because you’re dealing with real people here, not robots. He knows how to make a player feel wanted, but most of all he knows how to treat people with respect.
Jennifer- You are comfortable with Joba and Phil(who are both on serious PC’s) in the 4 and 5 slots with AJ as the 3rd starter? I think we need someone to chew up innings especially since he reportedly will only make 5 mil with incentives. Andy balked at 10! I dont care if its Garland, Penny or whomever we need one more starter.
“Supposedly he isn’t going to pitch til June 1 but I’m still mad we couldn’t get him for the stretch run. Sox just added a great veteran to a a strong staff. Asleep at the wheel Cash.”
this is a joke right…smoltz would never go to the yankees…cash is not asleep at the wheel
I’m not totally sold on 34 yo Randy Winn, but his contract is also up in 2009, and if the Giants were willing to take Nady and expand the deal to include Sanchez for some of our minor league pitching depth, I’d be interested having a .300 switch-hitter in the bottom third of our lineup, and another potential star in lefty Sanchez.
Betsy
Yeah I want to see someone call out Gammons on this. He had no right to ‘blame’ her for Tex not going to the Soxs. Plus you are right it is sexist.
AL-
Chew up innings, when he probably won’t be ready till June?
Al- I’ve stated it before. I think the Yankees should go after Garland. He consistently throws 200 innings a year. The question is $$ and years.
Sorry Al, but Penny already with Sox, and no to Garland, but yes would like another starter preferably on a one year, at most two year contract.
Funny- I just saw a clip of the Giambi press conference. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. What do you think would happen if a player showed up to a Yankees PC wearing that?
Trader- Penny signed with the Sox?
**It’s Offical: Smoltz to sign with Boston**
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090107&content_id=3736434&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos
————
Let the whining begin!
Pettite will be back in 09……
I guess Gammons forgot sexism went out in the fifties?
Beckett/Lester/Dice-K/Smoltz/Penny/Wake Cash shouldn’t allow us to go into 09 with Sabathia/Wang/Burnett/Phil/Joba.
Some of these Sox moves are head scratchers.
I think that money once destined for Tex is burning a hole in their pocket.
I’m not sure why my comments posted like that………
Also, the Tex/A-Rod thing is overblown and Tex put that to rest yesterday. By the way, I think when that inicident happened, Tex was a rookie – for him to really give it to Alex (or any other vet for that matter) shows some real moxie and leadership qualities.
I just love Tex already – they Yankees have signed some quality people, not just talents.
What a great off-season. I’m not going to freak out about the Sox signing Smoltz and Baldelli. I respect them a great deal – they are a smart organization. I have faith in the Yankees, though, and that’s what’s important. I honestly hope we see some great baseball in 2009 – this division should be a classic.
Al, Yep he did.
Brad Penny signed a 5 million dollar contract with the Sox a week ago. Don’t know if he had his physical and is officially signed.
1. Giambi is worth WAY more than 4.5 mil and this makes me very angry. We could have offered him more money to be a platoon player. I’m not sure he would have tken it, but we could have definitely used him for 5 or 6 mil and this is just DUMB.
2. Where is mel these days? She used to post every few minutes. Mel, if you are there, do you have any Hawaii advice? Mahalo.
al- Please you are making me laugh. Do you think we are scared of their staff?
josh- coming off serious injury
lester- still young
dice k- walks the park
john- coming off injury
penny- injury
wake- injury
The Yankees are shaking in their boots.
Garland ? he would want a 3 year deal
“i can see Smoltz getting destroyed in the AL East. weird decision”
a healthy Smoltz is easily an effective #2 starter even in the AL East. he threw over 200 innings in the 3 years prior to last season. this is a very nice pickup by the Sox… unfortunately.
the only hope we have is if his shoulder injury doesn’t heal well due to his age. if he gets back close to 100%…. UGH
I stand corrected on Penny. Garland/Sheets? If Sheets can get 25 starts I’d pay for that.
“lester- still young”
are you serious? that is a negative? joba is still young too.
let’s be fair and not devalue Sox players just because we don’t want them to be good.
Al- I think it has been pretty well documented that Sheets medicals don’t look good at all.
PAT M
January 7th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
“Pettite will be back in 09……”
Question? Pettitte will pitch in 2009 for:
a] 12 million dollars
b] 8 million dollars plus incentives
c] another club besides the yankees
d] answer a plus c
Jennifer- Did you see Lester destroy our line-ups this season?
well seeing how smoltz is 10mill, andy will want more now
What exactly did Gammons say about Teixeira’s wife?
AROD fan: mel stopped by briefly the other night.
a healthy Smoltz is easily an effective #2 starter even in the AL East. he threw over 200 innings in the 3 years prior to last season. this is a very nice pickup by the Sox… unfortunately.
He’s 42 coming off injury.has to learn a new league,and in the toughest division
i think he screwed up.braves fans cant be happy
Basically that Tex signed with the Yankees cause she didn’t like the stores in Boston. Something stupid like that.
oh cool!
“well seeing how smoltz is 10mill, andy will want more now”
I heard it was 5.5M with a chance to make up to 10. big difference.
I’m not happy the Sox are getting Smoltz… he is a difference maker if healthy. just hope that’s not the case.
Aaron- Smoltz when healthy is twice the pitcher Andy is.
Aaron
Okay so the Yankees can restructure the deal seeing that supposedly this is how John’s is worded
Boston’s proposed deal with Smoltz is for $5.5 million in base salary, and $5 million in incentives.
We can give him 6 with 6 in incentives.
“He’s 42 coming off injury.has to learn a new league,and in the toughest division”
his age and injury are big factors, of course. but he did pitch over 200 innings at age 38, 39, and 40. Believe me, I hope he doesn’t come back well from his injury… but if he does… this is a major pickup for the Sox and makes them a much better team.
Braves fans and Chipper plus Cox won’t be happy. Maybe they’ll overpay for Lowe and give the Padres anything they want for Peavy!!!
What sexist comments did Gammons use? I missed the interview.
I’ll miss Giambi on a personal level. And he was absolutely a player who was proud to be a Yankee every second he wore the pinstipes. But Jason, if you like it you should’ve put a ring on it!
Yankee Trader…..12-13 million will get it done….Thats meeting half way from the 16 he recieved last season….SJ44 pointed out earlier quite correctly that both parties have a need for each other…..
Who cares about Gammons.Gammons is a disgrace
Has Smoltz ever pitched a full season in the AL?
Smotlz is a very high risk, high reward gamble, albeit at a reduced cost.
Which, I guess makes it a low risk, high reward gamble, but if he’s healthy, he could give the Sox a fair share of marginal wins. However, to hope that he’s fully healthy, is still a lot, especially at his age.
Will be interesting to see this play out.
Good luck G!
Gammons said “apparently she didn’t like the stores on Newberry Street, and that’s the way it goes.”
Did anyone catch the Seasons show on MLB tonight? Tonight’s show focused on 1995 – I think this is a very interesting concept and an entertaining one as well, focusing on different years. I missed it earlier, so I’m taping it now.
thanks!
Gammons said “apparently she didn’t like the stores on Newberry Street, and that’s the way it goes.”
I always thought Gammons was a moron. This proves it.
Pat-
12-13M would get Pettitte signed, but the Yankees are getting offers for Swisher and Nady, quite possibly for a starting pitcher, so we’ll have to wait to see how this plays out. Andy might not be offered another contract until later in the month.
Would I be right in saying Gammons hasn’t been the same since his aneuryism?
Or am I thinking of someone else?
Or did I hit below the belt?
I love that Boston is signing all these “ifs” –
“If” Smoltz recovers from shoulder surgery
“If” Baldelli can recover from mitochondrian disorder
“If” Penny can recover from shoulder and forearm pain
You know what they say –
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a wonderful Christmas.
Smoltz was brought up in the Tiger organization and traded to the Braves very early in his career for Doyle Alexander.
“Has Smoltz ever pitched a full season in the AL?”
I only remember Smoltz pitching against the Red Sox… and he pitched gems (ERA in the mid 1’s over 3 games I believe). He also shut down the Yankees.
Gammons said “apparently she didn’t like the stores on Newberry Street, and that’s the way it goes.”
——————————————————–
Sounds like a lame attempt at humor.
I like the club’s depth this season, so I hope they keep them both…It would prove to make a great OF / DH rotation…..I do hope that no matter what happens, I hope Nick Swisher stays with the Yanks…..Pettite returns in 09……It just makes too much sense….
“Would I be right in saying Gammons hasn’t been the same since his aneuryism?
Or am I thinking of someone else?
Or did I hit below the belt?”
Rebecca-Now play nice!
Rather than that idiot Sam I Am, wouldn’t Peter Gammons make a good guest blogger? I’d guarantee Pete a record number of hits!!!
Boston Dave:
I’m pretty sure the Yanks beat Smoltz in the 99 Series, though.
Buddy Biancalana
Gammons said “apparently she didn’t like the stores on Newberry Street, and that’s the way it goes.”
————————————————————————————
Sounds like a lame attempt at humor.
That’s what I thought originally. But when you listen to the WEEI interview, that’s not the case at all. Gammons sounded like a person left at the altar.
Boston Dave
January 7th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
“well seeing how smoltz is 10mill, andy will want more now”
I heard it was 5.5M with a chance to make up to 10. big difference.
I’m not happy the Sox are getting Smoltz… he is a difference maker if healthy. just hope that’s not the case.
————————————————————
Smoltz is coming off of surgery and won’t be starting until at least 1 June. 5.5 mil guaranteed and 4.5 in incentives. Basically 10 mil for 2/3rds of a season for a 42 year old pitcher, and people here are drooling over him and then complaining that Pettitte isn’t worth 10-12 mil for a full year.
YankeeTrader: that would be kind of cool, actually.
DT,
you also forgot another big if about Penny:
IF he stops acting like Lowe circa 2002-04 and learns to say no to the buffet
“I love that Boston is signing all these “ifs” – ”
Agreed, however they are signing these guys as “extras”. Baldelli isn’t replacing Coco and will be a platoon guy. If only one of Penny or Smoltz is ok, they’re fine.
I really hope the chances that Smoltz is 90-100% by June 1st aren’t good.
But let’s not be naive. Smoltz is a dominant pitcher when healthy. Dominant.
PAT M
January 8th, 2009 at 12:07 am
“I like the club’s depth this season, so I hope they keep them both…It would prove to make a great OF / DH rotation…..I do hope that no matter what happens, I hope Nick Swisher stays with the Yanks…..Pettite returns in 09……It just makes too much sense….”
I agree. Would be nice to have depth with a lefty starter, and a versatile young energetic switch hitting player due for a rebound.
“Smoltz is coming off of surgery and won’t be starting until at least 1 June. 5.5 mil guaranteed and 4.5 in incentives. Basically 10 mil for 2/3rds of a season for a 42 year old pitcher, and people here are drooling over him and then complaining that Pettitte isn’t worth 10-12 mil for a full year.”
a) it’s a tremendous deal for a big market team that can afford some risk
b) yes, Smoltz is a hall of fame caliber pitcher and was pitching like one at age 40
c) Pettitte is worth 10-12M to the Yankees. don’t mix your arguments.
d) I hope Smoltz doesn’t recover well but only a fool would say that he definitely won’t and that he isn’t a great pitcher when healthy
Was at the game in 96 where Pettitte beat Smoltz 1-0, with a save from Wetteland.
Gammons makes me ill sometimes. I wonder how he ever got into the HOF. I guess the same way Jim Rice will get in.
I listened again to the segment at around 3 minutes and Gammons, to me, was making an underhanded attempt at humor about her not liking the shopping on Newberry Street. In fact the entire interview was an attempt to see the positives in the Sox not signing Tex, and having the flexibility to do other things, especially at the trading deadline to bolster the team.
“I hope Smoltz doesn’t recover well”
just to clarify – ONLY if he signs with Boston. I respect Smoltz and would like to see him continue pitching well with any team other than Boston (or TB).
Boston Dave –
those guys “could” be great – but as you said in your post – “IF one is healthy – they are fine” – but IF still comes into play.
Boston had money to spend. They went to the store determined to spend that money on Tex. They lost out. Now they are stuck in Filene’s Basement. Can they get deals there? Sure.
But I’d rather see them spend their money on “projects” than current healthy productive guys.
Barren,
I could tell you how he got in, but I think Pete would ban me…
“In fact the entire interview was an attempt to see the positives in the Sox not signing Tex, and having the flexibility to do other things, especially at the trading deadline to bolster the team.”
that’s what’s so weak… Every move the Sox make is great. they can do no wrong in his eyes. Can anybody find a Gammons article that criticized a single move by the Sox in the past 5 years?
Boston Dave
January 8th, 2009 at 12:15 am
“Smoltz is coming off of surgery and won’t be starting until at least 1 June. 5.5 mil guaranteed and 4.5 in incentives. Basically 10 mil for 2/3rds of a season for a 42 year old pitcher, and people here are drooling over him and then complaining that Pettitte isn’t worth 10-12 mil for a full year.”
a) it’s a tremendous deal for a big market team that can afford some risk
b) yes, Smoltz is a hall of fame caliber pitcher and was pitching like one at age 40
c) Pettitte is worth 10-12M to the Yankees. don’t mix your arguments.
d) I hope Smoltz doesn’t recover well but only a fool would say that he definitely won’t and that he isn’t a great pitcher when healthy
————————————————————
I’m not mixing anything. Read the posts. Everything to let greedy bum walk to give him 8 mil to give him 6 mil and incentives for another 6 mil. He’s in a 4 slot but pitches like a 3 and for 4 months last year was pitching like a 3, until his shoulder started giving him problems due to fatigue.
CORRECTION: and for 4 months last year was ***pitching like a 2***
“Boston Dave –
those guys “could” be great – but as you said in your post – “IF one is healthy – they are fine” – but IF still comes into play. ”
DT, no doubt. I’d rather the Sox roll with “IF”s than sure things. However, with Smoltz, if the “if” actually happens, the Sox have a nasty front of the rotation starter. that’s all.
If Cano snaps out of his funk, the Yankees have an all star second baseman. If he doesn’t, he is going to kill the team. The Yankees have IFs in CF. Matsui is coming off of injury. If he is healthy, he’s a great DH – one of the best in the AL.
The Yankees have plenty of IFs of their own. But it’s better to have IF’s that have a reasonable chance in turning into all-stars. I believe Smoltz is one of those “ifs”. In that sense, it’s a great pickup for the Sox.
Pokey
I can use my imagination. It bothers me that people like Jim Rice will get into the HOF because of the Boston sportswriters while Donny Baseball will never get that kind of support because the NY sportswriters are all either Boston schills in disguise aka Lupica or Mets homers aka Lupica again.
“I’m not mixing anything.”
Green Beret, I have never made a single mention of Pettitte not being worth 10M. You quoted my Smoltz post and then eluded to me drooling over Smoltz while not saying Andy is worth getting.
“while not saying Andy is worth getting.”
meant to read: while saying that Andy is not worth getting.
Green Beret,
Assuming you were referring to others in previous posts re: Pettitte, then I agree with you.
I still think Smoltz is a great risk to take for 5.5M guaranteed.
I see the argument for Rice, but at the same time Donnie deserves to be in without a doubt, especially when you factor in the Kirby Puckett argument. I know Pete hates that one, but you cannot convince me that Puckett was a better player than Mattingly.
I personally have more of a problem with the fact that Thurman Munson isn’t in.
Of course part of the problem is that the writers select the HOF, and the writers are idiots, like that guy Pete linked to who voted for Matt Williams.
Every team has ‘ifs”.
The Yanks have Posada, Matsui, Wang, Mo coming off injuries.
It’s one thing to have “ifs” on your 25 man roster – but it’s another to go out and spend your off season acquiring them.
The normal method of operation is trying to reduce your ‘ifs’ by adding backups or a contingency plan to those sore spots – not adding more ‘ifs’ to them.
Boston has their own set of “ifs” (Lowell, Ortiz, Beckett – maybe others) – adding more to the pile just benefits the Yanks.
Pokey,
I was in the middle of writing a post about the idiot writers… but you got it.
I would rather see the HOF much harder to get into if anything. the pujols, arod caliber guys – only the players who were perennial mvp or cy young candidates.
Boston sign a few more white players….interesting! LOL jokes
Baldelli when healthy was nothing special really, nice player to have as a backup though
really think Smoltz messed up, you can never have too much pitching though
would like to see Cashman pick up Hinske for the bench. can cover 1B/3B & OF he knows the AL East and has 20hr pop
DT,
sure, every team has IFs.
I just think the Sox had a pretty good team going into the offseason. As others have already said, the Yanks adding CC, AJ, and Tex simply brought them back up to the Sox level (maybe very slightly above after Tex).
The Sox didn’t have very many gaping holes in their lineup aside from catcher. In that sense, Smoltz is in fact a contingency plan and not a must have. Adding some low/mid risk high reward guys (1yr 5.5M for a team like Boston who has plenty of money to spend isn’t a huge risk), is a good idea for a team that can afford to take those risks. I think the Sox are one of those types of teams. Maybe it’s 50%, who knows, but if Smoltz comes back healthy in June, the Sox become a much better team. That’s a coin toss I’m not looking forward to.
The Sox didn’t have very many gaping holes in their lineup aside from catcher. In that sense, Smoltz is in fact a contingency plan and not a must have. Adding some low/mid risk high reward guys (1yr 5.5M for a team like Boston who has plenty of money to spend isn’t a huge risk), is a good idea for a team that can afford to take those risks. I think the Sox are one of those types of teams. Maybe it’s 50%, who knows, but if Smoltz comes back healthy in June, the Sox become a much better team. That’s a coin toss I’m not looking forward to.
they have huge holes
Varitek – finished
Ortiz – not the same without manny,is that wrist right?
Lowell – the trade throw in -his fluke year is well behind him
Ellsbury – all hype
Lowrie – ?
“Maybe it’s 50%, who knows, but if Smoltz comes back healthy in June, the Sox become a much better team.”
I grant you that. But I’m still happy to see the Sox spending money on “ifs” than money on Tex and CC types.
It would be interesting to see how many of those injury incentive deals pan out.
Off the top of my head I remember the Yanks signing Dotel for 2 mil in 2006 – hoping he’d be back my mid season. He pitched for about two weeks late in the year and was ineffective.
Lieber a few years before that in 2003 – same thing. They hoped he could come back in season. He never did pitch that year but signed on again in 2004.
“they have huge holes”
well, most people would argue that they are still a serious contender for the AL East division title. Ortiz is not a “hole”. He is a question mark sure. But it’s not like they must go out and sign a new DH. That’s what I meant by “hole”.
I understand that some Yankee fans in here have a hard time being objective but the Sox still have a very good team. My point (that you may have missed) was that adding Smoltz was a great move because if he’s injured and can’t pitch they are still good enough to make the playoffs. If he comes back close to 100%, they are much better – Smoltz would be as good or better than many teams #1 starters.
If fans want to pretend that a healthy Smoltz isn’t anything special, go for it. I am rooting for the Yanks as much as everyone here. I’m just trying to be realistic and not overvalue the Yanks and undervalue the Sox.
If people want to be a Yankee version of Gammons, that’s their prerogative.
DT,
absolutely agree with you. rather they get Smoltz, Penny, Baldelli than CC, AJ, Tex…
My only point was that signing someone like Smoltz (or someone like Ben Sheets) for a team that can afford the risk (i.e. big market team with cash), is a good risk to take. The Sox didn’t need pitching as badly as the Yanks did this offseason.
I absolutely believe the Yanks have a better rotation at this point. If Smoltz does get back to 100% or close to that by June 1st, that gap closes. That’s all.
as far as your point goes, I think you’re right.
Yanks and Rays had winning records against Boston last season.
I think without Manny,the sox arent that dangerous as before…Pedroia and Youkilis need huge years again,but they aint Manny are they
JD Drew how many times he played over 120 games?
I went and googled Smoltz to see how bad his shoulder was.
I had to laugh – I came across this from 2003. Read the last paragraph. Just goes to show how tough it is to walk away from the game. (remember this quote is 6 years ago before his present problems)
Atlanta Braves closer John Smoltz underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery on Tuesday. Smoltz, 36, had painful scar tissue removed from his right (pitching) elbow, which had endured three previous surgeries.
Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery in Birmingham, Ala., with Braves orthopedic surgeon Joe Chandler present.)
“This will be the final one for me, I can guarantee you that,” Smoltz said. “If I have to have another surgery, it’s time to do something else.”
I actually feel like that Boston is operating like the Yankees had in the past few years by signing injured and older guys hoping to rediscover their magic on low cost deals. It’s a gamble.
We played that game with Clemens, Dotel, Lieber, etc.
While it seems like it’s a great idea, it didn’t really work here.
Baldelli, Penny and Smoltz all come with red flags and for Boston and anyone to be crowing about how savvy those moves are is just silly.
If all three were healthy and in their prime they are huge acquisitions but as we’ve seen here in the Bronx, it rarely works out that way.
The Smoltz signing kind of feels like the David Cone in Boston signing at the end of the road for him.
Time will tell.
One thing is for certain, Gammons will wax poetic about how Smoltz is healthier and throwing freer than ever and is a dark horse to win the AL Cy Young, that the crack Red Sox medical team discovered that Baldelli’s medical condition is nothing more than a hang nail and that Brad Penny visited Lourdes this off season and is completely healed and throwing 105mph at his local high school park.
All three players are great in the clubhouse, incredible human beings and have already started charities in Boston and donated all of their salary to the Jimmy Fund are will be visiting local firehouses after their press conferences and then will hit local bars and drink with the fans while listening old CD’s by The Smithereens until they all puke.
They’ll follow that up the next morning by painting the green monster and helping old Boston ladies cross the street during their morning pub crawls.
Theo also secretly had a file with a wish list of players he wanted to acquire this off season that only Gammons and Ben Affleck were privy to. The top 3 names? Smoltz, Penny and Baldelli.
The real trick is he got the Yankees to buy the expensive players just so he could get the real steals of the year after the big bad Yankees had spent all their scratch.
yes Randy Johnson,Kevin Brown etc where nightmares
glad we signing guys in there prime now, or tex’s case he can get alot better
yes, what hurts the saux more than anything is that Tex was just like they like him, caucasian-american. Ortiz will never admit this because he is a classy guy but it is no fun to be the token African after Manny and Pedro are gone. Is this too much of a taboo than no one brings it up anymore? I really think that this was part of the issue with Manny but I suspect that even bringing it up is professional suicide so the only guys who do it are the big mouths like bonds and sheffield.
Talking about “ifs,” it reminds me of the time when Sox acquired Gagne…
“The guy had a .373 OBP and drove in 96 runs. His 32 home runs were one fewer than Mark Teixeira hit. I’m not really sure he needs an apologist.”
Pete,
LOL NO WAY. You cannot put a positive spin on Jason Giambi. lol.
Off the field.. who cares? On the field, he was a BUM!
He was a horrible 1b who needed a defensive replacement (to play 1b of all positions!). He started pulling the ball and then He refused, REFUSED to hit the ball to the left side again. Every year they tried to get him back to what he was like in Oakland AND every year it ended in “We’re going to try and beat the shift by hitting over it”. He was always hurt..with something.. anything.. I think one year he broke a nail. He whined about being a DH.. The split excuse always made me laugh.. Yeah I’m sure he hit better when he played 1b .. People always seemed to forget the fact that Torre would DH him when he was hurt or slumping in the beginning… so yeah those numbers would look alot different.
Good Riddance.
Hopefully this Tex contract doesn’t go the same way as Giambi’s did.
I don’t know Giambi personally so he may well be a great guy, but as a fan I wasn’t feeling him. First of all he cheated the game and ONLY came clean when he got caught….he should not be sainted for that. It seemed like he was always injured, made $20 mil to bat .245-.250, couldn’t throw and wasn’t a very good first baseman. He produced less than Arod has towards a WS ring and the worst part is you never heard about Giambi getting to the park early to work on his problems and trying to get better. It wasn’t until last year that we heard he even came to ST in somewhat good shape.
I don’t wish bad things on him but I won’t miss him being part of the Yankees.
“The Yankees did the right thing to move on and you can’t argue against signing Mark Teixeira. But Giambi can still produce and he’ll probably prove to be very valuable to Oakland.”
Fair enough. The A’s could have made one of the best deals of the year. In fact, if the Yankees had missed out on Teixeira, I would have been happy if they had signed Giambi to the exact same deal. (Of course, I also would have been disappointed that the Yankees lost out on a dramatic improvement in Teixeira.)
“Every clubhouse needs a character and the Yankees will miss his personality.”
Considering Giambi’s massive price tag and serious lapses in judgment, I think this is the worst case for why the Yankees will “miss” Giambi. I’m sure there are plenty of utility and bullpen guys with sub-$1 million price tags out there who have fantastic personalities. Besides, couldn’t Damon qualify as the Yankees’ resident “character”?
With all due respect to Peter and the other Giambi supporters, I found Giambi’s antics disrepectful to the game, and the Yankees. Id rather have guys with character, then guys that are characters. Give me Tino, Bernie, Mo. Those are class, money players.
I for one, as a Red Sox fan am glad we are keeping 3rd place MVP runner-up/Gold Glover Youk at 1st and our team leader 2007 WS MVP Mike Lowell at 3rd! Beckett, Dice, Lester, Penny, Smoltz and Paps.
I’m not too worried!
Teixeira will pull an A-Rod and CC and Burnett will see most of their seasons in 2009 on the DL!
I’m going to miss seeing Giambi daily. More so, I’ll miss his mustache.
I agree that Oakland probably got an amazing deal on Giambi (and not just because I lost $100 betting he’d make more than $10/year).
He’s been messed up physically for a while but was pretty solid last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a better year than Tex in 09, but the year after, that’s another story.
Thanks Giambino!
I’m sorry I never really liked Giambi, and when we needed him or the roster spot he refused to take a minor league assignment. I’d rather have Manny than Giambi anyday…Sorry glad he’s gone, he should take Pettite with him..
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