Jason Giambi is currently hitting .109 – this is not a tiny sample of at bats either. I understand that Joe Girardi wants to seem supportive but the “he’s taking good swings” excuse can surely only last so long. All the stories of Giambi hitting the ball to left and left centre in spring training have clearly not translated into the regular season. My question is – how much playing time does his huge salary afford him? His 2008 performances certainly should not merit a starting place.
Also, it’s not like he is a young player who’s future we’re investing in. Short of winning the MVP and a gold glove he will not be re-signed. It seems to me that we need to bring Shelley Duncan back up(he is raking in AAA) as he will, in all likelihood, give us help with the bat while providing stronger(and he’s still adjusting) defense. If it wasn’t for A-Rod tweaking something in his leg during tonight’s great win(the victory largely down to Andy’s excellent performance, not to mention him saving the bullpen’s arms) i would also be arguing for Morgan Ensberg getting more time at first.
Giambi still has something to offer the team. His patience at the plate is a huge virtue but you have to figure that the less he hits, the more pitchers are going to be aggressive in the zone, thus his OBP will probably go down. In this form, by the end of the season, i can only see Giambi being used as a late inning pinch hitter(mostly against Mike Timlin – he has more hits in 3 ab’s against him this year than he does against every other pitcher combined in 2008). Until he changes his approach at the plate though, Giambi should be riding the pine.
Posted by ph34 