Sportscenter reporting Jason Giambi and Yankee GM Brian Cahman are scheduled to meet soon to discuss Giambi's furture with the Yankees.
Article from New York Post.
JASON Giambi, leaning his head into the dugout as Matt Thornton was summoned from the bullpen last night, listened to some advice from hitting coach Don Mattingly about the Seattle lefty reliever.
Deeper in the dugout, Joe Torre was not yet ready to signal just how far Giambi has fallen. But that day is coming.
Torre stuck with Giambi in the seventh inning of a tie game, eschewing the righty bats of Bernie Williams and Andy Phillips, hoping still to see some reason Giambi is not the greatest free-agent bust ever.
But Giambi continued what seems his favorite pastime - standing idly at the plate as his career flits by. Giambi watched a 2-2 changeup from Thornton cross the inner half for strike three. The go-ahead run at first was stranded, and Giambi was now hitless in his last 15 at-bats.
Do the folks who fervently cheered Giambi on Opening Day, trying to forgive and inspire a cheater and a liar, feel stupid now?
The 38,079 in attendance last night were not nearly as charitable. They booed Giambi back to the dugout and, if they had the power, you sense they would have kept it up if they could only drive the designated looker off the roster. The Yankees did beat Seattle 4-3 with strong efforts by ex-Mariners Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez and a still not overpowering Randy Johnson.
But even a third straight victory could not extinguish that Giambi is harming the Yankee lineup, payroll and roster flexibility.
If Giambi can't hit, he has no use, and Giambi sure appears a guy not only who can't hit, but in most at-bats has no desire to even try.
Giambi has struck out, walked or been hit by pitch in 53 of 101 plate appearances. But you should expect the walks, Giambi's last useful attribute, to stop shortly. Giambi is hitting .195, he has not driven in a run since April 23 and not homered since April 19.
Lingering memories of Giambi as a force will soon fade completely, replaced by advanced word of his utter passivity and almost total inability to handle any fastball with a little life.
Giambi is now an Aston Martin that simply will not drive, expensive and infuriating. It is tough to junk such an investment, but if the car can't drive, it can't drive.
"It's too early to make a decision on that," GM Brian Cashman said.
That is only because there is huge money involved. The most eaten by a team in releasing a player is the roughly $15.6 million the Angels munched upon releasing Kevin Appier in 2003. If Giambi were owed just $15.6 million, he would not even have been in spring training.
But Giambi is owed roughly $80 million through 2008, and even the Yanks are finding that hard to swallow as the cost of doing dumb business.
They searched for ways to void his contract based on his steroid past, but could not find a tangible avenue.
"The big part is mental," Torre said of Giambi's problems. That should not comfort the Yankees. Giambi has not exactly distinguished himself as mentally tough, whether it was pulling himself from a World Series game or looking to his father and personal trainer as crutches.
Was the MVP-level Giambi a creation of steroids? Maybe. The bigger question is whether Giambi believes that, whether he thinks he is a fraud who cannot thrive without illegal assistance.
And it is not as if the physical side is strong.
Giambi is 34, a non-athlete, a water buffalo among swans. Amazingly, in three early-season games this season playing first, Giambi showed he is worse on defense than offense.
Yet, for now, Torre said playing time for Giambi was "still an investment you need to make." Giambi already has been dropped to eighth in the lineup, and Torre wants a little more evidence and a lot more health from Williams and Ruben Sierra before turning Giambi into a seldom-used 25th man, the next logical step on the way to the junkyard.
<!--end bodytext--><!--Print Friendly End-->
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/43855.htm
<!--OAS Middle-->
Article from New York Post.
JASON Giambi, leaning his head into the dugout as Matt Thornton was summoned from the bullpen last night, listened to some advice from hitting coach Don Mattingly about the Seattle lefty reliever.
Deeper in the dugout, Joe Torre was not yet ready to signal just how far Giambi has fallen. But that day is coming.
Torre stuck with Giambi in the seventh inning of a tie game, eschewing the righty bats of Bernie Williams and Andy Phillips, hoping still to see some reason Giambi is not the greatest free-agent bust ever.
But Giambi continued what seems his favorite pastime - standing idly at the plate as his career flits by. Giambi watched a 2-2 changeup from Thornton cross the inner half for strike three. The go-ahead run at first was stranded, and Giambi was now hitless in his last 15 at-bats.
Do the folks who fervently cheered Giambi on Opening Day, trying to forgive and inspire a cheater and a liar, feel stupid now?
The 38,079 in attendance last night were not nearly as charitable. They booed Giambi back to the dugout and, if they had the power, you sense they would have kept it up if they could only drive the designated looker off the roster. The Yankees did beat Seattle 4-3 with strong efforts by ex-Mariners Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez and a still not overpowering Randy Johnson.
But even a third straight victory could not extinguish that Giambi is harming the Yankee lineup, payroll and roster flexibility.
If Giambi can't hit, he has no use, and Giambi sure appears a guy not only who can't hit, but in most at-bats has no desire to even try.
Giambi has struck out, walked or been hit by pitch in 53 of 101 plate appearances. But you should expect the walks, Giambi's last useful attribute, to stop shortly. Giambi is hitting .195, he has not driven in a run since April 23 and not homered since April 19.
Lingering memories of Giambi as a force will soon fade completely, replaced by advanced word of his utter passivity and almost total inability to handle any fastball with a little life.
Giambi is now an Aston Martin that simply will not drive, expensive and infuriating. It is tough to junk such an investment, but if the car can't drive, it can't drive.
"It's too early to make a decision on that," GM Brian Cashman said.
That is only because there is huge money involved. The most eaten by a team in releasing a player is the roughly $15.6 million the Angels munched upon releasing Kevin Appier in 2003. If Giambi were owed just $15.6 million, he would not even have been in spring training.
But Giambi is owed roughly $80 million through 2008, and even the Yanks are finding that hard to swallow as the cost of doing dumb business.
They searched for ways to void his contract based on his steroid past, but could not find a tangible avenue.
"The big part is mental," Torre said of Giambi's problems. That should not comfort the Yankees. Giambi has not exactly distinguished himself as mentally tough, whether it was pulling himself from a World Series game or looking to his father and personal trainer as crutches.
Was the MVP-level Giambi a creation of steroids? Maybe. The bigger question is whether Giambi believes that, whether he thinks he is a fraud who cannot thrive without illegal assistance.
And it is not as if the physical side is strong.
Giambi is 34, a non-athlete, a water buffalo among swans. Amazingly, in three early-season games this season playing first, Giambi showed he is worse on defense than offense.
Yet, for now, Torre said playing time for Giambi was "still an investment you need to make." Giambi already has been dropped to eighth in the lineup, and Torre wants a little more evidence and a lot more health from Williams and Ruben Sierra before turning Giambi into a seldom-used 25th man, the next logical step on the way to the junkyard.
<!--end bodytext--><!--Print Friendly End-->
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/43855.htm
<!--OAS Middle-->
