Yankees better without Giambi
As far as the Yankees are concerned, Jason Giambi should take as much time off as he needs. For a long time, they suspected they were a better team with Giambi on the DL than on the field. Now they've got the numbers to prove it.
New York Newsday :
Soaring with Giambi on DL
June 11, 2007
He was trying to slip in undetected, like a Victor Conte concoction, but when you are as big as Jason Giambi, it is difficult to hide even in the shadowy tunnels beneath Yankee Stadium.
Giambi has been doing this for a few days, ever since Bud Selig and his head narc, George Mitchell, began to sweat him for names like some latter-day chapter of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He's been trying to avoid the questions by arriving an hour before game time, just as the iron curtain falls on media access.
But he can't move as quickly as he used to on a torn plantar fascia, the soft tissue that makes up the arch of his left foot, and for a moment yesterday, he was forced to stand briefly and answer a few questions.
His rehab is going as well as can be expected, he said. Another MRI is planned, but surgery is not an option because cutting would only make things worse. Yesterday, his treatment consisted mainly of sitting around waiting for his sore foot to heal.
"Hey, it's the weekend," he said. "I get time off, too."
As far as the Yankees are concerned, Giambi should take as much time off as he needs.
The Curse of the Giambino descended upon Yankee Stadium in December 2001 and they haven't won a thing of importance since. Giambi may not be out of their lives, but he is out of their lineup, and what do you know? They win.
In the words of Mariano Duncan, Great Yankee, they play today, they win today. They play yesterday, they win yesterday, 13-6, even if it was only the Pirates. That makes six wins in a row and nine of 11, a climb to within 9 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Red Sox, 5 1/2 games of the wild card-leading Tigers and one win of .500.
Suddenly, October doesn't seem quite so bleak. There are plenty of factors to point to as reasons for this remarkable turnaround - the rejuvenation of Bobby Abreu, the return to his April form of Alex Rodriguez, who hit two homers and drove in five runs yesterday; the long-awaited arrival of Roger Clemens, who, we are told, inspires by his very presence even when he's not around.
And then there is the absence of Giambi, the beginning of whose stint on the disabled list coincides almost exactly with the resurgence of his team. Call it coincidence or call it karma, but the Yankees, who were a far better team before Giambi's arrival in December 2001, are a measurably better team since his departure from the active roster 10 days ago.
Even Joe Torre, who wouldn't talk trash if he had a mouthful, had this to say when asked what he will do when Giambi comes back: "We still have to go with what's best for us. When we get closer to that time, we'll figure it out, but right now, it seems to be all right." In other words, don't rush anything, Jason.
Without the drag of Giambi, the Yankees' lineup is rolling again. In the 10 games Giambi has missed, Abreu has hit .500 (19-for-38) and raised his average 44 points to .272. In the same period, Melky Cabrera is hitting .378, A-Rod .371 with five homers and 18 RBIs, Jorge Posada .364, Robinson Cano .293, Miguel Cairo .292 and Hideki Matsui .282.
The absence of Giambi has allowed Johnny Damon to DH, a role he likes, and get his legs healthy while Cabrera, a defensive upgrade over Damon, plays centerfield. And because of the regular at-bats, Cabrera has become the Melky of 2006.
In a culture in which a player will wear the same underwear for weeks if it has hits in it, that seems to be prima facie evidence that for the Yankees, the absence of Giambi has been addition by subtraction.
This should come as no surprise to Yankees purists, for whom the signing of the greasy-haired, tattooed captain of the bad-boy Oakland Athletics to a seven-year, $120-million contract signified the franchise's crossing over to the dark side. In his years as a Yankee, the postseason record stands at 19-22 with one World Series appearance, the six-game beatdown by the Marlins of Wal-Mart.
Dollar-for-dollar, win-for-win and ring-for-ring, Giambi probably is the worst deal the Yankees have ever made this side of Carl Pavano, and like it or not, they are stuck with him, to the tune of $47 million - $21 million each for this year and next, plus a $5-million buyout.
The money they will eat. It's the losing they can't swallow.
For a long time, they suspected they were a better team with Jason Giambi on the DL than on the field. Now they've got the numbers to prove it.
