Jason Giambi on the DL
Posted By Jeff Fletcher on July 20, 2009 7:13 pm
The A’s placed Jason Giambi on the DL today with a strained quad. Considering the injury, his age (38) and his batting average (.193), it is reasonable to wonder if we’re ever going to see Jason Giambi on the field again.
That’s a bit of an exaggeration. He’s not going to retire before he’s activated from the DL (I don’t think), but I also don’t think we’re ever going to see him be productive for an extended period.
In any case, I think the A’s need to put him at DH 90 percent of the time when he comes back, if they want to get anything out of him at the plate.
Unfortunately that leaves us with more of “The Jack Cust Experiment” in right field and that has proven to be a failure. Giambi’s bigger problem isn’t playing in the field so much as the swing changes he made for the short porch in NY. He no longer hits to the opposite field which was what made him such a productive hitter before going to NY. He’s made no adjustments that I can see and teams are cramming inside pitch after inside pitch on him.
I can see no circumstance where they would pick up his option for next year, especially if Barton continues to swing the bat like he did last night. He can certainly deliver .195 at the plate and plays better defense.
I don’t think playing the field affects Giambi’s hitting, but I think it affects his overall health. If he is too sore to be in the lineup at all, he obviously can’t help much.
I think you might have a point on Giambi at least for next year. I couldn’t see his option getting picked up and he obviously isn’t much of a fit for any NL team. With so many teams set at DH you wonder just how much of a market there will be for a guy with his skill set. He would definitely be capable of getting a minor league deal, but I wonder if he will just call it quits before that happens.
Well now we know, since the A’s just released Giambi.
DId Jeff abandon this blog? It used to be required reading for bay area BB fans. Seems strange to me, with the Giants right in the thick of it. I guess he has become enamoured with twitter and blogging is so first half of 2009. Maybe this is Jeff’s way of avoiding a crow dinner on the subject of Pablo Sandoval, whom he dissed on this very blog way back in the Spring. Way to duck responsibility for your words, Jeff! Just abandon the blog altogether.