Yankees lose, but Jason Giambi stinks up the joint
November 1, 2003
by David Brown

The Yankees lost the World Series to the Marlins, and they can blame Jason Giambi. Sure, they lose as a team, it’s never one guy’s fault, blah, blah, on and on. Well, you know what? I’m blaming Giambi – he stinks.

Who could forget when Dave Winfield was labeled Mr. May by George Steinbrenner after Big Stein lured him to New York as a big-money free agent before the 1981 season. In the World Series that year, Winfield was a memorable 1 for 22 against the Dodgers, who beat the Yanks in six games. Things were never the same again between Winfield and The Boss.

Let’s officially christen Jason Giambi Mr. June. Because he sure ain’t Mr. October. There are plenty of October heroes to go around in the Bronx. Mr. Giambi, the guy who is supposed to be THE big bat in this Yankee lineup barely showed up.

OK, I remember the two key homers against Pedro in game 7 of the ALCS. Terrific. Thanks, Jason. Now what have you done for me lately? And while you’re contemplating that, ask Aaron Boone the same question, and get Robin Ventura on the phone.

Giambi he hit .357 in the Divisional Series last season, but he was a different hitter last year – batting .314 for the season. This season, except for an amazing June, he has been a complete dog.

Let’s start with his season batting average of .250. Horrible for a hitter of his caliber. It’s the worst average of his career and marks a 92 point drop from just two years ago. But at least he hit 41 home runs and drove in 107 runs, rights? Let’s examine the value of those accomplishments.

First, l'll acknowledge Giambi’s phenomenal June: he hit .373 with 11 HRs and 29 RBI. His slugging percentage was .819, giving him a Bondsian OPS of 1.373. He was the American League Player of the Month – congrats, Jason. Do they give you a ring for that?

From there, he basically stunk it up the rest of the season. He never hit better than .260 any other month. And as the games took on more meaning, and summer drifted into autumn, his skills at the plate fizzled like a Red Sox pennant run. Cowbizzle upizzle, Grady Lizzle.

Through game five of the World Series, Giambi was batting a whopping .235 since September 1 (add to that an 0 for 2 outing in game six). But that’s not the worst of it. The cleanup hitter for the New York Yankees, who is making $11,428,571 this year, hit .192 with runners in scoring position since September 1. During those two months, you may remember that the Yankees have been involved in some pretty important games. Not a good time to have your most dangerous offensive weapon drop below the Mendoza line when it counts the most.

All year it seems that when the stakes were high, Giambi hasn’t come through. I’ve watched countless games this season when he struck out with runners on in a close game, saving his good swings for when the bases are empty or the game was not on the line.

I am not delusional. The stats actually back me up on this. Since September 1, Giambi has hit exactly one home run with runners in scoring position. That’s one, uno, 1, 9 fewer than 10, as close as you can get to ZERO! Oh, and he has eight RBI with RISP during those two months. Talk about clutch!

Now let’s take it back to August 1. Since then, Giambi has hit 15 home runs, including the game 5 pinch-hit shot against the Marlins. Of those 15 dingers, 12 have been solo shots. The last time he homered with somebody on base (besides Lee Mazzilli and Willie Randolph) was September 23 (it was a grand slam – Boo Yah!). Before that, you have to go back to August 11 to find a home run with somebody on base. All 4 post-season homers came with nobody on.

It’s not like he’s batting ninth or is in a weak lineup. Jeter is on base every other time Giambi comes to the plate. Maybe he should bat lead-off and lean into any inside pitch. The only thing he’s done well consistently this season is get beaned.

Apparently he’s has a bad knee. How long has it been bad, and if it’s been affecting him so much, why wasn’t he yanked from the lineup earlier? God bless Joe Torre for sitting him down in game five. I don’t agree with a lot of Joe’s managerial moves (although they’ve worked out pretty well over the last eight years). But I was all for sitting Giambi on the bench. It gave him time to practice for his grand jury appearance: “THG? I thought it was THC!”

You’re on a short leash, Jason. If you’re not healthy, you’ve got the off-season to heal. Because as of opening day next year, you’re on Danny Tartabull Watch. Start producing when it counts or Yankee fans will ride you out of town like we’re gonna do to Jeff Weaver, the scrappy bastard.

(David Brown is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine)