Why are the Yankees not playing Jason Giambi?

Question

I mean, the guy has great power numbers and he works pitchers. Isnt his bat in the dh better better than Damon, Cabrera, and Betemit?

Answer 1

The Yankees have enough power hitters right now, especially with Abreu and Matsui now going deep...

Having Damon in the lineup adds speed to the top of the lineup.

Also, if you have Giambi in the lineup, than Cabrera has to lead off, and he's not a leadoff hitter. He's better in the 9 hole.
Personally I don't agree with what Torre is doing, but that's why he is doing it.
If I was Managing, I would start Giambi at 1B, and take him out after the 7th or 8th inning for a defensive replacement (Philips or Betimit).

Answer 2

Right now, the Yankees are loaded with players that are hot right now. Giambi and Damon are pretty much the odd man out but they are platooning at DH with occasional turns on the field.Besides, Melky Cabrera has gotten better since he took over in center. Betemit was a great pick up because he can play the infield without causing worry. Giambi will probably platoon at first with Andy Phillips and Betemit and even Shelley Duncan. This pretty much why Miguel Cairo was release Johnny Damon has been paltooning with Matsui and Melki, so everything works out. These guys know this and understand it's for the good of the team. They get their at bats.

Answer 3

Cabrera hits the Yankees usually win.
Giambi hits it means the Yankees were already winning.
Damon hits it sets the table for A-Rod, Jeter and Zilla.

Giambi has a nasty habit of going 0-5 with 3 Ks in close games. He is a traditional power hitter which means in a 10 run game you can count on him chipping in at least a couple of those RBIs and every once in while he'll get lucky when it counts. Like most power hitters Giambi runs the bases like a 1 legged sloth, so he's a DP waiting to rescue a pitcher in trouble. His frequent KOs kill rally after rally. His walks all too often come with bases empty and 2 outs. Giambi is better than most "power" hitters in that at least he DOES take walks. But like most power hitters Giambi is a defensive liability. He HAS to hit to make up for the runs he gives the other teams. So if Giambi only hit .300 he's not really helping the team much. Giambi the modern version can't hit .300 any more.

With Damon you have a guy who gets on base, steals bases, is hard to double up and until recently played a pretty good CF. With Melky when he gets a hit it sparks the whole team. He's not a jaded vet with 15 years of playing time he's a kid who still loves the game. Melky has added SBs to his routine and is a far more dangerous hitter than the Giambi of the last few years.

Think of it this way. Good pitching will stop good hitting almost every time. You can leave out the vice versa from the Yogi quote. Power hitters are especially vulnerable since they are KO prone and KOs kill rallies. I loved watching the 90s Yankees. Every AB they were in the game until the final out was made. So often they'd get a guy on because of a poor defensive play and then work a walk or steal a base. Then a single would bring him around and the pitcher would start getting flustered. The next hitter would move that runner over and he'd score. 1 run here 2 runs there and the biggest leads melted away until the Yankees got a pitcher who was not having a good day and they unloaded on him. In the close games even if the pitcher was on they'd manufacture a couple runs and find a way to win if the Yankees starter was having a decent day.

A line up built on power faces what the 80s Tigers, 90s Rangers and other power laced lineups face. They lead the league in offense but are lucky to top .500 sometimes. The Phillies this year show the futility of such a lineup. They clobber teams 8-1 but then lose 2-0 the next day. A good pitcher just shuts them down cold. The Yankees already have A-Rod a traditional power hitter so adding more just aggravates the problem. When A-Rod has his once ever 7-10 days great day he can be a one man offensive machine. The rest of the week he's often a liability. Stack Giambi next to him and you double the chances the Yankees don't bring any runs in that inning. Add Abrue in front of them and you virtually assure that the top 2 hitters are wasting their time if there's a good pitcher on the mound. If they don't bring themselves in they are LOB. The day before yesterday I think it was the Yankees had 20 men left on base. TWENTY!

Yesterday Zilla DH's the day before that goes 3-5, Melky goes 2-4 and Damon also 2-4. The three combined only left 4 runners stranded.
Day before
Giambi 0-5 3 KOs and 2 of the 11 LOB were his.

2 days ago. Giambi 0-1 Damon 1-5 but with 0 LOB, Zilla 2-5, Melky 0-3 1 bb 1 ko and 2 LOB.

3 days ago Damon 3-4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI, Melky had a bad day with 7 LOB going 1-5 Zilla 1-3 with 3 RBI

4 days ago Melky 1-4 1 k 1 LOB, Zilla 0-4 1 LOB, Giambi 1-4 and 3 of the team's 11 LOB. Nearly a third of the runners stranded were stranded by Giambi.

You can go on and on. For every good game Giambi has there's a dozen bad ones like this. HRs are a flashy stat but don't tell you much about important offensive contribution. Most HRs are accidents off weak or tired pitchers who made a mistake. They rarely come at important times. That's why walk off HRs are so rare and so exciting. For every game a HR decides there are 50 where nobody that inning hit that HR. What does win games is getting on base and fighting for those runs. Good pitching can't shut that down on most days.

The Yankees with Melky, Damon and Zilla have scrappy hitters who can make things happen. With Phillips and Duncan they have guys who were hitting very well until Giambi disturbed their reg ABs. With A-Rod already around to provide the traditional power. There really is no need or place for Giambi. That's why Giambi should sit in terms of baseball logic.

Unfortunately the real reason Torre is loves his "big boppers" and fears the fragile Giambi will hurt himself before he can compile near record KO totals in the post season. Giambi, Sheffield and A-Rod managed to combine for more KOs than the rest of the entire Yankees lineup. More KO's in that short series than some entire teams had last year the post season.

Answer 4

As you know, Giambi had a torn plantar fascia and missed most of June and July. During that stretch, the Yankees developed good chemistry with the players that were in the lineup at the time. With Giambi back, Torre has had to bring in Giambi more slowly. Its only been 2 weeks or so since Giambi came back from the DL so he's had to accept a more part time role in the meantime. If the Yankees continue to struggle, expect Torre to mix it up again with Giambi back in there more often than not.

Answer 5

As you know, Giambi had a torn plantar fascia and missed most of June and July. During that stretch, the Yankees developed good chemistry with the players that were in the lineup at the time. With Giambi back, Torre has had to bring in Giambi more slowly. Its only been 2 weeks or so since Giambi came back from the DL so he's had to accept a more part time role in the meantime. If the Yankees continue to struggle, expect Torre to mix it up again with Giambi back in there more often than not.

Answer 6

Because they don't need him. Lets face it The Yankees were at their best while he was out of the line up. Giambi is still an asset, but The Yanks should keep with the winning formula and just use Giambi as a late inning PH when they need him.

Answer 7

In 2004 he grew to become into like a walking bag of medical maladies. He had his general nagging knee subjects, a sprained ankle, intestinal parasites, and the only that ended his season previous any doubt, a benign tumor in his pituitary gland.

Answer 8

When you've just won 28 out of 35, or whatever the Yankees have done, you don't want to fool with your line-up too much.

Answer 9

Reason one is he is not good in the field or at bat.
he is there for who know what reason, but they have to pay this lug lots of cash.
he is not a contributor to this team at all.

Answer 10

because giambi said he took steroids