I've never hidden my disdain for Jason Giambi. He's a nice guy, the golden thong stuff was funny, but he was/is a miserable first baseman (No matter how many times Michael Kay tried to convince us he was great at scooping throws out of the dirt), his steroid use and subsequent body breakdown hurt the team, he was a mentally soft player (Derek Jeter, one of his biggest supporters was pissed at him during the 2003 playoffs when Giambi begged out of the lineup with a bad knee, but later homered- "if you can hit a home run, you can play"), and his contract was a boondoggle. George Steinbrenner was chiefly to blame for the deal as he just needed to sign "the big star" despite knowing full well that Giambi may have used steroids.
All of the above is the reason I had problem with those who gave Giambi a standing ovation last night when he was announced for his first plate appearance of the game. Also, though I didn't hear it, the Bleacher Creatures gave him a roll call. So all Giambi did his first time up was hit a home run that may have landed in the Rockies (even if they are in the wrong direction). It was the first of the three hits, the now grey bearded Giambi, had on the night. But it was Ty Wiggington's RBI ground out in the 4th and Troy Tulowitzki's home run an inning later that did A.J. Burnett and the Yankees in, 4-2.
Burnett had an up and down, including become the first Yankees pitcher to strikeout four batters an inning. Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning with an RBI double, but Giambi's blast deep into the mass of Bleacher Creatures tied the game in the 2nd inning and started a pick fence as the Rockies scored a single run in four consecutive innings.
Rodriguez had temporarily tied the game with second RBI of the game in the 3rd inning, but as is the custom this season, the Yankees provided no run support for Burnett. Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez had control issues early (he eclipsed 60 pitches in the 3rd inning), but settled down to limit the Yankees bats to four of their five hits over seven innings.
Posts
Mentally soft? He was the first guy to admit to using steroids. His contract language prohibited him from being explicit, but it was a confession and apology nonetheless. Still playing at a high level (13 hr's in 139 at bats) at age 40...even after a period of steroid induced break down. Disdain is a pretty harsh word for someone you also recognize as a "good guy". Easy to deride a guy sitting at home at your computer. BTW, Jeter's a jerk.
ReplyDelete