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Giambi, Boston Rob and Amber (Spoiler Alert!)

	AP

Oh my, how the mighty have fallen. No, I don't mean the Yankees. I'm talking about the reality show dynasty version of the Yankees, Rob and Amber, somehow failing to win The Amazing Race last night. Se habla espanol, Rob? Maybe he can be the guest of honor at next year's Calle Ocho festival, provided he can find it. As for the real Yankees, the drama of the day in the Bronx concerns Jason Giambi's unwillingness to accept a minor league assignment.

From the way the fans and media have treated Giambi, we're supposed to believe the shrunken, former MVP has devolved into some type of roaming freak show. If that is the case, maybe he should go to the circus intead of the minors. Come see the Elephant Man, the Bearded Lady and Steroid Fallout Boy! Looking strictly at Giambi's statistics, though, I'm at a loss as to what the fuss is about. In case you didn't sign up for the Moneyball class as an undergrad, on-base percentage is the statistic that relates most directly to scoring runs. Giambi's on-base percentage is a robust .386. His batting average is only .195, but a few bloop singles could fix that easily. The .325 slugging percentage is what really does make him weird, though, if not freakish. (By comparison, Bernie Williams' batting line of .238-.308-.295 is worse than Giambi's, but nobody is asking Williams to hop on a bus.) Since 1900, these are the only players (min. 300 plate appearances) to have a batting average lower than .220, an OBP above .350 and a slugging percentage below .350.

Giambi-Like 'Sluggers'

Player Year Avg. OBP Slg. Desi Relaford 2000 .215 .351 .300 Lance Blankenship 1993 .190 .363 .254 Jack Clark 1992 .210 .350 .311 Denis Menke 1973 .191 .368 .270 Don Mincher 1972 .216 .363 .335 Eddie Lake 1949 .196 .359 .254 Floyd Baker 1948 .215 .359 .257 Jimmy Sheckard 1913 .194 .368 .238

Min. 300 at-bats Source: Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia

-- Jacob Luft (1:00 p.m.)

With an OBP like that, he still has a good seeing eye. I'd put him in the No. 2 spot, or if we're really going by the Moneyball theory, have him leadoff. Look, the Yanks owe him $80 million -- at least get something out of him.
-- John, Pittsburgh (1:21 p.m.)

The difference between Giambi and Bernie is that Bernie can defend and run better than Giambi. Giambi is not going to play first base for the Yankees, and once Ruben Sierra comes back, Giambi will not be playing DH either. Why not send him to the minors in an effort to rebuild his lost confidence and swing?
-- Sam, Anderson, Ind. (1:26 p.m.)

Regardless of Giambi's statistics so far this season, the real problem is his refusal to accept his assignment. Even if you are getting paid $80 million, you have to do what the boss tells you to do. Maybe it's this kind of spirit in the clubhouse that's given them the record that they have.
-- Chase Straight, Layton, Utah (1:36 p.m.)

Had Giambi not been involved in the steroid controversy, there would be no talk of sending him to the minors. It would be considered a slump. When Giambi was walking and hitting 30-plus homeruns, walks were a good thing. Now they are a problem. Maybe he's washed up, or maybe he isn't -- but his involvement in the steriod controversy seems to have taken away any benefit of the doubt.
-- Patrick, Holmes, N.Y. (1:36 p.m.)

Bernie can't throw and can't track down anything in the gap so don't say that he is more valuable because of his defense. That's crazy. Giambi going to the minors might allow him to clear his head and relieve some of the unrelenting pressure he might feel. That could in turn allow him to start hitting again. As his walk total indicates, he sees the ball well, he just can't hit it because he's pressing so hard.
-- James, New York (1:51 p.m.)

Leadoff or No. 9 is the only place in the lineup that makes sense for Giambi. You can't drive any runs in with a sub-Mendoza batting average. If the minor league assignment could allow him to get better contact with the ball, then he should do it.
-- Trevor, Atlanta (1:51 p.m.)

First off, nobody compares Bernie's batting stats to Giambi's because Bernie doesn't look overmatched or tentative at the plate -- Jason does. Giambi is constantly behind in the count, takes bad hacks, and fails to make solid contact even on foul balls. Bernie, despite the apparent imbalance of his power/avg. stats, has a big hit or two already this year, plus he's a dynasty holdover.
-- Sandy, New York (2:21 p.m.)

C'mon. Giambi has 18 walks but is also buffering his OBP with six hit-by-pitches. And the reason there's talk of him getting sent down and not Bernie is because, honestly, Giambi looks scared at the plate. He's relieved when he gets a free pass, not angry he missed a chance at bleacher seats.
-- Matt, New York (2:26 p.m.)

If Giambi's average is so low, why aren't pitchers attacking the plate against him? If he can't hit anything, don't give him a chance to draw the walk!
-- Brian, Staten Island, N.Y. (2:36 p.m.)

Not since Danny Tartabull's tenure has there been such an ominous canker sore disrupting the Yankees' chemistry. The way Tino's producing, and the fact that Andy Phillips can be an adequate backup, the Yankees -- and the Boss -- would be best off waiving Giambi outright as soon as possible. Take the hit on his contract, or try to buy it out, but get him out of there and bring in some role players. If anyone remembers correctly, quality role players used to win championships for this ballclub.
-- Dvorak, Indiana, Pa. (3:01 p.m.)

Eric Chavez, Nomar, Steve Finley and Mike Lowell all have lower averages and much lower OBPs than Giambi, but you would never know from the amount of coverage they get in the media.
-- Andy Crosson, Newcastle, England (3:01 p.m.)

Jason Giambi is a middling player who made himself outstanding by cheating. This got him a big contract. So he defrauded the Yankees, like Ben Johnson winning the 100 meter in Seoul in 1988. The question is not if Giambi should bat ninth or go to Triple-A. The question is, will he show true character and fess up to his fraud and return the gold medal (contract)? I have no respect for him while he continues to collect his ill-gotten paycheck.
-- Mark Vanderkam, Kelowna, B.C. (4:06 p.m.)

As the token Yankees fan around here, I really think Jason Giambi is done. It's sad what he did to himself. But if you watch him, you see that his bat speed is down. Not way down, but down enough to get a good moving fastball by him. That wasn't the case in Oakland, but we all know he wasn't the guy he is now in Oakland. Without that extra kick, he can't get around.
-- Tim, Booklyn, N.Y. (4:26 p.m.)