Colorado Rockies To Sign Giambi?

Jason Giambi was recently released by the Oakland A's and it is rumored that he will soon sign with a contender. He was batting under the Mendoza Line this season, but you can't under-estimate the power of the mustache. Giambi still has power, but his average could kill a team looking for a playoff spot. He's a good clubhouse guy and has playoff experience with Oakland and New York. The team that's rumored to want him is the Colorado Rockies. I don't really understand why, he is basically a DH at this point, but they could be scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for an edge.

Let's examine where Giambi would play if he signed with Colorado. 1st base would be ideal for the slugger, but they have a potential Hall of Famer, Todd Helton, at that position. He has had a comeback year and is actually healthy for the first time in a few seasons. He could be a back-up, but Garrett Atkins has been filling in for him this season. Atkins has had a rough year this year, but his average and power are just a hair better than Giambi this season. You can forget about the middle infield or third base for Giambi, he isn't up for the challenge. The other spot would be left-field, but the Rockies have an outfield loaded with talent. Carlos Gonzalez, Brad Hawpe, Dexter Fowler, Seth Smith, and Ryan Spilbourghs have all been sharing time out there. That leaves the pinch-hitting spot, at this point in his career, could be the best option. He has had success in that role throughout the years and had a few memorable pinch-hit walk-off hits with the Yankees.

You can throw out the statistics when you're talking about Giambi. He's such a streaky hitter and the move to the National League may do him well. His post-season career numbers are nice, he has hit 7 homers and carries a .289 average. His experience in the post-season is something you can't put a price tag on. If the Rockies sign him, they would just be paying a pro-rated amount of the league minimum. If the Rockies want to roll the dice on him, the risk is low and the reward could be extremely high. I say go for it, you won't have to re-sign him next year and you just have to deal with him for two months. It's not the smartest idea to sign Giambi at this point, but you have very little to lose.

The Mustache Is Back!

Jason Giambi hasn't exactly been doing great in the 2nd half this season. I think I may have jinxed him in one of my "Fantasy God" posts. I have him on both of my fantasy baseball teams, but here lately, I have been benching him. He shaved off his mustache a few weeks ago, but I was watching the Yankees/Red Sox game yesterday and I noticed that the mustache was back and looking good. He did end up hitting a homer in last night's game, but it was a meaningless solo shot very late in the game.

Giambi had more of an impact in today's game against the Red Sox. He hit a pinch-hit 2-run homer in the 7th inning to tie up the game 2-2. Later in the game he hit a walk-off single that score the winning run. I know the Yankees may almost be mathematically out of the running for the post-season (okay, I know they aren't, but the Rays, Red Sox, White Sox, and Twins are playing very well), but the Yankees are making thing interesting.

The Yankees do play the Red Sox again later in the season and could squeak in if either one of the Sox teams or Rays fall off. Derek Jeter has never been sitting at home in October and I feel that he will be very motivated and get his team start playing like a normal Yankees team.

The mustache is back, now if I can only get McDonalds to bring back the McRib.

Fantasy God - Jason Giambi

The name of this post should be "Fantasy God - The Mustache," but I felt that Jason Giambi should get some credit for his performance. I had a post in early May about my 2008 Un-All-Star Team and Giambi was batting a measly .157 and it didn't good. He has since grown a crazy-man mustache and raised his average over 100 points since then and making the Yankees look like a possible contender.

Jason Giambi is hitting in the 5th spot for the Yankees, which is one of the best spots to be hitting in. Alex Rodriguez receives plenty of walks and Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter get on base at a high rate. The possibility for Giambi to drive in 120 runs a season is always a possibility. He has hit 18 homers, drove in 52 runs, and is currently batting .268. In the past 30 days, he has hit 7 homers, 24 RBI, and batting over .300.

I haven't seen such a facial craze since Johnny Damon looked like Jesus for a couple seasons in Boston. The Yankees are only allowed to grow mustaches (team code), so don't look for him to go mountain man on everyone. Giambi's 70's porn 'stache should be adorned by the entire roster and maybe the Yankees could catch the Rays and Red Sox in the AL East.

I picked up Jason Giambi on my fantasy team by a fluke. I traded Jay Bruce to a team for Miguel Cabrera, Billy Wagner, and Jason Giambi was thrown in the trade as "trash" at that point. I was expecting to release Giambi, but the first day I had him, he knocked two homers and he's been a staple in my starting lineup ever since.

I look for Giambi to hit around 40 homers this season and get near 120 RBI and should finish the season with a .280 batting average. It sure looks like The Great Giambino is back this season.