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.

2009 Un-All-Star Team

Last year, I did my 2008 Un-All-Star Team post in early May. A lot of my team ended up turning things around and a few of them actually ended up with career numbers. I wanted to do this year's post a little deeper into the season. They are currently about 70 games in right now and some great players are looking like they need some extended spring training to regain their usually consistent form. About this time of year you can throw out the term "slow-starter" and begin using "bad year."

Some of these players do have some power numbers, but I'm looking at average mostly. If you are still floating around the Mendoza Line and it's almost July, you are having troubles. A few of these players have been trying to play through injuries (Alfonso Soriano), but his season isn't living up to expectations.

Here is my list of the 2009 Un-All-Star Team sorted by position. The number next to the position players is their batting average as of today and the number next to the pitchers are their ERA.

Catchers
Kelly Shoppach .194
Dioner Navarro .218
Geovany Soto .222

First Base
Conor Jackson .182
Carlos Guillen .200
Chris Davis .200
Jason Giambi .212
Lance Berkman .241

Second Base
Alexi Casilla .180
Dan Uggla .216
Howie Kendrick .231
Kelly Johnson .227

Third Base
Garrett Atkins .205
Alex Rodriguez .212

Shortstop
Mike Aviles .183
Khalil Greene .213
Jimmy Rollins .223
Orlando Cabrera .235

Outfield
Ken Griffey Jr. .220
Grady Sizemore .223
Alfonso Soriano .229
B.J. Upton .229
Ryan Ludwick .234
Pat Burrell .236

Starting Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang 12.30
Oliver Perez 9.97
Scott Kazmir 7.69
Fausto Carmona 7.42
Ricky Nolasco 7.15
Andy Sonnanstine 6.60
John Lackey 6.10
Francisco Lirano 5.91

Bullpen
Brad Lidge 7.27
Troy Percival 6.35
B.J. Ryan 5.71
Manny Corpas 5.40
J.J. Putz 5.22

If anyone has any recommendations for the 2009 Un-All-Star Team let me know.

I'm sorry if you found this post in hopes of trying to find shirtless photos of Grady Sizemore of any other of our players. It's kind of a running joke on this blog, since it seems like I get a lot of hit from google from people trying to find shirtless photos from players from Grady Sizemore and Ryan Braun to the confusing duo of C.C. Sabathia and Prince Fielder.

Designated Hitter
David Ortiz .207

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.

My 2008 Un-All-Star Team - Revisited

On May 7th this year I made my "2008 Un-All-Star Team." I wanted to re-visit this, as some of the players have turned their seasons around, and some have tanked even farther down than I could have imagined. Some have grown mustaches to bust out of their slumps, while others seemed content with a mediocre year and released from their teams. I love when people say that some players are "second-half guys," as you can see, not all players end up heating up as the temperature rises.

The batting averages in italics are as of May 7th, 2008.

Infield
Rickie Weeks - .195 - currently .229 - not an everyday starter
Robinson Cano - .157 - currently .264 - a true second-half guy
Kenji Johjima - .189 - currently .213 - lost his starting job
Ben Broussard - .159 - currently .159 - released and now currently in minors with Yankees
Johnny Estrada - .179 - currently .170 - released by Nationals
Casey Blake - .202 - currently .292 - traded to Dodgers, doing very well.
Ryan Howard - .168 - currently .235 - tied for major league lead in home-runs

Outfield
Andruw Jones - .158 - currently .161 - injury-plagued season
Alfonso Soriano - .177 - currently .293 - made actual all-star team
Nick Swisher - .196 - currently .213 - been very streaky
Jose Guillen - .165 - currently .252 - great second-half
Jim Edmonds - .172 - currently .240 - released by Padres, signed with Cubs, has been on fire when in the starting lineup
Michael Bourn - .194 - currently .226 - an off year, hasn't stole many bases in the second half

Designated Hitter (barely)
Gary Sheffield - .176 - currently .223 - injury plagued season
Jose Vidro - .192 - currently .234 - released by Mariners
Jim Thome - .209 - currently .250 - a very resurgent second-half, big power numbers as well
Jason Giambi .157 - currently .252 - great middle of the season, has fell off here of late

The baseball season is a long and grueling marathon, not everyone can sprint the entire season. A lot can change during the season, but if a player can stay healthy and consistent throughout their career, they will have long playing careers in the Majors. For those you stay injured or struggle, it is easy for a club to cut their loses and a career can come to an end.

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.