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Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thanks to 6-4-2...for turning me on to this Giambi biznack.
What then, is likely to happen? We don’t know, but an intriguing subplot may have emerged at precisely the moment the Los Angeles Angels came to town last weekend. Though he claims to have no knowledge of how the rumor of a Giambi-to-Angels trade got started, it’s obvious that no team would be a more perfect fit for Giambi. Since he’s a lousy fielder and must DH, Giambi would have to play in the American League. There are three American League teams on the West Coast, and Giambi is hugely unpopular with the fans of one of them: his old team, the Oakland A’s. This leaves the Seattle Mariners and the Angels, and the Angels have two big advantages: They’re a contender, currently leading the Western Division by four games; and they play their home games close to where Giambi grew up. And the West Coast is far enough away for a player who wants to escape the brutal scrutiny of the New York media.
Giambi has a no-trade clause in his contract and can steer a deal in any direction he wants. In other words, if the Yankees want to get rid of him badly enough, Giambi is in a position to force them to negotiate with the Angels. From the Yankees’ perspective, it wouldn’t be as good as terminating his contract, but at least in a trade they’d get something of value.
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1. Shooty: Applying to be Fearless LeaderBarra's point may have been that Giambi was starting the rumor, but unless the Yankees make a really overwhelming offer (like, they pick up his contract AND take Hillenbrand), I don't think Giambi's going to Anaheim.
But clearly the new market inefficiency is not scoring runs and Giambi just might screw that up. :-)
#3 raises the point really. Do the Angels take Willits (happy birthday!) seriously? There's nothing in his minor-league numbers to suggest he can be better than, say , 280/350/350. Do they take Anderson seriously? They're building a pretty nice lead now, it's not clear they need Giambi to win the division. And while Giambi might be a good short-term solution, he's signed for next year too -- not a huge risk I guess.
1. His contract.
2. Arte Moreno's public stance against users of PED's - see Matthews in Spring Training.
3. Surplus of outfielders if they are ever healthy at the same time- Vlad, GA, Rivera, GMJ, Willits.
4. They only get guys who take a lot of walks by accident. Napoli because Mathis didn't cut it and they were desperate for a catcher. Willits because GA got hurt. Vlad because everyone is pitching around him this year. They probably think Hillenbrand (if he got hot and closer to his .280-.290 average) is as good a hitter as Giambi.
Giambi is currently hitting .262/.385/.441. His average and OBP are below Reggie Willits', and his SLG is only ~.110 over Shea Hillenbrand. His slugging percentage would rank him fifth on the team ($) amongst regulars, behind Gary Matthews, Jr., who can actually play a pretty decent center field.
So, pass, thanks.
Add one point for being a vetruhn, two for being a True Angel, and another for having grit or whatever. He'll get playing time until it hurts (which will be every day).
I would prefer them take Willits seriously over Anderson, but thats probably not the case. Even if Willits falls off, there is value in a .350 OBP with speed and on pace to be +28 runs/162 in UZR even if he has no power.
The buzz on Anderson was how he was healthy for the first time in 3 years. Looking at how he "hit" in April before he got hurt, I shudder to think what he'll do when he comes back and has an injury excuse once again. It will be OK as long as 100% of his playing time comes at the expense of Hillenbrand.
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