Posted on 08/07/2009 3:53:47 PM PDT by Artemis Webb
The A's have given Jason Giambi his walking papers, ending his return to Oakland and, most likely, his controversial career.
Given Giambi's performance this season, it's not exactly surprising news. However, I find it funny that Oakland took the measure of pointing out just how bad the 38-year-old was this season while announcing his departure.
Check out the third paragraph from the A's press release:
"However, Giambi was placed on the 15-day DL July 20 with a strained right quad. At the time he went on the DL, he had the lowest batting average in the majors and fourth lowest slugging percentage in the American League (.364)."
For what it's worth, the A's did use the previous paragraph to detail Giambi's chemically enhanced career numbers (407 homers, 1,319 RBIs, 1,255 walks), but it's rare that a club ever embarrassingly details the sad reasons for a midseason divorce.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
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He didn’t mean that Smoltz wouldn’t make it to Cooperstown, just that his career was over.
Lol. My reading comprehension skills failed me yet again.
No matter. He's still first balloter.
You misunderstood me. By saying his “Hall of Fame Career is over” I’m acknowledging that he’s a shoe in for the Hall. I agree he’ll easily go in on the first ballot.
Giambi on the other hand will be allowed to buy a ticket.
Yeah, I made a fly-by post. I understand what you are saying.
some guys hold on too long. Keith Hernandez wuould have retired as a .300 hitter had he not gone to Cleveland. Nevertheless, he belongs in the Hall. He redifined theposition of first base.
Not a problem. Had I been quicker with the keyboard I would have known that dfwgator had already chimed in. I was fighting a greasy cheeseburger though and it was winning.
Giambi is automatically in. He played for the Yankees :-)
I read it as you did. He could become a pitching coach or manager tomorrow and his quest for the HoF would not be over.
I know I know ... that was sarcasm :)
But otherwise (steroids aside), as a Yankees fan I wish Giambi had never come to the Bronx, we were perfectly happy with the quiet but productive Tino Martinez at first base and didn't need Giambi's 'gung ho' flamboyance, which was working so well for the A's at the time until Steinbrenner decided he wanted another 'Reggie' type (doesn't he always?) ... and so the Yanks let Tino go and signed Giambi as a free agent.
Big mistake.
The formerly 'gung-ho' funloving Jason Giambi was cleaned up, debearded, shortened hair, and put in the Yankees signature businesslike pinstripes - just another cog in the Yankees 'corporate image', as it were. And his play was affected as such ... no longer the funloving, happy team leader ... he became what I just described above.
Should have stayed with the A's ... Oakland might have even eventually won a WS with him on the team
Oh well, just my opinion
MM
About friggin time. Reminds me of the hell of being a Met fan with the self-serving Tom Glavine using them to get to 300 and then blowing 7 runs in 2/3 inning to lose the division on the last day.
On Smoltz, I think the guy just came off a major injury and needs a while to work the kinks out, if he wants too he can still play, his stuff is still good, just that Boston can’t afford to have him in the rotation while he fine tunes his game.
On the other hand, Tino was a nice player and a nice guy. No where near as good as Yankee fans thought he was. I feel the same way about Mattingly.
Yep...rumor has it Smoltz will accept a position in the bullpen and retire a reliever at the end of the year. I expect Giambi to wind up with the Marlins or Pirates...he still wants to play and he was not that bad at all with the Yankees last season.
But I guarantee you that after Jose Mesa got traded to the Phillies, he heard EVERY word I screamed at him when he came out of the bullpen at a game at the old Vet.
I would hope you are right. It would be nice if the Red Sox treated Smoltz better than the Braves treated Tom Glavine.
People tend to forget that the guy hit 32 hr’s and 96 RBI’s last year with nearly 120 hits also did a stint on the DL as well. I thought when he had the mustache last year he was doing pretty damn good. Him going back to Oakland was a big mistake. I bet he winds up with someone else who needs power at the bench and a back up first baseman.
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