Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Juice-on Giambi: Worst Contract Ever

Jason Giambi has looked so awful at the plate this year that even the biggest Yankee haters, deep down, might feel some sort of sympathy for the guy. Not like any of us want him to hit a home run; a double play ball would do just fine. But he's looked almost scared at the plate. Even Peter Gammons has said he's never seen anything like this. And Buster Olney called Giambi's deal the "worst contract" in the history of the game. Nice to the see the Yankees still setting records after all these years.

And now there's talk of sending him to the minors. What would that make him, the highest-paid player ever to be in the minors (for non-injury reasons)? Unbelievable.

So it's clear that the Yankees have to deal with the worst contract ever. Kevin Brown, you can breathe easier. At least when Brown was healthy with LA, he could still throw lights-out. Giambi is finally healthy and hasn't done anything.

And even in '02-'03, the guy did nothing in a big spot. I don't care about beating the Twins in May. He couldn't help them beat the Angels in '02, and granted, he had 2 HR in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. But if not for Grady Little, those homers would be meaningless. And of course, in the World Series that year, he had to miss a game, which was a sign of things to come.

Juice-on is still on the hook for over $80 million. And you wonder if the Yankees will want to backload contracts so much after this debacle. But as long as they have the spend now, ask questions later policy (which has be oh-so successful since '01), they'll keep making these mistakes (anyone who didn't think Giambi was on something when the Junkees signed him was probably on something himself). And as a Yankee-hater, I've got absolutely no problem with that.

--- Keep in mind, people. The Yankees are still 15-19. Even after this 4-game win streak. Just comes to show you what a hole they had dug for themselves. And you can't get too excited about beating Aaron Sele.

Plus, they're still just 2 games out of last place, ahead of Tampa Bay, who have just beaten the red-hot White Sox twice in a row (does that tell you more about the Rays or the Sox? unsure.)

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