Hi! My Name Is: Jason Giambi (DH / 1B)

Each day, "Piss and Wynegar" will present Yankees "player previews" for the coming 2008 season. In what can only be referred to as a "revelatory" strategy, we will use statistics, as well as opinion, to further our analysis.

Holy shit, is Jason Giambi the starting first baseman?! Spitting in the face of reason, it appears that Mr. Giambi is the first-string option to man the not-so-hot-corner in ’08. Aided by the off-season jettisoning of Andy Phillips and Doug Menkietwiecz, the Bombers don’t appear to have many defensive options, especially with fleet-footed Wilson Betemit as the backup apparent. Why should this frighten Yankees fans? Well, it shouldn’t, as long as Yankees fans find a lack of basic fielding range, butchered ground balls, and sub-Little-League-quality throws to second and home comforting.

Well, at least the Giambino still brings the thunder at the plate, right? Right? Oh, boy.

With every mysterious, season-killing ailment that befalls Jason, we die a little inside. Last year, Giambi’s numbers were stunted by a lingering foot injury and the stats ended up eerily reminiscent of 2004, when a small worm ate away at his insides and a benign tumor infiltrated his pituitary gland. Ah, memories. So, while it might seem like a cop-out, we’re willing to say that it was Jason’s injuries that held him back in ‘07, especially when one considers that his OBP was nearly 60 points off of his career average and his SLG was off by more than 100 points (the only other year in which the numbers were so drastically skewed was the aforementioned ’04).

Meanwhile, the former offensive beast still maintained a finicky eye (40 BB in only 254 AB), but Giambi often looked like a shell of his former, 'roided self; sluggish and overmatched at the plate. Here's hoping that #25 will start playing for a new paycheck and that a little of the ol' WWE-lovin', tattoo-wearin', goatee-shavin' basher will return; however, there is also a distinct chance that Jason will continue to transform from a hitter that "doesn't swing at bad pitches," to a hitter that just, "doesn't swing." In that case, it's going to be a bumpy season.

To read previous "Hi! My Name Is" entries, click here.