Yankees sign Giambi

[BuzzBuzzard]

A bit, Jen, yes. And thank you. You said it much more pleasantly than I did.

[satchel]

Originally posted by BuzzBuzzard
I am sorry and this is going to come out more harshly than I intend, but you Yankee fans belly aching over this make me sick. You just dramatically improved your team with arguably the best FA available. Stop those crocodile tears NOW.

And I suppose we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't too, huh? If I had come on here saying "YEAH!! THE BEST TO THE BEST! GIAMBI ROCKS AND THE YANKS GOT HIM!" I'd be hearing crap about arrogant Yankee fans and free spending Yankees.

Whatever. You can think whatever the hell you want. I am a little heart-sick because I think Giambi belongs with the A's, not the Yankees, and I've found my fan loyalty a bit shaken as a result of it. You think I'm insincere? Fine. I won't tell you what I think of that.

[BuzzBuzzard]

Originally posted by satchel
And I suppose we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't too, huh? If I had come on here saying "YEAH!! THE BEST TO THE BEST! GIAMBI ROCKS AND THE YANKS GOT HIM!" I'd be hearing crap about arrogant Yankee fans and free spending Yankees.

Satchel - I don't want to start a pissing contest over this, but please don't put words in my mouth. I can understand some sentimental attachment to Tino, but all things considered, this is a net win for the Yankees in a big way. I suspect you are going to wake up tomorrow with a big smile on your face. I'm sorry if I offended...that wasn't the intent, but pardon me if I my heart is not breaking because yours is over no longer having Tino.

[satchel]

Buzz, this has nothing to do with Tino. It has to do with the fact that I'm not comfortable with the Yankees coming in and cutting out the heart of the A's. I'm sad and disappointed and my loyalty is shaken.

You may deny it, but in spite of your exhortation to "stop the crocodile tears" I still expect you (and others) would be just as irritated if I were whooping it up. And as far as putting words in your mouth goes - you have done the same to me, with your prediction that I'll wake up with a smile on my face over this. You're wrong, Buzz - I've been unhappy about it for a month and that's unlikely to change now. As far as how I'll feel once the games start, I've already admitted that the jury's out. Maybe once he starts hitting home runs out of Yankee stadium, I'll get more comfortable with it. Maybe not. Again, what can I do if you think I'm full of it? I know how I feel.

[ChrisCary]

Jen,

Very well said, I hate that guy but today I'm him


Buzz,

I'm not going to go into what Tino has meant to this team and what a gosh golly great guy he is and why I've become a big fan of his. What's important is that I have become a fan of his.

I know you've been there when your team got rid of a guy you've become fond of but for the betterment of the team.

Hokey or not, it hurts to say good bye sometimes. Silly or not I get caught up and imagined or not feel an attachment.

Believe me, I realize that I'm a Yankee fan trying to explain why I'm not thrilled that we got one of the best playing. If I were anyone else reading this I'd be cursing The Yankee fan also.

I almost feel nauseous at myself but I like Tino, I'm sorry to see him go.




I also don't like it for the same reasons Satchel hates it. I've enjoyed watching the A's the last two seasons. They are a good exciting team that always looked like they were having fun on the field. I enjoyed the playoff series' with The Yanks and they've been a scary team to Yankee fans. I've been interested to see them develop further.

GIambi should have signed with Oakland, I feel terrible for A's fans

The real reason I'm uncomfortable about this, the one that might make me feel even more uncomfortable the better we do is that I just can't stand buying players.

I liked the days when I could point to the homegrown talent, the players acquired by trade for homegrown talent, that the highest paid players were from the farm. I would point to a team like the A's with a total team salary less than a third of The Yankees and played right with them

If the Yankees win the World Series or even The American League I'm not sure how I can say we didn't buy it

Originally posted by BuzzBuzzard
I am sorry and this is going to come out more harshly than I intend, but you Yankee fans belly aching over this make me sick. You just dramatically improved your team with arguably the best FA available. Stop those crocodile tears NOW.

Dude, it's not like Giambi is replacing someone who didn't hustle out there. If this weren't Tino he's replacing, it wouldn't be a problem. There are _lots_ of NYY fans who still love and admire Tino greatly, myself no exception.

Yes, on paper and in play, Jason can put up the numbers. He's proven this beyond any doubt. No one wants to lose Tino and that's all there is to it. Getting Jason Giambi is beyond awesome, like getting Moose the last time. We didn't have to give up any SP to get Moose.

This wouldn't be the first time the Yanks got a serious slugger from the A's. Remember Reggie and then Catfish on the mound?

[Skipper Steve]

Originally posted by ChrisCary
If the Yankees win the World Series or even The American League I'm not sure how I can say we didn't buy it

So what if they did buy it? Didn't Arizona this year?

Back to Giambi, I recall when NY let Mike Stanley go to acquire/play Joe Girardi.

Poor Girardi was booed so bad at a Yankee Fanfest on Long Island that they heard it all they way in Denora PA. In the end, the fans later cried when Girardi moved on to Chi-town.

Same deal with Jimmy Key and Boomer Wells.

Give Giambi a chance - - just as Yank fans gave Tino a chance post-Donnie.

If JG chokes, and stinks up the joint - fine, THEN feel bad about him. But, until then, while you don't have to love him, don't let him ruin your day - - he's done nothing so far that any of us would not have done.

[satchel]

Originally posted by Skipper Steve


Give Giambi a chance - - just as Yank fans gave Tino a chance post-Donnie.

If JG chokes, and stinks up the joint - fine, THEN feel bad about him. But, until then, while you don't have to love him, don't let him ruin your day - - he's done nothing so far that any of us would not have done.

This might not be directed at me, but I just want to clarify - my problem is not with Giambi, his tattoos, or his hair. It has nothing to do with saying goodbye to Tino, either.

It has to do with the Yankees. After all, I'm supposedly a Yankee fan - root for the uniform and all that. And as a Yankee fan, I find myself saddened and ashamed that the Yankees would go and rip the heart out of the A's. I'm not saying it's rational, and I'm not saying they haven't done it before, and I'm not saying no other team has ever done it either. I can't explain why I feel this way about Giambi, when I didn't about, say, Mussina, although I expect it's just because I really, really like the A's.

All I'm saying is that as a fan I find myself particularly shaken and disappointed in this signing, and for the last month I've been hoping and praying it wouldn't happen. Now that it looks all but done I just wonder if I can look at the Yankees the same way.

[Skipper Steve]

Originally posted by satchel
I find myself saddened and ashamed that the Yankees would go and rip the heart out of the A's.

Lucky you missed 1920. Removal of the Red Sox' heart was even messier.

Satch, so long as Robert Kelly was traded for Paulie O'Neill, Boomer for Roger, FA will always be the necessary evil upon which this biz thrives. Roger was despised when he left to "replace" Boomer, and he still had his Sox name written all over the back of his jersey, figuratively speaking.

It'll take time, but I sure wish Giambi was 3B-man, then when Scottie retired, it wouldn't have been so much an either/or situation as is the case.

[sweaver]

Hey, Giambi could play third. You just wouldn't want him there when Petitte was pitching. Andy might set a new record for doubles surrendered.

I give the Yankees credit for deciding what they needed, and having the cash and the chutzpah to go out and get it. Would that there were more GM's as astute as Cashman and guys like Steinbrenner that let them work. Even if George does look over Brian's shoulder and make him nervous.

What does a 3B-man have to do w/doubles? I always thought doubles went into the OF. You're referring to misplays which turn singles into doubles?

[mainsr]

Originally posted by sweaver
I give the Yankees credit for deciding what they needed, and having the cash and the chutzpah to go out and get it. Would that there were more GM's as astute as Cashman and guys like Steinbrenner that let them work. Even if George does look over Brian's shoulder and make him nervous.

Geez, I get back from a road trip to this news.

I agree that Cashman's pretty good, but the Giambi signing has nothing to do with Cashman and everything to do with Steinbrenner's wallet, and the Yankees' local TV contract. Bill James is right; if Bud Selig were serious about trying to restore competitive balance, he'd contract the Yankees.

I think the Yankees look like a slam-dunk for the Series again, even though their top pitcher didn't deserve the Cy Young Award. But I think there are a couple things that I'd be concerned about if I were a Yankees fan.
1. Giambi won't be much good in 7 years, I think it's pretty safe to say.
2. This sort of thing can really demoralize a farm system. I interviewed Bill Lajoie, who was then the GM for the Tigers, for a paper I did in college in the late 70s, back when the Yankees were buying pennants. He said that this would come back and haunt the Yankees, because you can't win only with free agents, and by constantly paying vets big bucks to block the path of talented youngsters, draftees would rather play for a team that'll give them a quick shot at the majors. Sure enough, the Tigers had very competitive teams in the mid '80s. The Yankees may be falling back into their old ways - yes, this team has a lot of home-grown talent, but what kind of message does this send to the Yankee farmhands, of whom Nick Johnson was arguably the best?
3. Man, does this ever give us Yankee haters ammo.

I will admit this - the Giambi signing doesn't infuriate me as much as all the BS Bud is dumping on Congress. I hope nobody believes his lies.

George seems to like platoons, so looking at 2001, you'll see Chuckie and Shane in LF; Paulie, Justice, Shane in RF. This puts NJ in the DH role but I'm sure he'd like to use his much more often.

If a smaller market, less media-conscious team could better use his service, so be it. I hate admitting it, but he's like our insurance plan at 1B and our bat. Who knows if Giambi won't get injured (like Dye unfortunately did in ALDS), or if he just needs a few days off. Of course, this does nothing whatsoever for NJ's career plans at 1B. At present, he'll probably sacrifice this for the team, or be trade bait for a slugging OF-er like Sheff.

[BuzzBuzzard]

Originally posted by satchel
It has to do with the Yankees. After all, I'm supposedly a Yankee fan - root for the uniform and all that. And as a Yankee fan, I find myself saddened and ashamed that the Yankees would go and rip the heart out of the A's.

I just don't understand this feeling you have. I am sure you ahve your reasons, but you have to admit, there probably aren't too many out there who share that feeling, guilt(?) over taking another teams best guy.

As for how I would have felt if there was a lot of Yankee gloating yesterday, well that would have been a little like salt in the wound, but at the end of the day, it's pure jealousy. There was reason to celebrate and I would have understood that a heck of a lot more than sorrow.


This has nothing to do with what Satchel had described, but I still can't grasp the Yankee fans mixed reaction yesterday and I heard it away from this forum, too. Let me put it this way. If the Mets signed Bonds and it meant that Ventura was gone, after the initial elation, my heart would sink for about 30 seconds. Then I'd run around like a five year old on Christmas morning. I am pretty damn tired of Tino sympathy pains.