MLB Dirt

We’re only a few weeks into Spring Training and we’ve already hit all the highlights we’ve come to associate with baseball in February and March. Writers are waxing poetic about baseball and rebirth, players are in the best shape of their lives, and perennially hapless teams are optimistic about the impending campaign. All the while, a creaky veteran or two tries to convince management that they can coax one more year out of their beat up body.

One such player is Jason Giambi. The forty-two year old, fresh off of a bizarre offseason that nearly saw him hang up his spikes to manage the Colorado Rockies, is trying to latch on as a part time DH with Cleveland. And with this being Spring Training, everybody has pleasant things to say about the experiment. In the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Paul Hoynes quoted Terry Francona saying that Giambi “is everything you want in a ballplayer” and that he’s “the veteran of veterans.” Giambi for his part seems willing to embrace his role as clubhouse papa: “When I broke in… Mark McGwire, Terry Steinbach, and Dennis Eckersley… really helped me through my learning curve. I’d like to do that here.” All in all, Giambi comes across as a man in peace with his place in the game and content with the fact that his career is nearing its end. (more…)

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Andres Galarraga, Carl Yastrzemski, Cleveland Indians, Darrell Evans, Dave Winfield, Drew Stubbs, Graig Nettles, Hank Aaron, Jason Giambi, Julio Franco, Mark Reynolds, Nick Swisher, Pete Rose, Terry Francona, Tony Perez, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey | 6 Comments »