Giambi difficult to figure, By: PETER ABRAHAM
March 22, 2006, THE JOURNAL NEWS
TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Torre is in no rush to determine his lineup for Opening Day. As the manager of the Yankees likes to say, he really can't go wrong no matter what he does.
Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter will be at the top of the order. Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui will follow in some form. All five of those players have been remarkably consistent over the course of their careers. If healthy, they will produce.
But where does first baseman Jason Giambi best fit? That is a question Torre can't answer yet. Nobody can.
Because of his previous use of performance-enhancing drugs, it is impossible to predict what kind of player Giambi will be for the Yankees. He could hit in the middle of the order or be an $18 million No. 7 hitter.
"It's hard to pin him down," hitting coach Don Mattingly said. "He's kind of the big unknown for us. I personally think he's going to have a big year, but you can't be sure."
Giambi hit .257 with five homers and 22 RBI over the first three months of last season. In May, Torre and GM Brian Cashman asked him to consider a demotion to Class AAA Columbus, which Giambi refused.
Unexpectedly, Giambi then revived his career, hitting .282 with 27 homers and 65 RBI over the final three months of the season. Project those numbers over a full season and 500 at-bats and Giambi could again become one of the premier sluggers in the game.
"I think I can be a .300 hitter and drive in 100 runs again, definitely," Giambi said. "When I had a knee injury (in 2003), I kept playing but I fell into a lot of bad habits. I've worked with Donnie to break those, and I think that hard work paid off last summer. I see no reason why I can't do the things I did before."
Dr. Gary Wadler said whatever benefit Giambi derived from his steroid use has dissipated.
"It leaves your system in two or three months. His muscle development now, I have to presume, is natural," said Wadler, an expert on drug use by athletes and an associate professor at New York University. "So it's reasonable to suggest that what he did last season is what he is capable of this season."
But Wadler has concerns about Giambi's health over the long-term and his increased vulnerability to injuries.
"These guys took amounts of steroids far greater than what would be prescribed normally," he said. "Nobody can say with any degree of certainly what that can do to the body. He could have weakened joints because of the excess weight he was carrying before and the kind of training he was doing.
"I'd be very curious to see how that affects him in the years to come. There could be unfortunate consequences."
Based on leaked testimony to the federal grand jury in 2003, Giambi admitted using steroids and human growth hormone starting in 2001 for a period of three years.
From 2001-03, a drug-fueled Giambi hit .302 with 120 home runs and 349 RBI and missed only 21 games. In the two years that followed, a presumably clean Giambi hit .247 with 44 homers and 127 RBI. He also missed 105 games, mostly because of injuries and illness that may have been related to his drug use.
Giambi apologized repeatedly for his actions a year ago when news of his testimony was revealed — although he would not say what he was apologizing for in fear the Yankees would void his contract. It's a subject he still won't discuss. But he does acknowledge the uncertainty his past creates.
"I'm as curious as anybody," he said. "I feel as good as I've felt in years, and this winter I swung a bat more than I ever have. I think if I stay healthy I'm going to have a big season."
Notes: The Yankees had yesterday off but Chien-Ming Wang stayed on turn by pitching in a Class AAA game. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits against the Syracuse Chiefs. He walked two, struck out three and allowed two homers. ... The Yankees will host the Red Sox tonight at Legends Field, the only meeting this spring between the rivals. Shawn Chacon will face Jon Papelbon.
