Jason Giambi is off to a good start with his former team. Thus far, look at how he's done:
Now I'm well aware of the small samples sizes refrain. And I know that no matter what I say, people will be screaming it in the comments. But truthfully, I wanted to look at something else.
Giambi said this when I interviewed him during spring training:
Blez: There's been a lot of speculation that you changed your swing when you were signed by the Yankees. People said that as a left-handed hitter, you were tempted by the short right field porch. Did you alter your swing to try and pull more pitches when you played there?
Giambi: Yeah, a little bit. I used to hit the ball all over the field in Oakland because the gaps are very reachable in Oakland, so I used to use the opposite field a whole lot. When you look out at the way Yankee Stadium is configured, it just makes a lot of sense. Early in the season, when it's cold the gaps seem so far away and I was hitting a lot of balls out there and not getting much for it. It gets tempting when you look out there and you have 300 feet down the right field line. You do kind of change a little bit. But I think I can change back. I've been working on my swing a bit and working on hitting the ball the other way. So I think it should come back.
Blez: Did the pitchers adjust to what you were trying to do and realize that you were trying to pull balls? Essentially did they change the way they would pitch you and try to hit the outside of the plate more than anything?
Giambi: Yeah everyone makes adjustments. They'd mix it up. Go outside and inside. The only thing that they changed in New York was that they played more of a shift on me where I didn't really have that here in Oakland because I pulled the ball a lot more (in New York). I think that's what teams do a lot more now for guys like myself and Big Papi who pull a lot of balls through the hole.
Blez: Speaking of stadiums, you always seemed to hit pretty well at the Coliseum whereas the stadium has reputation for being a place where most hitters dread hitting because of the huge foul territory and the dead air at night. Do you like hitting at the Coliseum and if so, why?
Giambi: I love it. I don't know why, but I've always had that feeling. It's kind of like where you grow up and you go to that little league park and everything is so familiar. Even as a visiting player when I went to New York, I loved coming to Oakland and hitting there. I like to look out there and see all that green grass everywhere. It just feels like I can get a hit anywhere. I really enjoy hitting there.
Blez: Is it just because it feels more spacious to you?
Giambi: Yeah when I look out there I feel I have plenty of places where I can get a hit. Like you said, there is a little bit of dead air, but most of these guys don't realize I played in the old Oakland Coliseum. Talk about spacious, now that was spacious.
Blez: You mean before Mount Davis.
Giambi: Oh yeah.
Blez: Experts have also speculated that your batting average could go back up because of the change in parks and your willingness to use the whole field again. Do you anticipate that happening?
Giambi: I hope so. I've been working on it since I got back. I went out and tried to purposely hit the ball to left field more. I tried to get back to being more of a complete hitter.
And yes, his hitting so far has proven that he's at least trying to be more of a complete hitter, hitting to all fields.
It's one of the things that I'll be paying attention to this year just because it's fascinating to me that someone can be talented enough to actually adjust their swing based on what stadium they're hitting in.
So I looked at his spray charts so far. At Angel Stadium, he had three singles to right field and a ground out. But of the 10 balls that he put into play, six of them were to the left side of second base, meaning that he was consciously trying to think more opposite field.
As for the efforts in Oakland, he's put 10 balls in play and seven of them have gone to the left side of the diamond, including three singles and one double. I think he's definitely making the adjustment so I think smart teams will catch on this quickly and stop putting the shift on Giambi.
I think it's something that A's fans should pay attention to this year because hopefully what will happen is that teams shift back to playing a bit more of a traditional defense against G and then he can start pulling the ball again and get hits all over the field. It's early, so it will be interesting to see if it continues, but I definitely think there is an effort on Giambi's part to consciously follow through with what he and I discussed. It will be interesting to see if pitchers start trying to pound him more inside again too.
My question is, will this ultimately cut down on Giambi's home run power? And if it does, does it matter if he's getting on base a ton and hitting opposite field doubles? I personally don't think it does because he'll get his home runs, especially if he's making good contact wherever he happens to be pitched. But what do you think?
0 recs | 52 comments
A .380/.470 in 500 PA season would be awesome
If he stays healthy and gets the walks and doubles I’m happy
WaddellCanseco - April 14, 2009
Let CUST hit the Homeruns
Brillz - April 14, 2009
Robert Buan
who I normally take with a grain of salt said on Extra Innings last night Cust is better because of those around him and that he is a better hitter down in the lineup as opposed to the 3 or 4 hole. Said last year he had nothing around him and that he is also not a 3 or 4 hitter.
I would like to see him hit second against RHP and Cabrera hit second against LHP. That would be great but with Cabrera hitting the way he is then we cannot complain. He gets the job done and moves runners for the most part.
Trainman - April 14, 2009
That's horrible logic by Buan.
With that line of thinking, Cust is better when he’s around worse hitters.
mikev - April 14, 2009
From Trainman's paraphrasing
all it sounds like Buan is saying is that Cust performs better when he doesn’t have the pressure of being the got to guy in the lineup. It might seem strange, but for Jack it appears that the lack of pressure out weights the lack of protection (when he is hitting something like).
Darryl P - April 14, 2009
crap. should say: when he is hitting something like 7th.
Darryl P - April 14, 2009
For his career, his highest OPS is when he hits 6th (over 1.000)
Next is when he hits 5th (.911)
mikev - April 14, 2009
when there are better hitters in the lineup
pitchers won’t be able to pitch around the best hitter as much…I think that is the thinking
OaklandSi - April 14, 2009
If only that thinking was supported by... anything
nevermoor - April 14, 2009
I'm glad he's back. That is all.
dtownmbrown - April 14, 2009
Me too
And I was one of the people who was dying to boo the hell out of him when he first came back with the Yankees.
Tyler Bleszinski - April 14, 2009
Being a NRAF I never had that train of thought.
I am of the rare breed that doesn’t really mind the Yanks, I focus my hate on the Sox and Ahols, so him in NY was just business, in my mind.
Of course I would’ve preferred he stay in Oakland, but, like he told you in your interview (whether it is 100% true or not), he had a deal and wanted to be here but business sent him elsewhere.
Luckily for us, he’s back and 2009 (and beyond) is all that matters now :)
dtownmbrown - April 14, 2009
I am of the same breed
oakinboston - April 14, 2009
As am I
ChadGod - April 14, 2009
and one more
jakarta - April 14, 2009
By the way, I am excited to see how many times Holliday can knock Giambi in this season
seeing as how he’ll probably be on base more with all those doubles we will hopefully see.
dtownmbrown - April 14, 2009
I am too
It’s great to see those two together. The A’s offense actually excites me for the first time since, well, Giambi was here last time.
Tyler Bleszinski - April 14, 2009
I think part of that depends on whether or not Giambi's legs fall off
Flashfire - April 14, 2009
um yes
and i have been re-converted 100%. that double off the glove was awesome.
jaylikewise - April 14, 2009
Offsetting lost HRs
I’m just thinking out loud here, but these are my preliminary thoughts:
1) Giambi’s homers will be down this year via park factors and continued decline.
2) Giamib’s use of all fields could conceivably create more opportunities for doubles.
3) A dramatic increase in doubles could mitigate the lost slugging from less HRs.
Number 3 is the one of the three of which I’m most unsure. But homeboy was consistently mashing a very high amount of doubles while in Oakland, a trend which only continued for the first 2 years of his Yankees career (he managed 25 just once after 2003). Now, it remains to be seen if that was due to a change in swing, significantly reduced ABs in 2004 and 2007, or normal decline as he entered his mid-to-late 30s. But it may well be that Oakland’s larger alley gaps might lend Giambi a bunch more doubles (legs permitting) while moderately lowering his HR potential.
As it stands, with this small, small sample size of 2009, he’s already hit more than 1/10 of the doubles he hit last season in only 7 games.
Again, just talkin’. But with the A’s expected to have more base runners this year (and the admittedly small sample size thus far suggests that there probably will be), bringing people home with those doubles might offset the loss of HR power.
Joey C. - April 14, 2009
After last year's offensive debacle,
I’ll take doubles and guys on base all day long. What a breath of fresh air this year to have hope, real hope, b/c we actually have major league hitters, instead of hoping for a heaping helping of hitting fairy dust to fall on Crosby & Brown & others.
JJ Martin - April 14, 2009
Giambi
Is he really trying to spray the ball to all fields or is he just late on pitches? From the couple opposite field hits i’ve seen, it looks like Giambi is still trying to pull the ball.
Colorado Fan - April 14, 2009
+1
Also the groundouts into the shift are a bit of a clue.
mikev - April 14, 2009
Those two
last night were outside pitches.
niallmack - April 14, 2009
The double @ Anaheim was not intended to go down the left field line. He was late and/or hit the end of the bat.
I didn’t see G’s hits last night – Was he trying to go opposite field? You can tell when Cust and/or Hollidary are trying to go up the middle or opposite field.
Colorado Fan - April 14, 2009
I'm no expert
but it seemed pretty obvious on the first hit that Giambi was not trying to go opposite field. It was a duck snort of the end of the bat that rolled through the wide open left side. The second one looked more purposeful. He stayed back on an outside pitch and hit it pretty hard to left field tailing away from the leftfielder.
I am a little concerned that Giambi has lost some bat speed and is struggling to turn on pitches and drive the ball out of the park. Of course if he is hitting .350+ I don’t really care too much about homeruns.
OkayJay81 - April 14, 2009
It doesn't look the me like he has lost much bat speed
I believe that is just him re adjusting from his bad habbits of swinging for the right field fence every swing.
Athletic - April 14, 2009
I kind of thought he had lost a little bat speed
but it could just be I still see him as the MVP type hitter that crushed everything thrown at him. There were a couple pitches that he missed that i thought, wow you used to bomb that pitch.
but I’m no expert so . . .
micdog2001 - April 14, 2009
For sure
If you add 8 years and subtract steroids there is bound to be a dropoff
Athletic - April 14, 2009
In April at home, I'd argue that only Cust should be employing a "home run swing"
The other guys simply don’t have enough power to justify it.
If Giambi is truly cognizant of shortening up and using all fields at this point – I’m a little skeptical due to the difficulty of changing a hitting approach you’ve used for years – his slash stats no doubt will look better after one month than they would with an all-or-nothing approach.
Hitting a ball out of Oakland on a 45 degree April night is ridiculously hard. Look at that ball Cust hit off Lester last night. It was absolutely crushed and it cleared by only about 10 feet. Any other A’s player hits that pitch and it’s a flyout to the warning track, except for maybe Holliday, and even he hasn’t had any power stroke to speak of in his 20-plus A’s games. (small sample yes, but more than 20 games is a long time for a legitimate power threat to go without a home run).
I think that the way the A’s are currently getting the majority of their runs – bunching together lots of singles and doubles – is the only way to be effective in the Coliseum until summer when the air becomes less dense and the ball carries.
notsellingjeans - April 14, 2009
I agree.
But damn I wanna see Holliday hit one about 415 to left center. Soon.
mikev - April 14, 2009
+1
kbtoyz - April 14, 2009
I +1 your +1
micdog2001 - April 14, 2009
right on Jason and Blez. works for me.
ak_A - April 14, 2009
Homers
Going off what others have said, I’m not overly concerned about the lack of homers. The coliseum is never a great place for power hitters and the cold, thick weather only exacerbates that issue.
Once it starts to warm up a bit and certain hitters (Giambi, Holliday, Chavez) get into a groove and settle in with their new team, or in Chavez’ case new-found health, that there will be a whole lot of balls leaving the yard. Look for June to be a particularly powerful month.
Helloooo 1st - April 14, 2009
The real question
is can we get them to stop showing those goofy “beef, after braun, after tnt, after dynamite” commercials untill at all four of those guys have hit at least one homerun.
OkayJay81 - April 14, 2009
The thing I really like about Giambi.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention it in this particular thread, and I’m not sure if it’s really backed up by statistics, but damn does he seem to have a great eye. Rarely does he ever chase anything remotely out of the strikezone. To me it feels like he sees twice as many pitches as every other guy up there. It’s great finally seeing someone up there with some control after suffering through watching Chavez, Byrnes, Crosby, Durazo, and co. seemingly always chasing that un-hittable never in the strike zone, low and away pitch.
Giambi’s patience and skill obviously also help him go the opposite way as he can wait longer to decide when to swing and then just flick the ball the opposite way. I don’t think his power numbers will ever recover, he’s still a big dude, but lets not forget when he was winning HR derby’s and hitting 40hr’s a year he was also on steroids. Regardless, if he stays healthy thats all I really care about. He can knock Sweeney and Cabrera in with base hits and leave Holliday and Cust to do the heavy lifting.
KMoAsFan - April 14, 2009
Whoa, you invoked the ghost of Erubiel Durazo!
oblique - April 14, 2009
LOL
Nice one Erubiel has some really productive years for the A’s though
Athletic - April 14, 2009
Fangraphs strikes again!
They have awesome plate discipline stats. Giambi has consistently been 5-10 percentage points below the average at swinging at pitches outside of the zone. In recent years, the league average has been around 25%, whereas G has been in the 18-19% range.
danmerqury - April 14, 2009
Additionally,
Cust ranked 4th in all of baseball last year in lowest percentage of swinging at out-of-the-zone balls. Immediately followed by Marco Scutaro, and of all people, Daric Barton.
danmerqury - April 14, 2009
I haven't checked the stats
but from my observation of Barton last year, I’d bet he’s in the 90th percentile on taking pitches in the strike zone (especially fastballs on the outside half of the plate for strike 3!).
Nick - April 14, 2009
Actually, no.
Turns out he’s 47th out of the 145 major leaguers Fangraphs tracked last year. At the very top (top meaning bad) is Bobby Abreu, who only swung 53% of the time on pitches in the strike zone. At the other end is Vlad Guerrero, who swings 81% of the time. So kudos to Vlad.
Vlad also, by the way, swings on a ridiculous 46% on pitches outside of the strike zone. Not so good.
danmerqury - April 14, 2009
Clarification?
Does that mean Giambi swings at fewer pitches outside the strikezone, or that he is below the average in that he’s worse and swings at more?
KMoAsFan - April 14, 2009
Below the average,
Meaning that he’s better than the average major leaguer at holding off on pitches outside of the zone. He swings less at balls, essentially, than the average.
danmerqury - April 14, 2009
He's such a talented hitter
that when the league does start pitching him differently, maybe he can begin hitting the homer again. Perhaps with age comes wisdom? He’s always had the talent.
SF Geoff - April 14, 2009
besides age there's also the (assumed) lack of PEDs
but I see no problem with RBI doubles and singles to all fields
OaklandSi - April 14, 2009
It probably did cut down on his power a little
But so what, if he can get on base and get doubles the power will come. I would rather have him hit 15-20 and hit .300 then hit 25-30 and hit .240 I am very pleased with Giambi’s performance thus far, he has far exceeded my expectations!
Athletic - April 14, 2009
Yeah, I'm in the same boat
I think more HR will come when it warms up, but I’m happy with doubles and a good approach at the plate that helps wear down opposing pitchers.
worldblee - April 14, 2009
Swisher goes yard again...
great start for him.
Syphon - April 14, 2009
One thing I noticed last night, in the post game interview
he looked buff! It is hard to tell in uniform but in the clubhouse he was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and he was looking very muscular.
And his beard looks a little less gray, either it is getting fuller and darker because of that or he is slowly using just for men.
micdog2001 - April 14, 2009
Perhaps both?
Athletic - April 14, 2009
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