Is It All About A-Rod, Or, Giambi Too?
Remember when Alex Rodriguez came off the disabled list this season and all you heard was opinion on how much different the Yankees line-up was by having A-Rod in there? You heard it from the YES booth. You heard it from bloggers. You even heard it from Alex himself…that pitchers had to worry about him and that made it easier for the other players batting around him, etc.
Well, check out these numbers for the Yankees (on this season, to date):
Schedule Games Wins R/Game 1 to 27 27 14 4.41 28 to 44 17 6 3.53 45 to 73 29 20 5.72 74 to 88 15 6 4.47 Total 88 46 4.68
“Schedule” 1 to 27, above, is before A-Rod went on the D.L.
“Schedule” 28 to 44, above, is when A-Rod was on the D.L.
“Schedule” 45 to 73, above, is first 29 games where A-Rod came off the D.L.
And, “Schedule” 74 to 88, above, is the Yankees last 15 games.
As you can see, yes, when A-Rod was on the disabled list the Yankees struggled to score runs. And, when he came off the disabled list the Yankees started to score runs. But, what about the last 15 games? Alex has been in the line-up…yet, the Yankees have returned to the poor rate of scoring that they had in the first 27 games of this season – before A-Rod got hurt. What gives?
Hey, check out these numbers:
Schedule BA OBA SLG 1 to 27 .167 .325 .439 28 to 44 .227 .400 .500 45 to 73 .345 .447 .713 74 to 88 .261 .397 .413
These are Jason Giambi’s batting results before A-Rod went on the D.L., while A-Rod was on the D.L., during the first 29 games after A-Rod came off the D.L., and over the last 15 games.
The numbers show that Giambi wasn’t hitting before Alex’s stay on the disabled list. But, he started to come around while Alex was out. Further, he went on a huge streak just about the time Alex returned…only to cool off again in the power department, somewhat, in the last 15 games.
This all makes me wonder, if, that run where the Yankees won 20 out of 29 was more about Jason Giambi having a monster 4-week run with the bat than it was about Alex Rodriguez being in the line-up.
Sure, one could suggest that A-Rod’s return to the line-up enabled Giambi to go on that run. But, that doesn’t explain the last 15 games where they’ve been in the line-up together and Giambi’s bat has somewhat cooled. Nor does it explain Giambi not batting well in the Yankees first 27 games – while Alex was in the line-up with him.
Perhaps the bigger question here is: Does Giambi have another monster run in him this season? Or, are his numbers for the rest of the season going to be closer to what we saw before and after that streak – meaning very good…but…not great?
