Monday's Bunts and Boots--Pat the Bat, The Giambino, and The Hall of Fame
On the heels of their amazing 2008 championship run, the Rays made a terrific signing on Monday when they reeled in a World Series opponent with a bargain of a contract. By signing former Phillie Pat Burrell to a two-year deal worth $16 million, the Rays have upgraded their offense without breaking the bank and without doing major damage to their defense. With Carl Crawford entrenched in left field, Burrell will be doing what he should be doing--and that's DHing on a regular basis. Burrell's 30-plus home run power and .350 to .360 on-base percentage will be welcome additions to an offense that sometimes struggled to score runs last summer, even in winning the AL pennant. With Tampa Bay's young pitching and dynamic defense already in place, the Rays could be an even more well-rounded team in 2009, a scary thought for both the Red Sox and Yankees...
The signing of Burrell has apparently directed another free agent, Jason Giambi, toward the Bay Area. The A's have reportedly signed Giambi to a one-year contract, with the possibility of an option year. Either way, it's a far cry from the ridiculous three-year demand that Giambi had made earlier in the off season. This figures to be a good news/bad news signing for the A's. Giambi can still hit with power and draw walks, making him a potentially capable left-handed complement to Matt Holliday. But Oakland fans will also have to suffer while watching Giambi stumble his way around first base, since there's no room at DH, where Jack Cust is already stationed. Having watched Giambi play first base for the better part of the last seven years, I can say this with little hesitation: "The Giambino" is the worst defensive first baseman I've ever seen, worse than Mo Vaughn, Dave Kingman, Don Baylor, and a host of other lead gloves. Brutal. Awful. Pick your adjective in assessing Giambi, they all fit in describing the second coming of Dr. Strangeglove...
We're now one week away from the Hall of Fame election, which will likely feature two electees, with an outside shot at a third. Rickey Henderson remains a lock for Cooperstown immortality; the only question is whether he will break the 95 per cent barrier. Now in his final year on the ballot, Jim Rice will join him, but the vote will be close, with the former Red Sox star coming in just above the 75 per cent mark needed for election. And based on what I'm hearing, support for Andre Dawson is building among the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Dawson, who received 65 per cent support last year, may threaten the 75 per cent mark. It's an outside shot--but that's a better shot than what I would have predicted for "The Hawk" 12 months ago.


