TAMPA – Jason Giambi was well into a punishing offseason conditioning program when Joe Girardi phoned with a plea Giambi was happy to hear.
“He told me, ‘I need you at first base,’ ” Giambi said yesterday at Legends Field on the eve of the first full squad spring training workout. “It was nice to hear.”
If Giambi, who missed nine weeks last season with a foot problem, can stay healthy and produce while playing first base, Girardi will have solved the headache of how to get Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Giambi in the lineup together. Other than finding who can help in the bullpen, the Damon-Matsui-Giambi triangle puzzle is the Yankees’ biggest question in camp.
Girardi also told Giambi to arrive in shape, that he was being counted on to do other things besides DH.
“I told him to be in the best shape he possibly could be,” Girardi said. “We need him to do a lot of different things, go from first to third, second to home, play some first base. That’s how you get the most out of people and he looked great. I’d like to see Jason be a productive offense and defensive player.”
Taking two bases at a time might be a little much to expect from a guy who looks like Fred Flintstone when running, but a healthy Giambi should hit at least 30 homers and drive in 100-plus runs. Even though he has limitations at first base, he dwarfs the other candidates – Shelley Duncan, Wilson Betemit, Jason Lane and Morgan Ensberg – in experience at the position.
The 37-year-old Giambi is in the final year of a seven-season, $120 million deal. There is a $22 million option ($5 million buyout) that won’t be picked up. Giambi said he definitely wants to play next year. Where and for how much money depends on what type of year he has.
For the second consecutive winter, Giambi trained with Mark Phillippe, a former World Strongest Man competitor and ex-UNLV strength and conditioning coach.
“I worked six days a week,” Giambi said. “It kept me out of the nightclubs.”
Since Girardi wants Damon to get 600 plate appearances it figures that Damon will be the left fielder. That would force Matsui, who had right knee surgery in November, to the DH spot.
Like Giambi, Damon is in good shape. Instead of walking by the gym in his Orlando home, the 34-year-old Damon worked the machines and is down to 214, four pounds below where he played last year.
Damon didn’t take offense at Brian Cashman saying recently that he wasn’t in shape at the start of camp a year ago.
“I could have been out of shape,” Damon admitted. “I understood that I needed something to get me motivated and prove to the Yankee fans and management that when I was a free agent I was the guy they needed to get.”
Girardi and Damon spoke yesterday and the manager stressed what Damon at the top of the order means.
“We talked about the importance of him being on the field, about him being healthy and his legs being healthy,” Girardi said. “He can win a game in a lot of different ways. We expect him to get 600 plate appearances and remain healthy.”
Damon is vowing to return to the text where elite players are discussed.
“When they talk about the good players my name doesn’t come up and that’s not right,” said Damon, who battled physical problems a year ago when he hit .270 and scored 93 runs. It was the lowest batting average since hitting .256 with Oakland in 2001 and the fewest runs since 1997 when he scored 70 for the Royals. “I feel good at 214 (pounds). I can run have the power to hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium.”