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Maybe it's not the number of throwing errors he saves, but the peace of mind of the infielders. Look at Jeter's quote in the same Abraham entry. Knowing that there's someone at first that can scoop those bad hops or make those tags when he has to come of the bag puts a little less pressure on the infield. It's one less thing for them to worry about. Also, maybe a couple more infield singles become outs. (I can't give you numbers to back that up because I'm not that kind of girl.)

So, yeah, maybe they did bring Minky here for Alex.

Oh, what about errors committed by the Yankees first basemen last year? Can we assume that Minky can turn that 3-6-3 double play better than Jason? Or handle the throw to 2nd better when the runner takes off on a pickoff attempt? It may not be a game saving play, but confidence in your 1st baseman has to count for something, right?

True Jen. You also have to factor in Giambi's complete lack of range and poor throwing arm. It is Mientkiewicz's superiority in these areas, more than his ability to catch the ball, that will save the Yanks more runs. Granted, I think they give up more runs by starting Minky with his defense and no bat than by starting Phelps' bat, or even Giambi at first, and Abreu or Matsui at DH.

Oh, what about errors committed by the Yankees first basemen last year? Can we assume that Minky can turn that 3-6-3 double play better than Jason? Or handle the throw to 2nd better when the runner takes off on a pickoff attempt?
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Maybe, maybe not, but Minky isn't much more than a LIDR. Worthless with the stick, and overrated with the glove. Basically, he's this year's Tony Womack.

~~~Maybe it's not the number of throwing errors he saves, but the peace of mind of the infielders. Look at Jeter's quote in the same Abraham entry. Knowing that there's someone at first that can scoop those bad hops or make those tags when he has to come of the bag puts a little less pressure on the infield. It's one less thing for them to worry about.~~~

Actually, it's the opposite to me.

I can see the infielders thinking "Let me just get it *near* first, because we have Mr. Gold Glove there to save me if it's a bad throw."

I would rather have my infielders making sure their throw was good than having them winging it over there with the hope that Rico will save them if it's not a perfect throw.

Here's a very detailed blog post on Minky's value, employing some of the modern offensive and defensive formulas.

http://ndai.blogspot.com/2007/01/mientkiewicz-or-why-steven-goldman-is.html

Conclusion: "What we have, then, is this: his bat is worth 0 runs and his glove is worth 10-15. That makes him worth 1 win, maybe 1.5. That's below average, but not terrible. By TangoTiger's salary research, Mientkiewicz is worth between $4 million and $6 million."

Give me a guy like Giambi over there any day. (And a real bat at DH, or vice-versa.) There's a reason why Jason's worth more than $4-$6 million, if maybe less than what we're paying him.

You've got to account for the human element Steve. The other 3 IFers will have much, much more confidence throwing over to Minky than to Giambi, so a guy like A-Rod could make a nice stop on an odd bounce, take that extra half-second to get himself together, then fire a throw to first knowing it'll be caught.

And the same goes for a ball in the hole for Jeter, he can throw it knowing Minky will likely make the scoop if it's in the dirt.

Of course the Yankee infielders will still make errors, but the number of batters who'll beat out that throw to first will decline significantly I bet.

The thing that no one has pointed out is that yeah, you can say lets just throw Giambi in the field. BUT, for some odd reason, when Giambi plays the field a lot he tends to get hurt more often and then hes half of himself. Giambi not 90-100%, + his terrible fielding, just isn't worth it.
Point blank we need better defense. Now if this was a debate about should we play Melky in left and DH Matsui and play Giambi at first then I'd take a long look at the situation..

Hey Steve, would you like Rico if he hit .270 this year and had pretty good defense?

Cause I don't see much wrong with that in the 9th hole, especially if it helps ARod's head.

>> I can see the infielders thinking "Let me just get it *near* first, because we have Mr. Gold Glove there to save me if it's a bad throw." >>

I can agree with Jen's and your standpoint on the matter, but I tend to lean toward Jen - anyone who's played an IF position in any sort of baseball/softball league knows it's all about getting the ball, setting yourself and throwing - there's little to no thinking involved. Not during the play, anyway.

All the IFs should worry about is lining up their bodies correctly and making the best throw possible. Having a decent 1B over there should make the outs easier to accomplish..

~~~Hey Steve, would you like Rico if he hit .270 this year and had pretty good defense?~~~

If he could have an OPS of 750+ and GG "D" - I would sign off on that, in a minute. The question is: Will his OPS be 750 or 700? If it's the latter, then he's a waste.

Point blank we need better defense.
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You could do better than Minky @ 1b, if that's the case.

~~~Point blank we need better defense.~~~

In terms of infield range, and outfield throwing, I would agree - 100%.

But, in terms of 1B saving throwing errors, it seems like a waste - - since we don't have a huge issue with INF'er throws.