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My sense is that Giambi's days as a first-baseman are pretty much over. His frailty and overall lack of physical mobility pretty much preclude him from playing the field, even for the occasional spot start.

And, though I hate using mediot buzzwords, the Yankees' outfield seems to be a "fluid" situation, with Melky and Duncan floating around to give the older guys ample opportunities to convalesce. Also, it's probably safe to bet that either Damon or Giambi hits the DL at some point during the season.

By the way, I know that you can't just plug guys in defensively at any position, but I don't think it would be the worst thing on earth to see if Matsui might be able to hack it at first base. I prefer that strategy over the "Waiting for Giambi to hit the DL any day now" strategy.

I was under the impression that they'll use Betemit / Duncan as a platoon at 1B, Giambi as the main DH, and then rotate the 4 OF guys and sticking Matsui / Damon into DH every now and then.

I'm guessing it's working like this in order of preference

1B: Betemit / Duncan / Giambi
CF: Damon / Melky
LF: Matsui/Melky /Damon
RF: Abreu / Melky / Duncan
DH: Giambi / Matsui / Damon

given that Damon / Matsui / Abreu aren't young, Melky should still amass close to last year's PA used this way anyway. and whats not to say that one of them stays on the DL for awhile.

I'm guessing the platoon split at 1st is something like 100 game for Betemit, 50+ for Shelley and a dozen or less for Giambi.

Betemit is a interesting sleeper indeed. when the Dodgers traded him last year he was at the time their OPS leader ! (what the fuck were they thinking ? ) he's a underrated guy because of some perceived weakness that's overblown. but has some serious power potential (do you see his HRs? he often hit them out dead center or upper deck a few in RF ) he needs to figure out something against lefties though. his K rate is acceptable from the left side but beyond ugly from the right (and worest of all. he walks only 1/3 as much from that side... his K/BB from the right side is Wily Mo bad )

He reminds me of Papi in that sense. a underrated player that was bashed for his weakness while overlooked for his strength. not saying he'll hit like Ortiz, but he might just take a big step foward in 08 or 09.

Why not have Betemit be a permanent left handed hitter? Clearly, he's terrible batting right handed. That's probably an understatement.

I'm a Shelley Duncan fan. I hope he gets a lot more playing time than the rest of them.

Giambi can rot on the bench until he agrees to a trade. He's unreliable.

that is absolutely not how "betemit" is pronnounced. unlike english, vowels in spanish only have one sound, and "e" is pronounced like in "they" or "hey" and "i" is pronounced like the long e in "sleep".

BET-eh-meet.