Daily Archives: October 25, 2003

The New York Times is reporting that Jason Giambi will have surgery on his left knee at the conclusion of the season (tell us something we don’t know):

A magnetic resonance imaging test yesterday revealed an inflamed tendon in Giambi’s left knee, as well as chronic patella tendinitis.

… “Jason has been dealing with the knee throughout the year,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “Most of the way through, we tried to just tough it out and keep it as quiet as possible. But then it got to the point where it was becoming a problem.”

Maybe Giambi’s not such a coward after all. He’ll be in the line up tonight as the D.H.

When the Yankees were in Miami this week, it was difficult for pitcher Jose Contreras not to dwell on missing his family. Johnette Howard had a nice piece on the pitcher’s lonliness in Newsday a few days ago:

When he stands on the beach here in South Florida and looks toward the horizon, Contreras says, he thinks how the family he left behind is out there somewhere, barely more than 100 miles away.

“Sometimes I just stand on the beach and look at the water,” Contreras says, “and Cuba feels so close, it’s unbelievable. Sometimes I have a dream that I’m back together with everyone. Then I wake up and I’m still in bed by myself.”

I can’t imagine what that must be like, but it sure helps to put the winning and losing of baseball games into some perspective.

David Pinto thinks that the Marlins could be making a big mistake starting Josh Beckett on three-day’s rest for Game 6 tonight:

…If the Marlins were losing 3-2, pitching Beckett in game 6 would be the right thing to do. But up a game, where they can afford to lose game 6, I think it’s a mistake.

Andy Pettitte wasn’t sharp in Game 6 of the ALCS, and he got hammered in Arizona in Game 6 of the 2001 Serious (I like to remember that day as “The Day Andy Lost the Lord”). Can he reverse that trend tonight? If the Yankees’ season is to continue, he had better.